Why You Should Set Out A Few Buckets Of Water In Your Home After Painting

There's nothing better than a fresh coat of paint to rejuvenate a room. Unfortunately, said paint also comes with some pretty unpleasant fumes that bother people to varying degrees, including headaches, dizziness, vision problems, and more. Fortunately, there are some cool and simple hacks that'll minimize the smell of a freshly painted room, the easiest of which involves a couple of buckets of water.

A freshly painted room comes with a smell that fades over time, usually between 36 and 48 hours. This happens because paint is obviously made up of a variety of chemicals. In particular, volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, are what give paint its trademark odor. People who are seriously bothered by paint smells can opt to select a brand that offers formulations low in VOCs. On the other hand, folks who don't want to simply wait out the paint smell as it dissipates can grab some buckets of water to hopefully mitigate some of the impact. 

You probably know to open a window when painting a room to minimize the strong paint smell. But did you know that a couple of buckets of strategically placed water can go a long way toward reducing the offensive odor? That's because water is a universal solvent, per Denver Water. This means that water absorbs the various odors it's exposed to, from food smells to chemicals. So any time a room, refrigerator, or another space is a bit stinky, try using water's amazing skills to overcome the odor.

Simply harness water's innate powers to mitigate the paint smell by filling up a couple of buckets with fresh H2O. Place two buckets per room in opposite corners where they're unlikely to be tripped over or spilled. Add a little extra oomph by slicing up a few lemons and placing the wedges in the water buckets. This will provide a wonderful, lemony scent to the atmosphere that is far better than the smell of freshly applied paint.