My bathroom smells of paint after a steamy shower, should I be worried about my health?
It's been 31 days from this post since I moved into this apartment. I've noticed that if I take a steamy shower, then close the door on the bathroom after I get out, then the bathroom will smell strongly of paint for at least 5 hours afterwards. Well I did that again last night, and upon noticing the smell this morning, I decided to test scratch the white-painted drawers and found that the paint immediately peeled of. I know nothing about paint, what's in it, how it cures, or how paint is supposed to properly dry.
Why am I smelling paint after a steamy shower?
Is smelling paint harmful to my health? If it's not, how come?
Why would the paint be peeling? Was the paint applied improperly?
What's the best way to remove the peeling paint while preserving the paint beneath it?
What can I fix to make it so that I won't smell paint anymore after a steamy shower?
I don't trust the landlord to do a proper job of helping me with this.
Question from user distresoo at stackexchange
Answer:
Since it is a new problem (if it was an old problem then you'd have peeling paint all over the bathroom already), I suspect a combination of two things:.
New Paint.
The apartment was likely painted right before you moved in. That is extremely common, as it is a relatively inexpensive way to make an old apartment look new. A quick search shows that latex paint takes anywhere from a week to a month to dry. It is dry to the touch within a day, but not fully cured for weeks.
Bathroom Humidity.
"Steamy shower" says it all. Instead of letting the paint keep drying, you are adding water every time you shower. That will slow down the curing process tremendously, and can in fact lead to the paint not curing properly, as you have found out the hard way.
The key, in general, is to use a good exhaust fan. Generally speaking, bathrooms require either an operable window or an exhaust fan. But if you have just a window then lots of people never use the window because it is either too cold or too hot outside (depending on the time of year) or for privacy reasons. Exhaust fans are often noisy (especially in many apartments - save $20 on one fan is not much, save $20 x 100 apartments = vacation for the landlord). Exhaust fans are sometimes undersized. But most of all, they are often simply not used. Actually, many newer fans are installed with a humidity sensor so that they will run automatically, solving the "not used" problem.
You have a situation that really, really needs a good exhaust fan. If you have one, use it during and after (suggest for 15 minutes after) every shower. That will get the humid air out quickly. If you don't have one or if it doesn't work properly, talk to your landlord about getting one - code requires it if you don't have a window in the bathroom and it is a good idea even if you do have a window.
As far as existing damage to the paint, there may not be much you can do. Deal with the humidity first, and repaint (you or landlord, depending on factors) once the humidity problem is resolved.
Answer from user manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact at stackexchange
It's been 31 days from this post since I moved into this apartment. I've noticed that if I take a steamy shower, then close the door on the bathroom after I get out, then the bathroom will smell strongly of paint for at least 5 hours afterwards. Well I did that again last night, and upon noticing the smell this morning, I decided to test scratch the white-painted drawers and found that the paint immediately peeled of. I know nothing about paint, what's in it, how it cures, or how paint is supposed to properly dry.
Why am I smelling paint after a steamy shower?
Is smelling paint harmful to my health? If it's not, how come?
Why would the paint be peeling? Was the paint applied improperly?
What's the best way to remove the peeling paint while preserving the paint beneath it?
What can I fix to make it so that I won't smell paint anymore after a steamy shower?
I don't trust the landlord to do a proper job of helping me with this.
Question from user distresoo at stackexchange
Answer:
Since it is a new problem (if it was an old problem then you'd have peeling paint all over the bathroom already), I suspect a combination of two things:.
New Paint.
The apartment was likely painted right before you moved in. That is extremely common, as it is a relatively inexpensive way to make an old apartment look new. A quick search shows that latex paint takes anywhere from a week to a month to dry. It is dry to the touch within a day, but not fully cured for weeks.
Bathroom Humidity.
"Steamy shower" says it all. Instead of letting the paint keep drying, you are adding water every time you shower. That will slow down the curing process tremendously, and can in fact lead to the paint not curing properly, as you have found out the hard way.
The key, in general, is to use a good exhaust fan. Generally speaking, bathrooms require either an operable window or an exhaust fan. But if you have just a window then lots of people never use the window because it is either too cold or too hot outside (depending on the time of year) or for privacy reasons. Exhaust fans are often noisy (especially in many apartments - save $20 on one fan is not much, save $20 x 100 apartments = vacation for the landlord). Exhaust fans are sometimes undersized. But most of all, they are often simply not used. Actually, many newer fans are installed with a humidity sensor so that they will run automatically, solving the "not used" problem.
You have a situation that really, really needs a good exhaust fan. If you have one, use it during and after (suggest for 15 minutes after) every shower. That will get the humid air out quickly. If you don't have one or if it doesn't work properly, talk to your landlord about getting one - code requires it if you don't have a window in the bathroom and it is a good idea even if you do have a window.
As far as existing damage to the paint, there may not be much you can do. Deal with the humidity first, and repaint (you or landlord, depending on factors) once the humidity problem is resolved.
Answer from user manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact at stackexchange