Choose low-VOC paint when you decorate
The 'new paint' smell is volatile chemicals off-gassing into the room you live in. Low-VOC and natural paints give the same coverage with a fraction of the fumes.
Few people connect a sore head after a day’s decorating with the paint itself, but the link is direct. Conventional paints carry volatile organic compounds — solvents that evaporate as the paint dries and keep seeping out for weeks afterwards. That’s the “fresh paint smell”. Indoors, with the windows shut, those VOCs build up to levels you really don’t want to be breathing, day after day, in your bedroom or your child’s room.
Low-VOC and natural paints solve this without asking you to compromise. Water-based emulsions now cover and last as well as the old solvent types for most interior walls, and mineral or clay paints add a soft, breathable finish that helps manage moisture in older buildings. The tin tells you what you need: a low gram-per-litre figure, and ideally an independent indoor-air label.
The nuance worth knowing is that “zero-VOC” base paints can creep back up once they’re tinted to a strong colour, so it’s worth asking how a deep shade is mixed. And no paint is truly fume-free on day one — ventilate generously regardless. But choosing the lower-VOC tin is a genuinely easy swap, usually at little or no extra cost, that pays off in the air you breathe long after the brushes are clean.
How to do it
- Check the tin for VOC content: look for 'low-VOC' or ideally a figure under roughly 30 g/litre, and the EU's A+ indoor-air label where it's shown.
- Favour water-based (acrylic/latex) paints over solvent-based gloss — they smell less, clean up with water, and have come a long way on durability.
- For the lowest fumes, consider natural mineral, clay or lime paints (brands like Auro, Kreidezeit or Earthborn), which breathe well and suit older walls.
- Buy only as much as you need — a paint calculator or the tin's coverage figure (usually 10–12 m² per litre) saves money and leftover waste.
- Ventilate hard while painting and for a few days after: windows open, a fan running, even with low-VOC paint.
- Take leftover paint and empty tins to your local Wertstoffhof or hazardous-waste point — never pour them down the drain.
Pro tips & pitfalls
- 'Low odour' isn't the same as 'low-VOC' — some paints just mask the smell. Read the actual gram-per-litre figure rather than trusting the marketing word on the front.
- Tinting matters: deep, strong colours sometimes need solvent-heavy colourants. Ask for low-VOC tinting, or choose paler shades that need less.
- Got asthma, small children or a baby on the way? Paint well before they're in the room and air it thoroughly — this is exactly the situation low-VOC paint is made for.
What it's good for
Good for the planet
- Cleaner air Cuts the volatile solvents that off-gas for days or weeks after painting, so the room you've decorated isn't quietly polluting itself.
- Fewer toxins Avoids the worst of the formaldehyde and solvent cocktail in conventional gloss and oil-based paints.
- Protects nature Water-based and natural paints keep solvents out of drains and waterways when you wash brushes and dispose of tins.
Good for you
- Boosts health Less headache, dizziness and eye-and-throat irritation while you work — and a safer room for anyone with asthma or allergies.
Find your next hack
Browse more home hacks, or jump to another part of your life.
More home hacks All categories