amberscove
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- Joined
- Jan 24, 2010
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- 6
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I live in NYC on the 9th floor of a building built in the 60s. Since I moved in a month ago, the bathroom smells up like paint every time I shower. It seems to be from the moisture in the bathroom and steam hitting the ceiling and causing the ceiling paint to get wet/soft and exude the smell or release the chemicals.
There is no exhaust fan or window in the room so that doesn't help. I have to put a stand alone fan in there after showering to air it out. I've read online that vinegar, onions, and things like that can help get rid of the paint smell but I think that's just for when a room is initially painted? I'm not sure those things will help my situation since the catalyst is the hot water from the shower. Also, the room was painted a month before I moved in and no one lived here, so it had plenty of time to dry.
I've contacted the building management but they can't seem to fix it. They are EXTREMELY difficult to work with and get in touch with (I've been trying for a month to get them to acknowledge and fix this to no avail). They came in and did a repair to the ceiling and repainted this week, but I guess they just used the same exact paint as before because it didn't help.
From looking online so far I can't find an answer to exactly how to fix this. So it seems it's not an easy issue to resolve. It seems the wrong paint was used or cheap paint was used, as mentioned. But I'm not sure what the right paint primer or moister protector is and what's the exact process to fix it (i.e. do I need to scrape the ceiling entirely if I decide to just repaint myself with the right paint?). I need to know exactly how to fix this or else I need to move out because I can't deal with the smell.
Has anyone else experienced this issue? If so, any advice on how exactly to resolve the smell once and for all? Can you recommend the steps needed to fix and what products to use, specifically please?
Is the smell from the paint fumes (or whatever it is) harmful? I feel it must be and that's another reason I'm so desperate.
I can ask the building for another unit, or should I just move out? At this point that's what I feel is my only option.
There is no exhaust fan or window in the room so that doesn't help. I have to put a stand alone fan in there after showering to air it out. I've read online that vinegar, onions, and things like that can help get rid of the paint smell but I think that's just for when a room is initially painted? I'm not sure those things will help my situation since the catalyst is the hot water from the shower. Also, the room was painted a month before I moved in and no one lived here, so it had plenty of time to dry.
I've contacted the building management but they can't seem to fix it. They are EXTREMELY difficult to work with and get in touch with (I've been trying for a month to get them to acknowledge and fix this to no avail). They came in and did a repair to the ceiling and repainted this week, but I guess they just used the same exact paint as before because it didn't help.
From looking online so far I can't find an answer to exactly how to fix this. So it seems it's not an easy issue to resolve. It seems the wrong paint was used or cheap paint was used, as mentioned. But I'm not sure what the right paint primer or moister protector is and what's the exact process to fix it (i.e. do I need to scrape the ceiling entirely if I decide to just repaint myself with the right paint?). I need to know exactly how to fix this or else I need to move out because I can't deal with the smell.
Has anyone else experienced this issue? If so, any advice on how exactly to resolve the smell once and for all? Can you recommend the steps needed to fix and what products to use, specifically please?
Is the smell from the paint fumes (or whatever it is) harmful? I feel it must be and that's another reason I'm so desperate.
I can ask the building for another unit, or should I just move out? At this point that's what I feel is my only option.