Two things you should do to prep your home before having it painted
If you have hired a team of painters to paint your home, you will need to do some preparatory work before the painting process begins. Read on to learn more.
Invest in the right supplies
There are a couple of things you might want to purchase before your painters arrive. The first is a large roll of heavy-duty plastic sheeting. This will help to protect your carpeting, wood floors and furniture from being splattered with paint. Whilst purchasing and laying out this sheeting can be time-consuming, it will save you the stress and the expense of repairing or replacing damaged flooring or furniture after the painting process is over.
The second item that you may want to buy is an air purifier. Paint fumes can linger in a room for several weeks after it has been painted; these fumes not only create an unpleasant smell but can also sometimes cause headaches and exacerbate a person's existing respiratory problems.
Whilst keeping your windows open continually for a few days should help to reduce the potency of the paint fumes, it will not be as effective as placing an air purifier in the area that has been painted. This device is designed to absorb microscopic particles that hang in the air and thus should help to drastically speed up the rate at which the smell dissipates.
If you do decide to purchase an air purifier, make sure to invest in several replacement filters, as this device will stop working once its filter becomes clogged up with particles.
Remove items from the walls and the windows
All of the photographs, artwork, mirrors or removable light fixtures (such as sconces) should be taken off the walls prior to the arrival of the painting crew. This will prevent the painters from having to waste their time removing them before they can start painting and will thus help to prevent unnecessary delays.
If the curtains that you have hanging in the rooms that are to be painted are made from expensive or delicate materials, you should also take these down and put them somewhere safe for the duration of the painting project.
Whilst professional painters are quite capable of avoiding splattering these items with paint, some curtain fabrics can absorb paint fumes. This smell can be tricky to get rid of, particularly if the curtains in question are not machine washable. As such, it's best to simply take them down.