Spring and summer are the usual choices for exterior painting, as the likelihood of bad weather disrupting the work is lower. However, if you’re painting an interior space, rain or snow won’t ruin the job. So, is it bad to paint interior walls in winter?
It is okay to paint interior walls in winter as long as the room has the right temperature and humidity for your paint. You need to ventilate the room without allowing the temperature to drop below 10°C. Colors with low or no VOCs are a good choice if you only have limited ventilation.
Interior painting in any season requires good ventilation as well as stable humidity and temperature. Painting in extreme temperatures, either too cold or too hot, affects how the paint dries and how long it lasts. Read on to discover the best winter conditions for painting interior spaces and how to proceed safely.
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What You Should Consider When Painting Interior Walls in Winter
There are three things you need to consider before painting interior walls in winter: temperature, humidity, and ventilation.
Temperature and humidity can affect how well a paint dries and how long it holds up without cracking, peeling, or blistering. Ventilation is crucial for you and your painters, as many paints contain chemicals that could irritate you if you inhale them for too long.
Regardless of the season, it’s important to find the right balance between good ventilation and maintaining a consistent temperature and moisture level. The challenge for painting in winter is the risk of elements getting in when you open windows for ventilation. Maintaining the right wall and air temperature can be challenging and costly for your heating system if it’s too cold outside.
But what is the best condition for an interior paint job, and how do you achieve it during the winter months?
The Best Conditions for Painting Interior Walls
For the vast majority of paint types, you need a temperature above 10°C (50°F), but check the label on your paint can carefully. The way the paint is manufactured and its main ingredients determine what the ideal temperature is.
Oil-based and latex-based paints dry at different temperatures, so what works for one may not work for the other.
When thinking about temperature, consider both the air and wall temperatures. Depending on the type of wall insulation and its proximity to the exterior side of the building, these two temperatures can be very different. The wall surface needs to have approximately the same temperature as the air; otherwise, it may negatively affect how the paint dries.
As for humidity, you want the room you’re painting to have 40-50% relative humidity. This is important to ensure that the paint dries completely smoothly. You want the water in your paint to dry before the solvents do. If there’s too much or too little water in the air, the paint won’t dry properly and is prone to cracking, peeling, running, or blistering.
Advantages of Painting Interior Walls in Winter
Painting your interior walls in winter has some essential advantages. Firstly, if you hire professional painters, you’re more likely to get a good deal and flexible availability. Exterior painting doesn’t typically take place in winter, so most professional painters have more time for interior projects during this season.
Secondly, interior painting isn’t limited by daylight hours. Good interior lighting is available year-round, so early winter sunsets won’t affect your painting time. Plus, you can work in bad weather. As long as no snow or ice gets into the room you’re painting, and you can maintain a constant temperature, there’s no reason bad weather should delay a project.
Finally, people tend to spend more time indoors in winter. If you see your walls every day, all day long, a fresh coat of paint can have a big impact on your happiness. By taking care of your painting projects during winter, you can enjoy your home all year round.
Disadvantages of Painting Interior Walls in Winter
The main disadvantages of painting interior walls in winter are the difficulties in maintaining wall temperature and proper ventilation. Heating a room in your house to the ideal temperature is one thing, but ensuring the walls reach that temperature can put a strain on your heating bill.
In addition, opening windows for ventilation lets cold air back into the interior, which could put pressure on your heating system to keep up. Opening all interior doors in your home and setting your HVAC system for maximum ventilation can be helpful, but it will also allow heat to escape from the room you’re painting.
The easiest way to avoid these problems is to avoid painting in extremely cold weather. The beginning and end of the season provide better opportunities when the weather is milder.
Best Types of Paint for Winter
Safe painting in winter is similar to safe painting indoors in any other season. Choosing the right paint for your project and environment is the first step to ensuring everyone is safe and the painting turns out perfectly.
Considering the conditions of your home during winter months can guide you in choosing a paint type that works well under those conditions. Whether you hire professionals or do it yourself, the type of paint you choose should work with your environment, not against it.
Low or No VOC Paints
One of the reasons you need good ventilation when painting indoors is that paint fumes can be harmful to your health. Most of the odors in paint fumes come from volatile organic compounds, also known as VOCs.
Not all VOCs are dangerous, and most are not immediately toxic. However, some of them trigger allergic reactions or irritate your skin, including the skin in your eyes, nose, and throat. They can also cause headaches and nausea. Over time, the health effects of VOCs can accumulate and cause long-term damage.
Commercial paints often contain some level of VOCs, but there are low and no VOC paints that are safer for use indoors. These paints still require some ventilation, but they’re significantly less harmful if you accidentally inhale the paint fumes.
Microblend Interior Paint and Primer from Amazon is an excellent low VOC option. It comes in hundreds of colors and five different finishes, so you can find the perfect paint for your project and safely complete it during the winter months.
Oil-Based Paint vs. Latex Paint
Oil-based paint and latex-based paint have different temperature requirements for the best application and drying process. For oil-based paints, the best temperature range is between 4.5°C and 32°C (40°F and 90°F). Latex is better between 10°C and 29°C (50°F and 85°F).
For both types of paint, the ideal relative humidity is 40-50%. Under the right conditions, the paint needs a few days to dry completely, so you need to be able to maintain the right conditions for two to three consecutive days. Outdoors, this requires careful consideration of the weather forecast, but indoors, you can artificially create the right conditions.
If you know what type of paint you’re using, you can adjust the temperature and humidity. On the other hand, if you know the typical temperature and humidity conditions of the room, you can choose the type of paint that suits you best.
Consider Your Climate
The winter months don’t mean the same thing for everyone. While winters are usually drier and colder than summers, winter in Florida is dramatically different from winter in Maine. If the temperature and humidity in your area frequently fall at the extreme ends of the scale, you’ll need to make more conscious adjustments to achieve good paint results.
Areas with year-round low humidity, such as the southwestern United States, require paints with more moisture because the ambient air will absorb some of the water from the paint. Areas with relative humidity above 50% in winter are better suited for using dehumidifiers in the room you’re painting.
The Auzkin Dehumidifier is a great option for smaller interior spaces. It’s quiet and portable, so it won’t get in the way of your work. The tank holds 26 ounces of water, so you won’t have to constantly refill it and can instead focus on painting.
Conclusion
It is okay to paint interior walls in winter. As long as humidity, temperature, and ventilation are in check, you can paint safely in any room in any season. Choosing paint with fewer harmful chemicals is advantageous, especially if you may not want to leave the windows open to the elements.
Extreme temperatures are not conducive to painting, but making adjustments to the temperature and humidity of your home can easily create the perfect painting environment. A few simple steps can prepare you and your space for a safe and beautiful winter paint job.