they painted my sons classroom yesterday and....

[ez]

I was under the impression that they would be using a different room for a few days. When I took him to school today they were back in his classroom which reeked of a paint smell, they had the doors and windows open. Am I out of line thinking those kids should not be back in that classroom so soon? I also need to mention this is a classroom full of kids with disabilities, who wouldnt necessarily be able to say if their throat was sore or they were getting a headache. I felt as though my throat felt odd after just 5 minutes in there. I spoke with the assistant principal who said it was water based paint so the painters said it was fine. When I got home I looked on the EPA website and it said you should avoid going in a freshly painted room for 2 to 3 days if possible, especially children. So I went back up to school and took my son home. I feel very irritated right now though, am I overreacting?

 

[Erin1700]

I was under the impression that they would be using a different room for a few days. When I took him to school today they were back in his classroom which reeked of a paint smell, they had the doors and windows open. Am I out of line thinking those kids should not be back in that classroom so soon? I also need to mention this is a classroom full of kids with disabilities, who wouldnt necessarily be able to say if their throat was sore or they were getting a headache. I felt as though my throat felt odd after just 5 minutes in there. I spoke with the assistant principal who said it was water based paint so the painters said it was fine. When I got home I looked on the EPA website and it said you should avoid going in a freshly painted room for 2 to 3 days if possible, especially children. So I went back up to school and took my son home. I feel very irritated right now though, am I overreacting?

I would have needed to take my asthmatic son home too.

 

[rgf207]

99% of people won't have problems. If your child has a problem, take them out.

Nobody uses lead based paints anymore so it's harmless. It's not going to kill anyone.

 

[themilesfamily]

The kids should have been put in a different room for 2-3 days until the room aired out. Not overreacting in my book.

I don't have health problems myself, but I think having to inhale paint fumes for 6 hours would give me a headache.

 

[spacemountainmom]

I am very sensitive to many chemical smells and so is my son. I wouldn't hesitate to take my child home in that situation. I don't think you overreacted whatsoever.

My question is....Why on earth were they painting a classroom during the school year? Especially in the winter? Those projects are done over the summer in our school district. The whole thing seems strange to me.

 

[scrapquitler]

Personally, I think you are overreacting. If your child has a problem, then keep him home, but the huge majority of people are not going to have any issue with the fumes. Latex paints are non-toxic and they probably even used a low fume one.

Realistically, where do you think they will have the children go instead of being in the classroom? At least in our area, there are NOT extra empty classrooms just sitting there for these sorts of situations. They couldn't even put the kids into the gym or the cafeteria, as those rooms are used all day long as well.

That said, I'm surprised they did this sort of thing during the school year. Here they only paint and do those sorts of projects during vacations or in the summer because just imagine all the extra work for the teacher taking down all the things on the walls, moving shelves of books and supplies out of the way etc to prep for painting.

 

[themilesfamily]

That is a really good question?! Why are they painting classrooms during the school year?

My DD's classroom was recently painted and they moved the kids into the library for classes. They actually did several classrooms over a period of a month and rotated the kids into the library while their room was being painted. I never thought to ask why they didn't do that during the summer.

Maybe they hire professional painters and get a discount for doing it during winter months rather than the busy summer months? Maybe they have 9-month staff that does it, and they're not available during the summer.

Now I'm curious!

 

[ez]

yeah of course, that was my first thought too, why arent they doing this over the summer. No one could answer that question for me. It seems like half the kids at school right now are battling some sort of respiratory thing right now, my sons whole class is still getting over something. I am the only parent who actually comes into the class in the morning so the other kids are pretty much stuck there, without their parents knowing.

 

[npmommie]

OP I don't think you are over reacting.
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/voc.html#Health Effects

I would have kept my kid out of the painted classroom too.
I don't even let hubby do any painting here unless windows can be opened and he used the zero VOC paint now, which has far less smell.

 

[Tralliam]

OP I think you did the right thing. Just be glad your schedule is such that you could keep him home.

You might want to send the EPA link to the administration to see if they could relocate the class tomorrow.

About when they did it. If it couldn't wait for spring break why no do it Friday afterschool so it was cleared out by Monday? Very odd.

 

[jen0610]

Personally, I think you are overreacting. If your child has a problem, then keep him home, but the huge majority of people are not going to have any issue with the fumes. Latex paints are non-toxic and they probably even used a low fume one.

Realistically, where do you think they will have the children go instead of being in the classroom? At least in our area, there are NOT extra empty classrooms just sitting there for these sorts of situations. They couldn't even put the kids into the gym or the cafeteria, as those rooms are used all day long as well.

That said, I'm surprised they did this sort of thing during the school year. Here they only paint and do those sorts of projects during vacations or in the summer because just imagine all the extra work for the teacher taking down all the things on the walls, moving shelves of books and supplies out of the way etc to prep for painting.

I would rather the school error on the side of caution, then to wait and see IF a child has a negative reaction to the lingering fumes and/or smells of the paint.

For all we know, there could be that 1 kid that has never been around a freshly painted area, but is that 1 kid that the fumes and/or smell will hit hard, fast and with an ugly result.

The parents don't know their kid will react that way, the school doesn't know for sure, so they should take the needed steps to keep ALL the kids safe.

 

[Fly4free]

I would rather the school error on the side of caution, then to wait and see IF a child has a negative reaction to the lingering fumes and/or smells of the paint.

For all we know, there could be that 1 kid that has never been around a freshly painted area, but is that 1 kid that the fumes and/or smell will hit hard, fast and with an ugly result.

The parents don't know their kid will react that way, the school doesn't know for sure, so they should take the needed steps to keep ALL the kids safe.

That can not be healthy, especially with the large # of kids with asthma these days. I have mild asthma and I know it would bother me. DD has asthma too and once it flares up the sensitivity (to triggers) will continue for weeks.

I think it was a poor decision to expose the kids to these fumes, especially if they are special needs kids and less likely to communicate problems.

 

[mkel34]

99% of people won't have problems. If your child has a problem, take them out.

Nobody uses lead based paints anymore so it's harmless. It's not going to kill anyone.

Then why do they make low/zero voc paints? Why do they tell you to paint in a well ventilated area? Because it is not healthy to breathe in the air.

Why are they painting during the school year?

 

[Minnesota!]

99% of people won't have problems. If your child has a problem, take them out.

Nobody uses lead based paints anymore so it's harmless. It's not going to kill anyone.

Agreed. I painted my kids rooms and they slept in them that night. never would have crossed my mind to not let them be in there. Not a big deal...

 

[rgf207]

Then why do they make low/zero voc paints? Why do they tell you to paint in a well ventilated area? Because it is not healthy to breathe in the air.

Why are they painting during the school year?

I don't know. Why do they tell me that the coffee I'm about to drink is hot? Because there are people that will sue for anything so they need to CYA

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

I work for a painting contractor and most schools use Sherwin Williams Harmony or PPG Pure Performance which have a 0 VOC rating. We use it in hospitals too while patients are in the same area.

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

and while 95% of our school work is done during the summer or over winter break, if there was some sort of repair to the room ie. water leak, wall repair, delayed construction issue, painting happens during the school year.

The OP is in Florida I think and most school districts here require the MSDS (material safety Data Sheet) to be on site before painting begins. Palm Beach County School District is VERY strict with products that can be used on site. We use oil paint (which is stinky) on exterior metal doors only.

 

[undertheradar]

So to those complaining, how many nights do you pay for a hotel room while you paint inside your house?

 

[Art 1]

I was under the impression that they would be using a different room for a few days. When I took him to school today they were back in his classroom which reeked of a paint smell, they had the doors and windows open. Am I out of line thinking those kids should not be back in that classroom so soon? I also need to mention this is a classroom full of kids with disabilities, who wouldnt necessarily be able to say if their throat was sore or they were getting a headache. I felt as though my throat felt odd after just 5 minutes in there. I spoke with the assistant principal who said it was water based paint so the painters said it was fine. When I got home I looked on the EPA website and it said you should avoid going in a freshly painted room for 2 to 3 days if possible, especially children. So I went back up to school and took my son home. I feel very irritated right now though, am I overreacting?

Yes.

 

[npmommie]

So to those complaining, how many nights do you pay for a hotel room while you paint inside your house?

we don't paint every room at the same time. and keep the room being painted well ventilated, even though we use the zero voc paints. hubby just painted our downstairs bathroom, couldn't even smell the paint, but ventilated the room anyway.

when he paints the kids rooms I will have them sleep in another room for one night to be sure.

on another note these fumes are in our homes even when we don't paint or use any other chemical, they say when doing something like painting it can increase it by 1000 percent.

call me crazy, but I have read a can of paint.

I also wanted to add, even if there was NO chance of health issues from sitting in the paint smelly room, I myself would find it uncomfortable and bothersome. I am sensitive to smells like that and I would have a headache for sure.