Should I Paint Inside When It’s Cold Outside?

​Common wisdom dictates that house painting should be done when during summer when the daylight is long, the sun is up, and temperatures are ideal for the paint. But when the cold weather starts rolling in, does it mean that it’s too late to pain your house and any painting job should wait until the following year’s summer season already?

​While painting outdoor surfaces poses several problems and challenges, 

painting indoors can be done at any time of the year, even during winter. 

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​The reason why painting jobs are usually done during the warmer months is because paint generally needs warm temperatures for it to dry completely and cure before it can be exposed to harsh conditions. Yes, paint protects surfaces from harsh conditions, but before it can do its job it has to be protected from the same harsh conditions until it is ready. That is when it has completely dried and adhered well to the surfaces it is supposed to protect. 

​When painting indoors, the weather does not cause so much trouble because conditions indoors can be regulated so that the paint can dry and cure despite the conditions outside. For optimum results in your indoor painting job, read on to know more about some tips that can help you with a successful painting job during the cold weather

​Important Pointers to Remember When Painting Indoors During the Cold Weather

1. The Type of Paint
A special consideration when you are painting indoors, especially during the cold months, is the type of paint you will use for the job. Most paints give off fumes while they dry and cure. These fumes are made of chemicals called volatile organic compounds that can be harmful to you, your family, and your pets. They also smell really bad and will tend to irritate your nose if you inhale them. So, if you don’t take precautions, you will be exposed to some really uncomfortable conditions. If you will not be using the room you are painting soon, you can simply leave the room for a very long time to let fumes completely dissipate out of the room before you use the room again. However, that would be a complete waste of space and in the cold weather you can’t just leave a window open to allow the fumes to dissipate.

You can counter this issue by using low- or non-VOC paints. These types of paints are considered to be the safest types of paints because they either have reduced levels of volatile organic compounds or none at all. This makes such paints convenient to use for indoor painting. Their smell is not as strong as regular paints and not as irritating so you can use the room soon after you have finished the painting job without worrying about health issues for you and your family. It’s even safe enough to sleep in a few hours after the paint has set.

On the other hand, these paints are a pricier alternative compared to regular paints. They are specially designed so that the harmful fumes from VOCs are reduced which makes it more complex to produce. You also have a limited variety to choose from in terms of paint colors. Even with such disadvantages, the convenience of being able to use your room soon after painting it is a reward that can outweigh the disadvantages. In addition to that, there really should be no price for the security that your home is safe from harmful chemicals that can cause health issues to you and your family.

2. Outdoor Temperatures
It’s not impossible to do a painting job indoors during the cold weather, but you still will need to take into consideration the temperatures outside because the cold temperature permeates into the indoor environment. In general, paint needs to be applied when the ambient temperature is between 50-70 degrees. Lower than these temperatures, your paint will freeze, and you will have problems with regards to color quality, water spotting, inconsistent drying time, and film-cracking.

What you can do is schedule your painting job when the weather is not too cold. Thankfully, the winters in Georgia are mild enough that you can possibly paint your indoor rooms during winter without a problem. The winter season might even help your paint dry faster because of the low humidity in the air. When the air is dry, it quickly picks up moisture so you won’t need to worry about extended drying periods. But less humid winters is not always the case though, so it still pays to be sure to check actual humidity levels. If humidity is high, takes extra precautions to ensure that the surfaces you are painting on is dry.

3. Your Wall’s Temperature
Even when the ambient temperature in the room you are painting on has already been controlled, the walls that will receive the new paint might not have the ideal temperatures. This is true for walls that have their opposite side exposed to the outside of the house.

The cold temperature from outside can easily permeate through the walls so that the wall will have a cold temperature compared to the ambient atmosphere in the room. If this is a problem for the room you are painting in, it might be useful to turn up the heater above your desired ambient temperature so that the cold air permeating through the walls can be countered by the heat given off by your heaters.

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4. Heating Bill
When you’re painting during the cold weather, you might be tempted to crack open a window to let out the fumes coming from the drying paint. This method will increase your heating bill because the cold temperature from the outside will move into the room. This means that your heater will have to work extra hard to keep your room warm, thus, you have a raised heating bill compared to your regular bill when you’re not doing any painting job. Another reason for the increased heating bill is that if the temperatures outside are too cold, your heater will need more energy to maintain the optimum temperature for your paint so that it will dry thoroughly.

To avoid needing to open windows to vent out fumes, you can use low- or zero-VOC paints that don’t expel harmful fumes so that no fumes will need to dissipate out of your room. And to avoid the problem of your heating working too hard to maintain optimum temperatures, you can schedule the painting job during times when the temperature outside is not too cold.

5. Ventilation
It’s not always possible to have adequate ventilation in your newly painted room during the cold season. Since opening windows or doors while your paint is drying will pose problems for you, including higher heating bills and the possibility that unwanted elements from the outside will enter your newly painted room, you might want to consider setting up temporary ventilation in your room. These will help the paint dry faster and save you from the irritants coming from the paint.

With all these things in mind, here are some reasons why you might opt to paint your interior rooms during winter:

1. Your room needs it.
If you see your room sorely lacking the color that you want it to be, the cold weather shouldn’t stop you from painting your room. After all, there are solutions that will allow you to paint indoors when the weather outside doesn’t permit it.

2. There’s not much competition for paint contractors during winter.
Winter is not painting season. So, if you’re planning to have your room painted by contractors, which is always a good idea if you are particular about the quality of the painting job, the winter season will be helpful for you as it will be easier to find contractors who are available to do the painting job. You might even get a discount because it’s not peak season for painting jobs.

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​3. You might not have time for painting rooms during summer and spring.
When the weather is nice, there are plenty of activities that you can do other than painting a room. You can use your time for all the outdoor activities that you want to do during summer and spring instead. In addition, you might want to hold parties in your home during these seasons, so it will be best to have your rooms ready for those parties before these seasons actually rolls in.

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Come winter time, when you suddenly feel the urge to freshen up your rooms with new paint, the cold weather outside will not be a hindrance for you anymore. With all the tips written above, you can surely paint your rooms without worrying too much about the effects of the cold weather outside.

​Just make sure that you use a paint that’s safe to use even without ventilation or one of those paints that can tolerate a colder temperature compared to regular paints and you are set to paint. 

If you need a reputable house painting professionals in Warner Robins, Macon region who understand the needs of their clients look no further. Contact the experts at Pizzazz Painters Warner Robins.
Check us at https://www.pizzazzpainterswarnerrobins.com/ and schedule your appointment for a free painting estimate or call us at 478-292-2821. We are here to help!

​Painters proudly serving in Warner Robins, Macon, Bonaire, Byron, Kathleen, Lizella, Perry, Fort Valley
Bibb County Georgia, Houston County Georgia, Peach County Georgia, Macon County Georgia, Crawford County Georgia.

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