Moving into a new home can be an incredibly exciting time. As you embark on your new adventure and begin moving into a new living space, painting can be a great way to make your new home unique to you. 

When painting a new home, several factors are key to consider for both your convenience and safety. 

In this article, we take you through everything you need to know about painting your new home, including why it is more advantageous to paint before you move in and important safety precautions to keep in mind throughout the painting process.

Keep reading to discover the best time to paint your new home when moving in!

New Home Painting 101: What to Know About Painting Your New Home

Before you begin the process of painting your home, it is vital to consider a few important factors:

• Interior vs. Exterior Painting: Exterior painting refers to painting the outside of your home and can generally be done whenever you see fit. Meanwhile, interior painting can be a little more intensive, as you must consider how painting the inside of your house may affect your living situation. Interior painting can require you to re-organize your home and avoid certain rooms while the paint fumes dry, making it highly important to be strategic with your interior painting. 
• Protecting Furniture & Belongings: As mentioned, when painting the interior of your home, you need to consider where to keep your furniture and belongings. Ideally, any time you paint a room you should remove all large furniture from the room and move any remaining belongings toward the center of the room where they are safely away from the walls. You may also need to do some re-arranging to place drop cloths and other protective equipment. 
• Paint Fumes: Painting indoors can produce paint fumes that present varying levels of health concerns for anyone living in the home. The safety of painting indoors can depend on many factors, such as the type of paint used, whether or not you use personal safety equipment, and whether or not you give the paint proper time to dry before re-inhabiting the room. Stick with us, as we will discuss the safety concerns of paint fumes in greater depth later on. 
• Your Moving Timeline: The last key consideration for painting your new home is your moving timeline. In a perfect world, you would have plenty of time to paint the interior of your home before you move in to make the move-in process as simple as possible. However, this is not always going to be the case — many people often have short timeframes between when they need to move out of their current home and move into a new one. It may be necessary to hire a reliable moving company in Texas to help you manage your moving timeline efficiently.

Why is Painting Before Moving In Better?

Whenever possible, it is always more ideal to paint the interior of a home before you move in. Generally we recommend to paint the unit or house followed by a move in clean.

Painting your home before moving in is the more convenient and safe option in most cases, as this gives the paint time to dry before you begin living in the space. Moreover, painting before you move in ensures that you have plenty of space to work with and do not have to shuffle your furniture and belongings around during the painting process.

If you plan on hiring a professional indoor painting crew to paint the interior of your home, it can be especially beneficial to do so before you settle into your new home. By having a paint crew paint your home before your move-in date, you can enjoy your new space immediately without any additional people crowding up the space while you are trying to move in. 

Overall, completing any painting activities before your move-in date is almost always the better option than painting after you have moved into a new home. 

What are Paint Fumes & How Long Do They Last?

Depending on the type of paint you use in the interior of your home, you may need to consider the potential health effects of paint fumes in your home.

In general, you should wait at least 24 hours after painting in a room to spend time in that room or add your furniture, décor, or belongings into the space. The paint should be dry to the touch before you begin regularly inhabiting any given room.

Additionally, you should try to air out a room as much as possible following a paint job. If a room does not have exterior windows or good ventilation, using a fan or air purifier can be a good way to move paint fumes out of the room and help the room air out more quickly. 

Here is an overview of the different types of indoor paints and the fumes they produce:

• Oil-Based Paint: Oil-based paint is made up of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are considered toxic to the environment and to your health. In general, oil-based paint is not recommended for painting your home’s interior. However, this paint can be found at hardware stores and is commonly used for painting fixtures like cabinets. This makes it incredibly important to pay attention to what type of paint you are purchasing. 
• Acrylic-Based Paint: Acrylic-based paint is a chemical-based paint that is comprised of an acrylic polymer solution and acrylic resin. Acrylic paints have grown immensely in popularity over recent years for indoor painting thanks to their water-resistant nature and quick dry time. Though you should still give acrylic-based paint ample time to dry, this type of indoor paint is generally considered safer when it comes to paint fumes in your home. 
• Latex-Based Paint: Latex-based paint is a water-based paint that is similar to acrylic paint and uses an acrylic resin in its formula. Thanks to being water-based, latex paint often lacks the same level of chemicals or VOCs that make oil and acrylic paints more risky for indoor use. Latex paint is generally regarded as the best option for painting interior spaces, though this paint can take a little longer to dry compared to acrylic paint. 

Is it Safe to be in the House While Painting?

While you can opt for latex paints that are much safer for indoor use, it is always important to take the necessary safety precautions when painting your home. 

If you plan to paint your home yourself, it is recommended to purchase some kind of facial mask to protect yourself from the fumes produced during the painting process. Additionally, you should invest in a pair of gloves to protect your hands and wear clothes you don’t mind ruining with paint. 

Ideally, you will have time to let your interior spaces dry completely before moving in. However, if you do need to move in before your interior paint has had enough time to dry, make sure you have fans and/or air purifiers handy to help filter out paint fumes.

Final Thoughts: Should You Hire a Professional Painting Crew?

To simplify the painting process — and to lessen your moving to-do list — consider hiring a professional painting crew to paint your home’s interior before you move in.

Working with a professional paint crew comes with many advantages, including:

• A high-quality end result
• Professional advice on how to avoid paint fumes
• Proper handling of paint and supplies
• Safe storage of paint

Remember to always give paint ample time to dry before moving into a home!