Painting - Getting Rid of Paint Smells

Any suggestions for getting rid of Latex paint and primer smells? I am working on our nursery. My wife is pregnant with our first child, and knowing that she doesn't care for paint smells to begin with, I'm looking for suggestions. The current temperature outside is 24, so opening the windows isn't an option. I have already closed the vents in the room to try to keep the furnace from spreading the odors throughout the house.

by closing the vents, you're just trapping all the fumes in the room, which won't help a thing. the only thing i've ever heard work was using fans, opening windows & letting the fumes dissipate. so how about closing the door to the room, opening the window in that room & aiming a fan placed opposite the window toward the window. then just that one room will be cold for a while.

it's too late for this now, but knowing your wife is extra-sensitive to paint fumes, that it's cold out, and that a newborn will be using the room, you would've benefitted greatly from using one of the low-odor paints. :o (hope your wife isn't due for a while!)

P.S. congrats on the soon-to-be new one! :)

As Annette said the only real way to disapate the smell is fresh air circulation. You can try to cover the smell up with different odors but air circulation and time are the only sure cure.

Thank you for the info. We haven't bought the paint yet, so I will probably go the low-odor route. I have been patching, repairing, and spot-priming (Kilz2) a few areas on the ceiling and in the closet where the previous owners did a horrible patch job on a crack. Any recommendations on low odor brands, primer and paint? Also, my wife isn't due until June, but I am a teacher, so since I am on Christmas break, this is a good time for me to be working on it.

SWP sells low odor and so does BMoore. I'm sure there many other brands that do as well. For some people low odor paint still has an offensive smell but it works well for others.

During and after you paint be sure to keep the room warm so the paint can dry properly. If paint freezes on the wall it can later be scraped off and nobody wants to do a job twice.

Sherwin Williams Harmony line
Ben Moore's Ecospec line