So, you’ve (finally) agreed on the colour, removed all of the furniture, taken down the curtains, laid dust sheets, sanded the walls and applied a fresh coat or two of matt emulsion.
Delighted with the results, you eagerly put everything back in its place (except for the clutter of course, which would spoil the overall effect) and are eagerly awaiting the first opportunity to show off the room to anyone who arrives at your front door. Only, there’s a lingering smell of paint in the air…
When this happened to me a little while ago, I was recommended to cut either an onion or a potato in half, and leave it in the room to soak up the smell.
I was on my way to a business meeting in Manchester and, running early, decided to stop at a Greengrocer’s, despite being in a less salubrious part of the city. I pulled up outside in my smart company car, and entered the shop, my tailored suit and tie clearly marking me out as an outsider. I was conscious that all eyes were on me as I perused the vegetables before the owner approached.
“How can I help you?” he asked, probably thinking that I was a policeman or tax officer here on a tip off. His suspicion was no doubt raised when I asked for, “a couple of his oldest onions or potatoes”, probably now assuming that I was from the Health & Safety Inspectorate, here to investigate the quality and freshness of his produce.
He swiftly placed three glorious-looking, large onions into a bag, which he proceeded to thrust into my hand. I thanked him, asking him how much I owed, to which he replied, “Absolutely nothing”, whilst ushering me out of the door as fast as he could.
I never did have the opportunity to explain the real purpose of my visit but, needless to say, the onions worked an absolute treat and the paint fumes had disappeared by the following day.
Special thanks to our guest blogger Andy from Vax who created this post.
