ᐅ Odor Caused by Silicate Paint on Wallpaper

Hello everyone,

We had our living room professionally plastered and painted. Mineral-based high-quality plaster was applied to the corner walls, while the ceiling was not plastered but wallpapered. Afterwards, the painter suggested painting the walls with silicate paint, as it is better for the plaster and positively affects the indoor climate. We agreed to this, and he painted the entire living room with the paint (HAWO, interior silicate paint).

After moving in, we noticed a strong, unpleasant smell in the living room. Since we also had new flooring installed (laminate), we initially thought the odor came from that and would fade away. However, almost three months have passed, and the smell remains persistent. I then thoroughly inspected the room to find the source of the odor. It seems that the smell primarily comes from the ceiling (silicate paint on wallpaper) and an area behind the kitchen (silicate paint applied directly onto a gypsum wall). The regular walls appear to be either unaffected or much less affected by the odor problem.

Has anyone had similar experiences or can explain this odor issue? I plan to discuss it with the painter as well, but the current situation might make this difficult.

Best regards

Can you describe the smell? Is it more like a solvent or does it smell more like old masonry?

The smell is hard to describe; I wouldn’t call it solvent-like. So, it’s not a sharp chemical odor like with paint or similar products.

It smells very rancid and heavy.

Could there be some rot behind the wallpaper?

Hm, so the wall was sanded and skim-coated before being wallpapered again. The odor also develops on parts of the wall where no plaster was applied. Nothing there can actually "rot."

I'm not an expert, but isn't silicate paint supposed to be applied on concrete or cement plaster? Or do you have a mineral-based wallpaper?