As nice as freshly painted rooms can look, it can be extremely off putting when the paint fumes linger, making you unable to furnish the room - but one expert has shared five easy ways to banish the fumes

Love it or hate it, a freshly painted room can look seriously smart - but the strong smell of paint fumes can put anyone off. Now an expert has shared some easy tips and tricks to help banish the putent smell, and they cost as little as 12p.

Home renovations can be exciting, and there is nothing more satisfying than seeing a room come together. So to easily finish off your room and not worry about the smell lingering, paint and interiors Expert, Anjelica Delfino, from Valspar Paint has revealed the five easy ways to get rid of the fumes

Onions

The first, and cheapest way is with onions - these are the secret ingredient to banish any paint smells. Anjelica advised to "simply chop an onion in half and place in the room you are painting." She said the smell will disappear "in no time". The only downside to this trick is that the house may smell of onions but the expert said it "certainly does the trick" to getting rid of those paint smells "as onions contain a chemical that neutralises the chemicals that makes any paint smell". You can buy loose onions for 12p from Tesco.

Baking soda

According to Anjelica, baking soda "works like magic" when it comes to getting rid of paint fumes. Baking soda will naturally absorb any smells. so pouring it onto plates and popping around the painted room overnight will help get rid of the lurking scent. "Leave it overnight and then throw it away in the morning. For soft furnishings like carpet or your sofa, sprinkle the baking soda over it, leave overnight and use a vacuum to clean it up the next day," the expert advised. You can buy baking soda for 59p from Sainsbury's.

Ventilation

Anjelica stated that ventilation is "key" and that keeping the room you're decorating well ventilated will help get rid of paint smells. However if you need to increase the airflow, the pro suggested to "place a couple of rotating fans around the room, angled towards an open window, and they'll help to speed up the process and get rid of the fumes in no time at all."

Activated Charcoal

Similarly to baking soda, activated charcoal is another "natural odour absorber". Just by placing a small amount of activated charcoal around the room and leaving it for a day - you'll notice the smell will have disappeared.

Keeping cool

This is mostly for those doing some decorating in winter. Anjelica stressed to not have the heating on, as it will "increase the amount of time the paint smell lingers". Instead, she suggested to wait until the the paint has dried before you put the heating on and said you should try and keep the room cool at all times to help get rid of the smell as quickly as possible.