Kilz is not toxic, yes it has a very strong smell while applying and will help on walls and flooring for you needs.

Ken

It definitely off gasses a lot the first few days which can be harmful. I would try to sleep in another room and keep the area well ventilated until the strong smell subsides.

I come from a family of painters and used it through out time, they would not be able to sell it if it is toxic! It is the best product to kill stains and odor which if you really think about it is the toxic part. It kills that toxic part and helps you. its strong smelling just like oil paint is too.

Ken

when you say clean the walls, with what and how? when you say prime, do you mean something other than kilz?

Kilz is the primer so you don't need to use something else with it. Lots of online advice and tutorials if you search: how to clean walls before painting.

We use BIN Zinsser all the time for sealing for stain bleeding & smells.

Her problem is that someone has already painted over the walls. Probably without washing them enough first. Now there is lingering tar and nicotine stuck under the paint and smoke smell in the wall space itself. I think there is a way to make some small holes in the drywall and flush that space with ozium. Then yes, patch the holes and seal the walls with Bin shellac and repaint. (Maybe even two coats of primer.) In a closet, the problem is mostly from smoky clothes, I think. Who hangs out smoking in their closet? Also over time the smell will diminish. BTW - I love how Kilz and Bin smell. Same with old time paint and nail polish.

When we moved out to Texas our plan was to rent a house for a year to see where we wanted to buy. The house we rented was freshly painted, with Kilz primer, new carpets, etc. After a month when I would walk into the house I could kind of smell cig smoke. Later on it got worse. My neighbors told me a long term smoker lived in the house. You could actually see nicotine bleeding out of the paint, long brown streaks of goo. It was horrible, we broke the lease and bought,,,,in Waco......There are few real solutions to cigarette smoke damage to a home. Painting over the walls, with anything, is not one of them. btw, I used Kilz primer in our entire current house, so l love the product.

Waco is right. You really have to wash the walls, repeatedly, with bleach before you prime with BIN.

You can get Kilz that is water based primer but IMO a shellac based primer is what you need to have no bleed through but honestly the best solution is to remove the drywall and redo it that smell will always come back

Yes and its much worse in smaller homes, with low ceilings and in climates where the windows are always closed. And in spaces, like closets that don't have windows or vents. I have rentals that were built in the 50s, so I know there was smoking but they don't smell now.

Doesn’t just about everything carry that “causes cancer and birth defects” warning these days? (Prop 65)

personally, I would look up the msds and see if there are any chemicals of concern in it, and in what amounts. In the case of KILZ, I imagine it has VOCs and silica compounds (silica is fairly ubiquitous in paints)

Another vote for Zinsser BIN Shellac. We had some black mastic chips left on the walls from a linoleum backsplash. (Thank youn1960s) I had two layers of skim coat, and three coats of Killz up and it was still bleeding through. One coat of Zinsser and it was gone.

I would agree, I work with a healthy painter who came out of the ohio area and has been painting for some 40 years.. apparently everyone smokes there? that said, this thread is full of misleading info from those who don’t get it! “ doesn’t everything cause cancer”! NO it doesn’t.. you just have to do your due-diligence and research.. stop going to Home Depot!

By the way, Bleach doesn’t kill mold, nor get rid of smoke damaged walls...

This is the wackiest thread:

Killz will kill you!

It's the best stuff ever!

It will melt your face off!

It will land you in the burn unit!

Hey, that's awesome, where can I buy it!?!

Bleach really does kill mold.

No, it really doesn't.

Bleach kills mold on surfaces it contacts. 10% bleach for pools. It's very effective and cheap from Walmart. Just wear old clothes, gloves, goggles and respirator with fans and windows open.

Tobacco odor is tough but can be covered, though agree that replacing sheetrock and insulation is most thorough. Besides good sealer/primer coats, caulking renting ozone machines for couple days...don't forget to clean the ducting. Our house had flexi-ducting throughout. It was practically impossible to clean so I ended up replacing it all.

Hi My name is Allen. We painted our house in November of last year with Kilz Drywall Primer and For about 4-5 month we had this terrible odor in our living room. we had to turn off central air and purchase a portable HVAC unit, isolating our selves to one side of the house. During this period my wife became sick when she was watching TV within the painted area. We had to rush her tot he ER. I have been in contact with KILZ and Home Depot with no resolution. At first all i wanted them to do was to pay for to correct the issue based on quotes that i had gotten from Paint company's that had seen this issue before. They tested the paint and said it came back within the range for the reference sample they had, they also mentioned that the test did not verify the presence of ammonia. They agreed t give me $500 towards a project that cost $5000 to redo if i waive legal rights to KILZ and Home Depot. I have moved forward with a lawyer that is handling the case, we are trying to get enough people together to file a Class action lawsuit. If you are interested in being apart of this lawsuit please contact Lawyer Kathy Johnson at starletteuniverse@yahoo.com.

Everybody wants to blame and sue instead of following the directions.

Folks, I had Armstrong ceiling tiles installed years ago. During times of high heat it gives off a noxious odor. Will they BIN by Zinssef cover up the smell and not b as toxic as Kikz sounds? Sorry, this ll not let me correct tying. it be in by Zinzer cr up the?

@green designs, there is no exception or tolerance for products that are sold that may bring harm to consumers. All instructions were followed, these products are toxic and should never be sold on the market. This stuff causes damage to neural/nervous systems in the body. How much money can bring back life...you tell me!

I agree Ben, if you are following directions but the product is harmful to that person, directions are useless. But, what is "harmful" to one person may not be to another. Some smokers live into their 90's, other dies after way earlier from the symptoms. My Uncle lived into his 90's and he was around so many chemicals, fertilizers, weed killers, burning "smudge pots", etc as a fruit rancher.

https://hpd.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/brands?tbl=brands&id=13012010

I recently had an ac guy here and he cleaned my ac and my air ducts. I live in an apartment. He used Kilz on the inside of my air ducts and now 3 days later it still smells like metal in my apartment. Does anyone know if this product was supposed to be used in the air ducts. Also, I live in florida so I need to keep air on all the time, will this smell go away, and how toxic is it ? Please someone, and thank you.

Do not use Killz. It is nasty stuff and a temporary solution. if The dry wall is infected replace it.

I had a terrible experience with kilz. please Please Please....got to sherwin-williams and buy a zero VOC paint. you will be better off...Please Please!!! I had my house open for three month does to off gassing. we had to purchase a windows unit and bunk up in one room that had access to the outside. No central Air for three month!!, dont so it!!!

I have just used Zinsser BIN primer in my daughters bedroom. How long should I leave it before letting her sleep in her room. I want her to be safe sleeping in her room.

Everyone in the US over the age of 45 is guaranteed to have lived at least part of their life in homes painted with oil-based paint with lots of lead that off-gassed huge amounts of solvents as they dried. Are you dead yet?

Come on, get a dose of reality. The sky is not falling, Chicken Little, no matter what Prop 65 would lead you to think.

Thanks for taking the time to reply but not sure how constructive it was. Whilst I don't wrap my kids in cotton wool I don't think it's unreasonable to ask if anyone knows if there is any legitimate advice on whether it causes any respiratory issues before it's fully cured.

IT IS HIGHLY TOXIC !!

IT UNDERMINED MY NERVOUS SYSTEM IN A BIG WAY! now, many comment that it is not without differentiating between the products KILZ sell. THAT IS WRONG. At the store they recommended the OIL-BASED KILZ primer. I used it, ventilated the room with a powerful fan blowing out the window and still messed me up! KILZ does KILLS! thanks to KILZ I AM NOW SERIOUSLY CHEMICAL SENSITIVE ( after using KILZ I feel even sicker with any oil-based so called products, KILZ being the # 1 offender.)

it is the worst crap I ever came across!!

After several months of KILZ PRIMER lingering in the room and getting in the A/C ducts and to the rest of the house, I REMOVED THE SHEETROCK from the ceiling and the walls where I had applied it. Now the room is back to perfect and a healthy one to sleep in. My oldest son who returned from overseas now sleeps in that room.

HU-463781773 - update on IT IS HIGHLY TOXIC !!

it's been four months since I previously wrote. My health continues to deteriorate ever since I used the oil based KILZ primer! (most dont specify which KILZ product they're talking about which is useless or misleading for others who want a serious answer!). And yes, it is serious; the label on the oil based kilz I used states it can cause permanent damage to the central nervous system. so, you tell me, is it toxic?

I followed all the indications for "proper application" : a super strong fan blowing out air out the window in a room that to begin with has cross ventilation; after applying it kept the door shut with the fan going for weeks since the smell (offgassing) wouldnt go away! ). it started getting into the other rooms through the AC ducts. I started feeling real tight on the back base of my head (cerebellum) when I finally realized following instructions was not enough and how toxic and harmful this oil-based KILZ primer actually IS !

So I went "overnight" from being in good health to one of central nervous system serious problems due to oil-based KILZ primer for interior home use!

Sorry Hu, correlation is not causation. Rising ice cream sales in summertime is positively correlated to a rise in drownings. Obviously eating ice cream does not cause drowning. You may have experienced problems at the same time you used Kilz. That does not mean that Kilz caused your problems.

I have used this product several times and think it is amazing also. If you are putting it in the floor in a bedroom , you need to open windows and create ventilation while putting it on and allow it to dry fir 2-3 hours. Don’t sleep in room till the smell goes away is my recommendation. Give it a few hours like 5 or more Before sleeping in the room. Great product!

Anyone that says Binz or Kilz oil base primer is not toxic should paint with it in a closed room for about an hour and then tell me how they feel..JERKS

DO NOT USED INSIDE UNLESS YOU HAVE A RESPIRATOR, TYVEK SUIT, GLOVES AND THE HOUSE IS PROPERLY VENTILATED!! THIS STUFF WILL ALSO PERMEATE YOUR PORES OF ANY EXPOSED SKIN

Kilz tried to kill me today. I've used their products for over twenty years and swore by them. So when I remodeled my bathroom, it was a no brainer to get Kilz Original primer to put over new drywall. At first I couldn't smell anything and then I started getting light headed and then started vomiting until dry heaving. I had just a little to finish and needed to get up on a step ladder, but was too dizzy and dry heaving again. Then the smell hit with the worse after taste imaginable. It's still leaching out of my pores. I had to shower and put my clothes and shoes outside. I cannot go into the house at all without getting sick all over again. This has never happened to me before and I've done plenty of painting in my sixty years. Now I have a mess to fix and weather is against me. I'm very ill as I type and feel as if I've been poisoned and my limbs are cramping as never before. Now I need to detox. I put a pregnant rabbit in the house. I hope she is still alive come morning.

I painted with Kilz primer close to 2 months ago, and my experience was as awful as some of the people have stated in this forum. I ended up with massive migraines and temporary cognitive issues that lasted many days. If that wasn't bad enough, the smell won't go away no matter what I do. As of now, I have two open windows, a fan blowing toward said windows, a ceiling fan running, and two air filters all to no avail. I've had this room sealed off ever since painting it and at this point don't know when I'll be able to ever used it. The room keeps off gassing, especially on sunny days when the living room gets warm. I tried the "bake it out" method but that didn't work either.

Hi..Some type of ordor blocking primer was used on the interior walls and closets of the 1200sq ft, 1970 built condo i purchased one month ago. the ordor is sooooo very strong. I beleive it was also used on my kitchen cabinets. it was used to mask the cigerette smoke, which i still smell in the finished basement....im in central ohio and winter is coming.....please, need advice!

Ammonia and water solution to clean walls,trim,doors. Use a sponge mop for walls and make sure to rinse well . Use a cartridge resirator nuisannce vapors When dry use Bin alcoholBased primer, the stink of primer will dissipate quickly.

The oil based primer is toxic, and should only be used with the correct respiratory protection. For a high Volatile organic compound (VOCs) oil based paint like Killz, that means a VOC rated respirator, NOT just a simple dusk mask or particulate matter respirator. A full face respirator is preferred to prevent absorbtion through the eyes, but a half face should do for shorter jobs as inhalation is the primary route of exposure. Proper ventilation is recommended in ADDITION to this, not as a replacement. If you're only doing a small job you likely do not need skin protection. However, if you'll be painting for extended periods you'll also want a tyvek suit to prevent dermal (skin) absorbtion. If you don't follow this, you'll at minimum get lightheaded over a small job. At the worst, you can permanently damage your nasal passages and lungs if you're breathing the wet paint directly over a long period. Once it dries, the off gassing will be minimal and is likely not to cause side effects. Usually after about 3-5 days. However, the paint doesn't acually tfully dry (cure) for up 90 days, though it's not likely to be noticable odorous during this time. For those who care about covering persistent stains, you need to use an oil based or shellac based primer.. to "seal" the contaminated drywall. Most stains are water based and so will diffuse into water based paints. So make sure you're taking these precautions.

Killz is toxic! Look at their own hazards data sheet. Always at least Google something this important, instead of asking a bunch of people who are clearly dolts. I got very, very sick from the fumes of this stuff, which as the poisonous substances data sheet from THEIR OWN COMPANY clearly states that the vapors should not be breathed.

Killz is toxic! Look at their own hazards data sheet. Always at least Google something this important, instead of asking a bunch of people who are clearly dolts. I got very, very sick from the fumes of this stuff, which as the poisonous substances data sheet from THEIR OWN COMPANY clearly states that the vapors should not be breathed.

**Hazardous**

go to kilz msds sheet

(all products have “material safety/specs data sheets” - this is a product requirement in the US explaining the ingredients, if there are any hazards, etc..

These sheets are for your information to inform of specs of chemicals

READ BEFORE USING CHEMICALS -

I was poisoned by a chemical in my 30’s - If I had been made aware of this specs sheet it could have spared me from this horrible experience

Kilz original primer smells so strong. Even after 6 months, the room is still smell and gave me an headach and lung irritation. This product should not be sold in store.