If you feel like putting off painting your house, it might be a good idea. Waiting until the time is right can improve the result and increase the longevity of your paint. While it’s obvious that outside conditions must be right for painting your home’s exterior, they also play a role in interior painting.

Here, we explain the best time of year to paint your home and how weather, precipitation, and temperature influence painting conditions.

When Is the Best Time of Year to Paint Your Home?

The best times of year to paint your home are early summer and early fall. In most climates, these seasonal windows present the best balance of temperature and humidity and offer the lowest chance of precipitation.

Factors That Influence Whether You Should Paint

Just because early summer and early fall are prime times to paint your house, that doesn’t mean you can’t paint it at any other time of the year. Here are factors to consider when determining whether it is a good time to paint your house or whether it would be better to wait.

Weather

Weather is undoubtedly the most crucial concern when scheduling a painting day, especially if you’re painting your home’s exterior. Painting on a rainy day simply won’t work, but it’s not just about the rain itself.

Unstable weather conditions, such as fluctuations in temperature and humidity and unexpected wind, often accompany rain. These factors can influence how the paint goes on, what the end product looks like, and how long it lasts.

If the forecast calls for rain, your paint will likely be fine if the rain doesn’t start until at least six hours after you paint your home’s exterior. However, the type of paint you use affects this timeline. If you’re using oil-based paint, plan for at least 24 hours without rain after the application.

Temperature

Painting during extreme cold or extreme heat can compromise the paint. If you pick up a paint can and turn it around, you will find instructions regarding proper application temperature. Usually, the paint manufacturer specifies a temperature window in which the paint is intended to be applied. The paint is engineered to dry properly inside that temperature window.

For example, latex-based paint might say to apply in temperatures between 50°F and 85°F, while oil-based paint may say between 40°F and 90°F.

Humidity

Most paint manufacturers also offer guidelines regarding proper humidity for paint application. Although manufacturers differ on their preferred humidity windows, most agree that the ideal humidity is between 40% and 50%, but that paint can still be applied in up to 70% humidity.

Humidity and temperature alter how the paint dries. Drying too fast or too slow can affect how the paint adheres and compromise its longevity, resulting in premature failure.

Wind

So, the temperature and humidity are balanced, and the sky is clear, but it’s a breezy day. Should you wait to paint? Yes. Not only can wind blow debris into your wet paint and ruin its appearance, but the wind can cause the paint to dry too quickly.

Time of Day

You probably have a busy schedule. You may consider staying up late to paint or waking up extra early to knock it out before your busy workday begins, but you should rethink this decision.

Experts agree that you shouldn’t start painting outdoors before 10 a.m., as the morning dew has yet to evaporate. As a result, the humidity is higher at this time. Painting at night has similar humidity concerns, as the dew sets in late in the day and increases the humidity levels.

Additionally, the late afternoon sun can be harsh, and its lower position in the sky can lead to it shining directly on your painted surface, which can compromise the paint’s finish and even blister the paint.

The Worst Time to Paint Your House

Now that you know the best time of year to paint your house, here’s how to tell when you shouldn’t. While it’s not impossible to paint in the winter, early spring, summer, or late fall, you must make sure the outside conditions are ideal.

If any of the following statements are true, wait until another day to paint your house:

• It’s windy.
• It’s rainy.
• It’s too hot.
• It’s too cold.
• It’s too humid.
• It’s too dry.
• It’s too early in the day.
• It’s too late at night.
• There are uneven lighting conditions.
• It’s supposed to rain the next day.