# Does PLA smell / is printing PLA indoors safe?

Do not treat PLA as odorless or as safe for a closed room. A 2016 chamber study still measured ultrafine particles from PLA printers, and lactide from PLA at about 4 to 5 micrograms per minute. It says to be careful in a poorly ventilated small office or without combined gas and particle filtration. The comments do not measure smell or particles.

Do not treat PLA as odorless or as safe for a closed room. A 2016 chamber study still measured ultrafine particles from PLA printers, and lactide from PLA at about 4 to 5 micrograms per minute. It says to be careful in a poorly ventilated small office or without combined gas and particle filtration. The comments do not measure smell or particles.

Indoor PLA is still a printer in a room. [ABS and ASA fumes](/answers/abs_fumes) is the styrene comparison from the same paper. [Food contact](/answers/food-contact) is the spoon, cutter, and feeder question. Neither page is a room certificate, and the PLA rows below are not one either.
## The paper, then the spools

Azimi and coauthors, [Environmental Science & Technology, 2016](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.5b04983), measured ultrafine particles from PLA printers and lactide from PLA at about 4 to 5 micrograms per minute. Styrene from ABS and HIPS in that paper is about 10 to 110 micrograms per minute. The screening result they state is caution in a poorly ventilated small office, or without combined gas and particle filtration. The paper does not certify a hobby filter. Those figures are the ones already used on the fumes page.

[Bambu PLA Basic](/brand/bambu-lab/pla-basic) lists 190–230 °C (374–446 °F), a bed of 35–45 °C (95–113 °F), and drying at 50 °C (122 °F) for 8 h, checked 14 October 2026. [PolyLite PLA](/brand/polymaker/polylite-pla) lists drying at 55 °C (131 °F) for 6 h and a bed of 25–60 °C (77–140 °F) on the product page checked the same day, with an Open Filament Database nozzle of 190–230 °C (374–446 °F). [ELEGOO PLA Basic](/brand/elegoo/pla-basic) lists 190–230 °C (374–446 °F), a bed of 35–65 °C (95–149 °F), and drying at 50 °C (122 °F) for 8 h, checked 14 October 2026. No safety certification is listed.

[Bambu PLA Aero](/brand/bambu-lab/pla-aero), datasheet checked 23 October 2026, lists odor as odorless. The same sheet says the user is responsible for safety. Odorless on that sheet is not a particle count.

Updated 2026-10-23. Sources accessed 2026-10-23. Use case: PLA.

## Ranked filaments

| Rank | Filament | Nozzle | Bed | Price per kg |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Bambu Lab PLA Basic | 190–230 °C (374–446 °F) | 35–45 °C (95–113 °F) | — |
| 2 | Polymaker Polylite PLA | 190–230 °C (374–446 °F) | 25–60 °C (77–140 °F) | — |
| 3 | ELEGOO PLA Basic | 190–230 °C (374–446 °F) | 35–65 °C (95–149 °F) | — |

## Sources

- [Azimi et al. 2016, Environmental Science & Technology, DOI 10.1021/acs.est.5b04983](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.5b04983) (other)
- [Bambu PLA Basic technical data sheet](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0584/7236/6216/files/Bambu_PLA_Basic_Technical_Data_Sheet_bf3411ce-be39-4db7-9669-1b4671d2196b.pdf?v=1734060943) (datasheet)
- [Polymaker PolyLite PLA product page](https://us.polymaker.com/products/polylite-pla) (manufacturer)
- [ELEGOO PLA Basic product page](https://us.elegoo.com/products/pla-basic-filament-1-75-mm-colored-10kg) (manufacturer)
- [Bambu Lab PLA Aero technical data sheet](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0574/3116/2995/files/Bambu_PLA_Aero_Technical_Data_Sheet.pdf?v=1715335547) (datasheet)
- [a Reddit thread in r/3Dprinting](https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/19bx2ov/) (reddit)
- [a Reddit thread in r/3Dprinting](https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/s0jt9v/) (reddit)
- [a Reddit thread in r/3Dprinting](https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/1wyrrhj/) (reddit)
- [a Reddit thread in r/3Dprinting](https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/1ps47hq/) (reddit)
- [a Reddit thread in r/3Dprinting](https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/141sg5h/) (reddit)

HTML: https://filamentfacts.com/answers/odor