You’re Probably Painting Your Bathroom the Wrong Way.
Painting is one of the easiest and most affordable types of repairs you can do to a room. But while it has the power to transform an aging bathroom , these are wet, damp places where splashes of water and steam penetrate every surface. Even if you have a hefty exhaust fan that keeps the room moderately dry, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll still see some mold or mildew in there, especially on the ceiling above the shower where warm, humid air rises to help. and comfort for mold spores.
As simple as it is to paint a room, you still probably won’t paint your bathroom right. There are a few extra steps when it comes to paint preparation and selection that you should pay attention to if you want to avoid problems down the road – and having to repaint the bathroom again.
Thoroughly wash the walls and ceiling
Whenever you paint walls or ceilings, you must prepare the surface with a good cleaning. For most rooms in your home, this will involve a fairly simple wiping to remove dust and other particles that might interfere with your paint’s adhesion to the surface, but in the bathroom, you’ll need to go one step further and brush the walls with bleach or some type of cleaner. to kill mold.
This is because mold can remain on your walls even if you can’t see it. And if you paint over active mold, it will eventually come back to the surface. Generally speaking, this is pretty easy to do :
- Mix 3/4 cup of bleach with a gallon of warm water.
- Scrub the walls and ceiling with the mixture using a sponge or brush. Make sure you eliminate all visible signs.
- Leave on for five minutes, then rinse.
Now let your walls and bathroom dry and you’ll have a nice clean slate to work with.
prime the walls
A primer is always a good idea when painting a room, and twice as good in a bathroom. A quality primer provides a uniform texture and color for the paint to adhere to, resulting in a cleaner and more uniform end result.
More importantly in the bathroom, the primer will seal the surfaces and prevent moisture from penetrating. Even if you plan on using a good moisture and mildew resistant paint (which you should), having an extra coat of sealer on the walls can help prevent mold roots from growing on the walls and ceiling.
Choose mold-resistant paint
Choosing paint for your bathroom requires a little more thought than other rooms. In the past, there were some loose “rules” about what finishes are right for a bathroom (the idea was that matte paints absorb more moisture and should therefore be avoided), but all modern paints do a fairly good job of this (especially if you choose a waterproof paint to start with), so you can go there if you want.
But you should definitely use a mildew and moisture resistant paint like Zinsser’s Perma-White or Benjamin Moore’s Aura Bath and Spa paint . These paints won’t solve an existing mold problem – if your walls already have mold, covering them with these paints won’t accomplish anything. But if you start with clean, mold-free walls and use these paints, you’ll keep your bathroom mold-free for the foreseeable future.
Painting your bathroom can be an affordable and quick transformation. By doing it right, you can also get rid of dangerous and ugly mold.