Bathroom Painting

Bathroom painting needs more prep than other rooms because steam, splashes and mildew wear paint down fast. Safe Choice Painting cleans off mildew, primes water stains, fixes peeling spots and finishes walls and ceilings in a washable satin or semi-gloss. We paint walls, ceilings, trim and doors, not tile or tubs.

Why bathroom paint fails

Bathrooms see more moisture than any other room. Showers fill the room with steam that settles on the ceiling and upper walls. Over time that leads to:

• Peeling on the ceiling above the shower.
• Mildew spots in corners and around the fan.
• Water stains from past leaks or overflow.
• Soft or bubbled paint behind toilets and around sinks.

Fans and moisture

The fan matters as much as the paint. The International Residential Code, in table M1505.4.4, calls for bathroom exhaust of 50 cubic feet per minute when run on demand, or 20 when run continuously. A fan that is missing, weak or vented into the attic leaves moisture on the walls, and fresh paint fails sooner. We point out fans that do not seem to pull air at the walkthrough, so you can have them checked. We do not install or repair fans.

Prep for bathrooms

1. Clean mildew with a mildew cleaner and let the surface dry. Paint over mildew lets it grow back.
2. Scrape peeling paint and feather the edges smooth.
3. Prime water stains with a stain-blocking primer suited to humid rooms.
4. Patch holes from old towel bars and hooks. Larger drywall damage is covered on our drywall repair page.
5. Caulk gaps where trim meets the tub surround or counter top, so water stays out.

Picking a primer for a humid room

Not every stain blocker fits a bathroom. KILZ, for one, says its Original oil-based primer blocks heavy stains including water stains, but is not recommended for mold or mildew-prone surfaces. So we match the primer to the spot: a stain blocker made for humid rooms over old water stains, and a bonding primer where glossy old paint is peeling. Bare drywall patches get primed too, so the finish coat looks even.

Paint and sheen for bathrooms

Bathrooms get a washable interior paint, often labeled mildew resistant, in satin or semi-gloss. Higher sheens shed moisture and wipe clean, though they show wall flaws more, so prep matters. Ceilings above showers may get the same paint as the walls instead of flat ceiling paint. See our paint sheen guide by room.

Bathroom ceilings

The ceiling over the shower takes the most steam, so it is often the first spot to peel. Loose paint is scraped back to a sound edge, stains are primed, and the ceiling gets a moisture-ready paint. If the ceiling is textured, we check for loose texture before painting.

Timing your shower

Fresh paint needs time before it faces steam. We tell you how long the paint on your job needs before the first shower. If the home has more than one bathroom, we paint them one at a time so you always have one to use.

What we paint and what we do not

• We paint: walls, ceilings, trim, doors and window casings.
• We do not paint: tile, tubs, showers, counter tops or fixtures. Those need a refinishing specialist.
• Mirrors and fixtures are removed where they come off easily, or masked.

Doors and trim in bathrooms take a beating from humidity too, and we can include them; see interior trim and door painting.

Bathroom colors

Small bathrooms often get light colors that make the room feel bigger, such as warm whites, pale grays and soft blues. Powder rooms are where people try a bold or dark color, since the room is small and used briefly. We can paint a sample on the wall so you see it under the bathroom lights.

Bathrooms in older and newer homes

Older bathrooms often have layers of paint and old water stains. In Ardmore about 63 percent of homes were built before 1980, by Census estimates. Newer bathrooms usually need less repair but may have builder flat paint that does not handle steam well; in Lantana about 97 percent of homes were built in 2000 or later. See interior painting in Ardmore and in Lantana. Bathrooms are often painted with bedrooms nearby; see bedroom painting.

Nearby

• Bathroom painting in Denton, TX
• Interior painting
• Bedroom painting
• Interior painting in Ardmore, OK