Bathrooms: Tips on Choosing the Right Paint

Bathrooms: Tips on Choosing the Right Paint

If you are painting a bathroom, you need to think of a few more things besides wondering if the paint will look good. The bathroom is a high-humidity environment, and water could damage your walls with the wrong paint. Your paint should also be durable to hold up to toothpaste stains and other signs of wear and tear that commonly happen in a bathroom. 

Choosing the right paint can help your bathroom look good for a long time to come and prevent damage to your walls. Here are a few options to consider when shopping for paint.

Bathroom Paint

Some brands advertise bathroom paint, which they say is specially formulated for painting the moist environment of bathrooms. You won’t have to play a guessing game when you see bathroom paint on a can. Bathroom paint is also a good option because you may have more options in terms of sheen and finish than you would if you bought another paint, where you would be limited to the finishes that can withstand moisture.

However, there are other paints that can cope with moisture that are not necessarily labeled bathroom paint, and they tend to be more affordable.

Choose a Paint That Can Cope with Water

The biggest problem when painting a bathroom is coping with the humidity. The spills and steam from hot showers eventually add up and cause water damage and even mold to walls.

Many modern paint brands include mildew-resistant properties in their formulas. This means that those paints will not absorb moisture or develop mold. Most manufacturers will proudly display the fact that their paint is mildew-resistant on the can, so you will not have to look very hard.

Think About Gloss

Overall, high-gloss paints are better than matte or flat ones when it comes to handling moisture. That is because the gloss repels moisture. Instead of absorbing water, it collects on the surface and is easy to wipe off. 

High-gloss paints may be easier to clean than matte ones, and choosing a regular high-gloss paint as opposed to a specially formulated bathroom paint can give you some protection for a more affordable price. However, glossy walls are a bit of an eyesore in the bathroom.

Satin finishes are also better at repelling moisture than flat or eggshell finishes. For an area that receives as much traffic as the bathroom, you want a paint that is easy to clean.

If you want matte paints that can still resist moisture, most specially formulated bathroom paints offer a variety of finishes. However, you will be paying more than you would for regular paint.

Think About Cleaning

Finally, the paint that you choose for your bathroom should be able to withstand regular cleaning. The finish also plays a factor in this. Glossier finishes such as satin or high-gloss are easier to wipe down than eggshell or flat finishes. 

Some water-based latex paints will also advertise that they are easy to clean on the can.

Picking out paint for your bathroom is a tough job, but after considering these factors, you can find the right can to withstand regular wear and tear.

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