A small room with its own problems
A bathroom is one of the smallest rooms to paint and often one of the trickiest. Steam, splashes and poor ventilation mean the walls and ceiling may carry mildew, peeling paint and soft drywall. This guide explains what moves the price of a bathroom repaint when mildew is part of the picture. It quotes no prices.
Moisture is the root problem
The EPA advises drying water-damaged areas and items within 24-48 hours to prevent mold growth, and keeping indoor relative humidity below 60 percent, ideally between 30 and 50 percent. In a bathroom, steam from every shower pushes humidity far above that for a while. Paint alone won't fix that. A painter can prepare and coat the room properly, but if moisture keeps building up, spots tend to come back.
Outside air matters too. In an average year at Flint/Bishop, NOAA counts about 172 hours with the wet-bulb temperature above 73°F and about 789 hours above 67°F. Those muggy hours are the station's count, and they're a reminder that opening a window doesn't always dry a bathroom in summer. A fan that vents outdoors does more.
How big is the patch?
The size of the problem changes who should handle it. EPA's homeowner mold guide says a moldy area of less than about 10 square feet (roughly a 3 ft. by 3 ft. patch) can in most cases be handled by the homeowner, while growth over 10 square feet or heavy water damage calls for EPA's remediation guidance for larger buildings. Small surface spots of mildew on paint are the usual painter's case. Larger growth, or mold coming through from behind the wall, is a different job, and a painter should tell you if they think it's beyond painting.
Cleaning and treating
Paint over mildew fails. The first part of the job is cleaning the spots off and letting the surface dry fully. Ask the painter:
- what cleaner they use on mildew, and how they protect fixtures and grout;
- how long they let the walls dry before priming;
- whether they'll check behind the toilet, above the shower and on the ceiling, where spots hide.
Drywall and ceiling damage
Peeling paint over the shower and soft or stained drywall are signs water has been getting in. Small repairs are part of many paint jobs: scraping loose paint, skim-coating rough areas and spot-priming. Swollen or crumbling drywall usually needs cutting out and replacing, which adds time and can need a drywall finisher. The surface preparation guide explains these steps.
Primer and paint for wet rooms
Stains from old water marks need a stain-blocking primer. For the top coat, many paint makers sell products made for bathrooms, often with a mildewcide and a finish that tolerates wiping. A satin or semi-gloss sheen usually holds up better than flat on the walls. Our sheen guide compares them. These products may cost more per gallon, though a bathroom needs little paint.
Fixtures, trim and tight spaces
Most of the time in a bathroom goes into cutting in around the vanity, toilet, tub, mirror, towel bars and tile. Removing and replacing accessories, taking off the mirror or working behind the toilet tank all add labor. Ask whether the painter removes these or works around them.
Ventilation and use
Fresh bathroom paint needs time before it faces a hot shower. Ask how long to wait, and plan for the room to be out of use for a while. If the fan doesn't work or vents into the attic, mention it: a painter isn't the trade to fix it, but it explains why the walls keep spotting.
Getting the scope in writing
- Walls, ceiling, trim and door, or only some of them.
- Mildew cleaning method and drying time.
- Drywall repairs included and excluded.
- Primer and paint products and sheen.
- How long before the room can be used.
See interior painting and the pricing guide for more.