Best Paint Finish For Bathrooms Today

Wanting to put the very best paint finish in your bathrooms today? You're in luck! Consider steam and mold is the primary focus of your next paint purchase. There are more choices to use in rooms today, with higher moisture content, than years before.

Typically, most think of painting bathrooms with semi-gloss paint sheen, but other finishes do very well too.

This is great news, knowing you're not locked in using only paint finish that your parents, also grandparents used. Having a wider selection of paint finishes, opens the door for a more exquisite look and feel, waking up in the morning, or just before going to bed.

Using a paint finish that goes well in bathrooms can be just as pleasing, as other areas  you enjoy throughout your home, having it's rewards.

What Type Of Paint Is Best For A Bathroom

Wondering what type of paint is best for bathrooms depends on a couple things. Ordinarily, you'll want to use an emulsion, acrylic water-borne latex paint. These can be found at your local lumber yards, home improvement box stores, and/or specifically at Sherwin-Williams™, Benjamin Moore™, PPG™, Glidden™, Pittsburgh Paints, Kelly Moore™, or  BEHR™, depending on your location.

Examples from Pittsburgh Paints below;

Each brand has it's different grades of interior paint for ceilings, walls, also trim. You'll want to inform that location which part you intend painting. Ideally, you'll want to use the same brand throughout your home, whether it be living room, bedrooms, closets, or for a bathroom. If you can use the same finish or paint sheen, that's even better.

Your best paint for a bathroom is one which is consistent, and nearly as uniform as the rest of your home. Because let's face it. You do not want to have a spaceship or flying saucer of any room in your home, looking too shinny if you can help it. Keeping trim the same as rest of your home, in a bathroom, semi-gloss for all trim is highly recommended.

Certainly can see this semi-gloss on walls, ceilings, and trims in a lower value hotel setting, buy not your ideal bathrooms, master, guest, or for rest of families enjoyment. Reason being, hotel cleaning crews wipe all surfaces after a different patron, which is expected. You don't have a motel bathroom in your home, so semi-gloss is not needed in most accounts.

The best type of paint for bathrooms is actually at your fingertips, more less. Using a high quality emulsion 100% Acrylic water-borne latex in say eggshell, matte, satin will do just fine.

Satin Or Semi-gloss For A Steamy Bathroom

Using same satin paint finish on walls in your bedroom, as bathroom will lend itself to a more uniform and consistent appearance.

However, if your bath is relatively small, only one door, with no windows, causing ceiling to become steamy, you might consider upgrading bathroom ceiling to semi-gloss.

Steamy bathrooms require a higher gloss paint finish than you normally would have in rest of home, if you've chosen flat is the main paint sheen.

Hope you're not painting bedroom walls with semi-gloss. Also, if painting master bedroom walls with a lower sheen like eggshell, or satin, allows you to do the same in a bathroom. Sound confusing?

Well, if your bath has proper ventilation, say with an exhaust fan, this will help. If your bath has more than one door, and/or a window, even better!

As mentioned earlier, there used to be only two paint sheens. Flat and Gloss. Later, toning down gloss to a semi-gloss, used primarily in kitchens, laundry rooms, and baths, where higher moisture content was prevalent.

The introduction of eggshell, also satin provided a wider array of paint finishes, allowing for more uniformity, throughout your home. Today, using semi-gloss in a bathroom is typically "Old school".

Keep in mind, if your bathroom, especially a sauna, where lots of moisture is created, you diffidently want to choose semi-gloss.

However, all Jack & Jill bathrooms only need eggshell or satin at the highest. Reason is Jack & Jill baths have two doors, some even a window. So no need putting semi-gloss in these types of bathrooms.

A few bathrooms are suggested having semi-gloss walls & ceilings, but only on rare occasions. Examples of these is where a bathroom is relatively small, having a confined space, and moisture is a problem.

Living in an area where you have high humidity, is another reason using semi-gloss throughout a bathroom.

Best Paint For Bathrooms To Prevent Mold

Couple things to note, about paint preventing mold;

• Because paint doesn't cause mold.
• Mold can grow on paint though.
• Using a good paint finish besides flat, allows you more wipes, & cleanings.
• Mold is a fungus, a nasty spore that shows you need to do more drying, wiping, also cleaning.
• Having a good paint finish allows just that, many wipings and cleanings, keeping original sheen is best.
• If you have mold growing, and do not clean off paint, it will spread.
• Mold is harmful to pets and humans.
• Just like squeegeeing tile & glass in a tub area for standing moisture after a shower, wiping any residue of moisture off paint is important also.

Today, most quality paint brands have natural minerals, chemical properties in paint's formulation to combat and prevent mold forming. This is common with premium paint choices at your disposal, for interior paints. While still keeping air quality at it's best, having lowest, or zero volatile odor compounds (V.O.C's), these paints will reduce mold from growing.

Importantly, if mold is present before you paint, you'll need to neutralize the fungus first.

One way is to use a water and vinegar solution, cleaning surface infected. After that drys, a good latex high bonding primer is recommended. This seals any remaining fungal spores in it's place, never to be seen again.

After neutralizing, then priming, you're good to go applying your new bathroom paint. A premium paint only requires one coat, as it also has a primer built into it. So theoretically, you're applying two coats of primer with that top shelf paint. Never having to worry about mold in that spot again, seeping through.

Best practices would be to wipe down corners, lower sections where moisture can accumulate, say after a long steamy shower, thereby helping that paint to prevent mold growing in the first place.

To Summarize Best Paint For Bathrooms

Purchasing a high quality emulsion 100% Acrylic water-borne latex as close to other portions of your home is ideal. Using a glossier finish higher than flat is highly recommended.

Great news though! If you've chosen eggshell for most of your home, chances are you can use that same sheen in your bathroom.

Providing your bath has a larger footprint, proper ventilation, a window, more than one door, you do not need semi-gloss for your bathroom walls & ceilings.

Just as important having correct paint finish or sheen in your laundry room or bathroom, drying off excess moisture from wall or trim surfaces is important. This does not allow mold to form, multiply, and grow.

So again, having a paint finish which allows multiple wipings is great, and any premium interior paint with an eggshell or satin sheen will do just that.

Areas having excessive steam, such as saunas, hot-tubs, and steam rooms need a gloss or semi-gloss paint finish. Going as far as a marine paint would be beneficial in these extreme moisture ridden rooms.

Satin paint is very popular paint finish for many bathrooms across the country. Especially where the humidity is higher. Satin paint looks very similar to eggshell, allows many drying, wipings, and cleanings. Having a closer look and feel, to the rest of your home.

Semi-gloss for bathrooms is a good choice if it's in a hotel setting. Also any bathroom w/o any windows, or proper ventilation causing extreme moisture to build up on walls & ceilings, semi-gloss is recommended.

If you are in need having a professional crew of painters in the Denver Colorado area paint your interior, look no further. Contact Eco Paint, Inc. using our form on the right. > Our team of painters having well over 12 years experience, owner, Cal Phillips having over 40.

Now if you live outside Denver CO. area, and you've enjoyed reading what we've laid out, please respond by commenting below, and/or liking, sharing this article with others. Thank you!