Should I Use Bathroom Paint? What's the Difference?

Question: Should I Use Bathroom Paint? What's the Difference?

Bathroom paint is a special type of paint--different from ordinary interior house paint--that paint manufacturers tout as necessary for bathrooms due to certain mold inhibiting properties. But do you really need this special bathroom paint or will ordinary interior house paint suffice?

Answer: Bathrooms are wet. If you don't know that already, you have no business painting your bathroom. So, moisture should be your number one concern when it comes to laying down a fresh coat of paint on your walls. Before even considering specialty bathroom paint, you need to know which paint sheens or finishes works best in bathrooms.

Paint Sheen and Bathroom Moisture

This list starts with the flattest, lowest sheen finish and works up to high-gloss. The higher the gloss, the better the paint sheen does in bathrooms.

• Flat - Nice matte coating, but best in low-traffic areas where it is never or rarely touched. Absorbs moisture, so it is bad for bathrooms.
• Eggshell - Slightly "sheeny" and more washable and scrubbable than flat. Like flat, eggshell is good for places without moisture.
• Satin - Satin has a bit of a gloss, and can be used in low-moisture bathrooms, such as powder or guest bathrooms.
• Semi-Gloss - Best sheen for any kind of bathroom. Repels moisture well.
• High-gloss - Best for bathroom walls because high-gloss repels moisture almost as well as if your walls were coated in plastic. Downside is that high-gloss (in the opinion of some people) does not look good when spread out over large surfaces such as walls. Best for smaller surfaces like trim and cabinetry.

But does this mean you cannot use flat, eggshell, or stain finishes in your bathroom? No. This varies by context. Do you have 2 kids who produce an inordinate amount of water when they bathe? Then, I would recommend against these finishes. I may be going out on a limb, but I believe that even flat finish can be used in the bathroom if the conditions are right. So, don't be scared off of these flatter sheens.

In fact, you can even find matte finishes that are specially designed for high moisture areas. Benjamin Moore's Aura® Bath And Spa Matte Finish is one such paint.

Mold and Mildew Resistant Bathroom Paint?

Certain types of paint claim to resist the growth of mold and mildew in bathrooms. Zinsser's Perma-White claims to be guaranteed to prevent the growth of mold and mildew for a minimum of five years.

In case you don't want white in your bathroom, Perma-White can be tinted to off-white, pastel and medium colors. And it comes in eggshell, satin and semi-gloss sheens.

Sherwin Williams also has a bath paint called, simply enough, Bath Paint. It has the same 5-year guarantee as the Zinsser, inhibits mold and mildew just as well, yet has far more available colors.

But Do You Really Need Bathroom Paint?

In my opinion: in most cases, you probably do not need to buy specialty mold/mildew inhibiting bathroom paint. Yes, if you have a high moisture content and a history of mold and mildew problems, then you may want to use bathroom paint.