Kitchen and bathroom paint for the living room?

Tigersilly

My living room suffers from horrendous condensation. There are damp/mould stains on the ceiling and the windows always get steamed up. I'd like to paint the walls and the ceiling - is it best to use paint designed for rooms which suffer from condensation i.e., 'kitchen/bathroom' paint?

Does anyone have any advice for the brand of paint I should go for? I'm looking to paint the walls an off-white colour.

Many thanks!

Leif

Would it not make more sense to find the cause of condensation?

phill99

Leif is right. Paint will not deal with the condensation. You need to deal with that t source.

noelphobic

I had major problems with damp on my bathroom ceiling, to the point that the artex was actually damaged. I had the ceiling skimmed and then used this paint

http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/214284

It did keep the damp away for over a year. I recently had a plastic ceiling put in the bathroom so won't be painting it again hopefully. However, this stuff is the best I've used, much better than kitchen/bathroom paints and other products that supposedly deter mould/damp.

It does only come in white and is matt so might not suit your purposes. I don't know whether you can paint over it as it might affect how well it works.

Plus, as others have said, you need to find the source of your problem rather than just treat the consequences. I know this to my cost having just spent a lot of money replacing items that damp had destroyed.

keystone

Leif and Phil are spot on. The mould/condensation is due to high humidity and lack of ventilation. Fix those and the problem should go away.

"Kitchen and bathroom" paint is a triumph of marketing BS over sense and practicality and in any event won't solve the condensation problem.

If you've got rid of most of it but still have mould problems I find that Zinsser Permawhite (which is tintable) is the best paint to use. I've not heard of the Wickes one as I don't go in there that much - not for paint anyway - but it sounds similar.

But you must treat the cause not the symptom.

Cheers

Tigersilly

Hello, as many of you have pointed out it certainly is more logical to deal with the causes of the condensation/damp - it's the rusty old windows! I live in a council flat and we have received various letters over the years that they are unwilling to replace them as they have 'preserved status' or whatever the phrase is (this building was constructed circa 1935). So apparently no modern windows will be put in and we are stuck with rusty old frames and broken panes (every time panes have been replaced they crack again because they expand in the rigid metal frames). The windows are in a really revolting state to be honest and I haven't a clue what to do about that aside from attempting to clean them) - that's really why I feel to deal with the problem by using bathroom or kitchen paint

keystone

I am totally at a loss to understand how you think that using kichen/bathroom paint (and don't bother 'cos it's efficacy is only in its name anyway) is going to stop the condensation sorry but it isn't.

The fact that you have ancient Crittal windows is beside the point - you are bound to get some condensation on both the frames and the glass even in the best of circumstances. You have too high humidity inside and a lack of ventilation which is why you get condensation on the ceiling and presumably the walls. You have to address that and largely its a lifestyle issue I'm sorry to say.

Cheers

Abbafan1972

noelphobic wrote: »

I had major problems with damp on my bathroom ceiling, to the point that the artex was actually damaged. I had the ceiling skimmed and then used this paint

http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/214284

It did keep the damp away for over a year. I recently had a plastic ceiling put in the bathroom so won't be painting it again hopefully. However, this stuff is the best I've used, much better than kitchen/bathroom paints and other products that supposedly deter mould/damp.

It does only come in white and is matt so might not suit your purposes. I don't know whether you can paint over it as it might affect how well it works.

Plus, as others have said, you need to find the source of your problem rather than just treat the consequences. I know this to my cost having just spent a lot of money replacing items that damp had destroyed.

Thanks for posting the link to the paint. We need to repaint our bathroom ceiling. We have had to scrape off the paint in the one corner where the steam has made it bubble off.

Getting back to the op. I think the key is ventilation, we don't have a problem with this in the lounge as there are air bricks under the floor boards and there's plenty of ventilation coming in.

cattie

Wouldn't a de-humidifier go some way to helping you solve your condensation problem?

Tigersilly

keystone wrote: »

I am totally at a loss to understand how you think that using kichen/bathroom paint (and don't bother 'cos it's efficacy is only in its name anyway) is going to stop the condensation sorry but it isn't.

The fact that you have ancient Crittal windows is beside the point - you are bound to get some condensation on both the frames and the glass even in the best of circumstances. You have too high humidity inside and a lack of ventilation which is why you get condensation on the ceiling and presumably the walls. You have to address that and largely its a lifestyle issue I'm sorry to say.

Cheers

The windows are jammed and won't open as they are so rusty and the glass has cracks and is very fragile. Do you have any suggestions for dealing with this issue?

cattie

Tigersilly wrote: »

The windows are jammed and won't open as they are so rusty and the glass has cracks and is very fragile. Do you have any suggestions for dealing with this issue?

Have you tried spraying some WD40 round the opening parts to see if this helps to ease the windows open. It might just work, so worth spending a couple of £ on a can to give it a try.