i've recently noticed yellow/rust-colored drip marks on the bathroom walls and door jams. any idea what's going on and best way to clean? when i've cleaned before, the drips come back.

 

Condensation. Improve ventilation.

 

Welcome to the forums!

The moisture/humidty are drawing contamiments to the top of the paint. Like Kobuchi said, you need to improve ventilation. I assume you don't have or are not using an exhaust fan.

After fixing the ventilation issue, I'd prime and then repaint the bath room.

 

thanks for the info. i do use the bathroom fan but the fan is 30 years old (like the rest of the house). i assumed the fan was working since the mirror wasn't fogged over. any thoughts?

 

I would suspect that the fan is either undersized or worn out. It is also a possibility that you don't run it long enough.

How old is the paint job in the bath room?

 

Cigarette smoke and gas heat can leave residues on walls that when wet can run down walls in condensation and look yellowish brown.

Here's a previous discussion: http://forum.doityourself.com/showthread.php?p=1126838

 

yuck. i don't believe the prior owners smoked-but you never know. since EVERYTHING in the house is 30 years old, i'm sure the paint in the bathroom is no different.
how do i know if the fan needs replacing...how long am i supposed to run the fan? the bathroom is not very big.

 

Bath fans should be sized according to volume size of bathroom so that they can make a minimum of 8 air exchanges per hour. The fan should run while bathing and for 20 minutes afterwards to exhaust humidity.

To find the size of the bathroom, Volume = length x width x height. CFM (cubic feet/minute) = volume/7.5. That's the minimum air exchanges required per hour in a bathroom. Bathroom fans have CFMs listed on the box. Fan should be vented to the outdoors, not into attic.

A test for the bathroom fan: "From six inches away, squeeze a cloud of baby powder from its container toward the intake grille of the operating exhaust fan. If the fan is working properly, the powder will be drawn up into the grille. If it goes to the center of the grille and is blown back into the room, then the fan is blocked; if the powder simply hangs in the air, the fan is not working at all. Its just making noise!" http://www.tamtech.com/faq.htm#b2

 

find the sq ft of the bathroom...then double it

get a fan that will work with the doubled sg ft...due to the age of the old fan it may be slightly more of a pain to change it out..but pretty simple