Best Mold/Mildew Resistant Paint


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Old 06-15-20, 07:37 PM
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Best Mold/Mildew Resistant Paint

We've got a little bit of mold growing on the ceiling over our shower. Turns out the previous occupants of the apartment painted the ceiling with plain old latex paint - not a mildew-resistant paint... So I'm planning on mold-bombing the bathroom next week. We simply can't afford to spend thousands of dollars for a mold remediation service come in, so the mold bomb/fogger is the solution we came up with. After that is complete, I plan to repaint the bathroom and would like to use a high quality mold/mildew-resistant paint. Can anyone recommend specific products I should look for? Thanks in advance!
 
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Old 06-15-20, 09:11 PM
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Zinsser Perma-White.

Not tintable easily so bold colors are out but it does white real well.
 
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Old 06-15-20, 09:28 PM
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Thanks, stickshift. I think we'd prefer to use a color other than white - nothing dark and bold, but perhaps a tan, beige or light blue. Are there quality options that come in colors or are tintable?
 
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Old 06-15-20, 10:39 PM
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So the root cause of the mold issue is not the paint, more than likely you've got a moisture issue in the shower than needs to be addressed.
 
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Old 06-15-20, 10:53 PM
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Yes, there does seem to be a moisture issue. However... There is a vent and a functional fan in the bathroom, which does what it can. There's also a window, which we leave open when the weather allows it. I'm not sure there's anything we can do differently with regard to all of that. So I'm just looking for a way to kill the existing mold on the ceiling and paint the bathroom with a paint that will resist the repopulation of any mold for as long as possible. I imagine I may have to drop the mold bomb again at some future date, and if that's the case, then so be it. Or maybe not - time will tell.

But for now, I'd just like suggestions for the best mold-resistant paint. I'd prefer not to go with white though, so if there are any quality mold-resistant paints that come in different colors, or at least are tintable, then that's what I'm looking for here. Thanks!
 
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Old 06-16-20, 01:51 AM
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I second the recommendation for PermaWhite - it's what I have on my bath rm ceiling.
Most bath rm paints [other than PW] can be tinted to most any color. Bath paints have more mildewcide than regular interior paints. M1 is a mildewcide additive that can be added to most paints. I don't have any preference with one bath paint over another. It sounds like you need an exhaust fan with a higher cfm. Bleach solutions work well for removing existing mold/mildew.
 
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Old 06-16-20, 04:10 AM
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Hmmm. So would adding M-1 to any paint be essentially as effective as Perma White? Would that be something they could just add when mixing up a color for me at Home Depot for instance?

If PW is simply head and shoulders above the rest I can deal with a pure white ceiling. Otherwise I just don’t like the look of straightp white. It’s just too harsh/cold to me.

In my building none of the apartments have exhaust fans in the bathrooms. I installed mine many years ago and got the strongest one I could get that would fit the size of the vent. So I’m maxed out there.
 
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Old 06-16-20, 04:15 AM
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M-1 is basically for exterior paints but I have added it to interior paints a few times. I'm not a chemist so I can't say for sure if adding mildewcide to latex enamel would make it as good as bath paints or not but it should give it more mildew resistance.

I've always been partial to white ceilings and PermaWhite is the only bath paint I have personal long term experience with. I've applied a bunch of other bath paints, just not in my own house.
 
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Old 06-16-20, 04:58 AM
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Understood. I definitely prefer the look of a pure white ceiling to that of a grubby moldy one, so I’ll keep that in mind! 😁 Maybe I could do PW on the ceiling and then just add a mildewcide to some regular paint for the walls. Is there a commercial mildew resistant paint that does come in colors? Did I maybe see that Behr makes one?

Oh and thank you! 😊
 
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Old 06-16-20, 05:03 AM
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Most paint manufactures have bath paints that can be tinted - they already have mildewcide in them.
My full bath has PW on the ceiling and a tinted latex enamel on the walls.
 
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Old 06-16-20, 05:14 AM
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Sounds like a plan. Thanks again for your help!
 
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Old 06-16-20, 05:15 AM
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I'm not sure there's anything we can do differently with regard to all of that.
Again, moisture is the issue, mold resistant paints are not fool proof and if the situation is bad, it will come back.

Look into in-line fans, probably 2-4X the air volume!
 
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Old 06-16-20, 05:26 AM
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previous occupants of the apartment painted the ceiling with plain old latex paint - not a mildew-resistant paint...
Sounds like it was probably a flat latex. Flat latex will almost absorb moisture while any latex enamel will somewhat repel moisture. Latex enamel is bare minimum for bath rms with shower, bath enamel is better.

If using the wrong paint is the main culprit, using the right paint should prevent a reoccurrence.
 
 

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