ceiling and interior wall painting

My husband is considering painting our ceiling and interior walls this winter. Our house has an open stair well with cathedral ceiling above. I have seen the scaffold solutions and think that will work for painting. Unfortunatly there are darken areas on the corners where the ceiling meets the wall that I suspecti is caused by lack of ventilation. These same darkened areas are on a wall above the lofted area with an unaccessible attic behind. I have tried washing the wall area, but have been unsuccessful in removing the stain.

My concern is: Is the darkened area mold? How do I find out?

Secondly my ceiling has never been painted before. It has a slight "sponged" texture. Do I need to use a primer before we paint it? Would the primer take care of the stains?

I have attached photos that appear darker than the stains actually are.

Thanks for you help.

 

attachments didn't post. Second try.

 

Unfortunately, you cannot attach a photo here. You can put it on another page somewhere and link to it from here.


If this is in an open part of the house as I suspect it is, the moisture problem likely comes from the other side of the sheetrock. It may be necessary to pull the sheetrock to find out if there is a problem with inadequate ventilation in the attic or if there is a source of moisture from a roof leak, leaking pipe, or other source. In every case, paint will not solve a moisture problem.


or mildew. Mix some household bleach 25% in water and wipe a bit on it. If it turns yellowish it probably is mildew. Wear gloves. If this works, wipe it all down with the mixture and let it sit for 5 minutes to kill the mildew. Then rinse. Now solve the moisture - ventilation problem or it will be back.


If it has never been painted before, prime then paint. I recommend Zinsser 123 primer from experience. It may take two coats let dry for 4 hours at a time to be sure to cover the stains after the mildew has been killed. Then paint with a top quality acrylic latex paint.

Hope this helps.