Bathroom painting in Naperville that stands up to steam

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What steam does to ordinary wall paint

Every shower drives warm moisture into the walls and ceiling. Flat or builder-grade paint soaks it up and softens. That gives mildew a foothold, usually over the tub and in the corners.

A lasting job starts with a mildew wash and scraping anything loose. Bare drywall is primed, then finished in a satin moisture-rated paint that dries hard and wipes clean.

What bathroom painting costs in Naperville

Treat the rows below as published planning ranges for bathrooms rather than a quote from us, because repairs and vanity work change the number.

What moves the price

• Peeling or mildew to scrape and wash
• Drywall repair from past leaks
• Painting the vanity and trim too
• Tight spaces around fixtures and mirrors

Bathroom painting you can do, and when to call

A powder room with no shower and sound walls makes an easy first paint project.

Mildew-resistant wall paint

Mildew-resistant paint slows regrowth, but it does not kill what is already living on the wall. We wash those spots with a mildew cleaner, rinse, and let the surface dry fully before priming. The finish is a satin or semi-gloss bath paint with a mildewcide built in, which dries harder than flat and sheds condensation. The ceiling gets the same paint, because steam rises and the area over the shower is where spots return first. Running the fan twenty minutes after each shower does the rest.

Peeling paint near the shower

Paint peels near a shower when moisture gets behind it. Usually it went over glossy old paint, unprimed drywall or a wall that was never cleaned. We scrape back to a sound edge, skim the ridges with joint compound so they disappear, and prime everything bare. Where the drywall paper has torn or the board is soft from a leak, that section is repaired before paint. Cracked caulk where the tub or tile meets the wall is cut out and replaced so water stops sneaking in.

Vanity and trim

Vanities and bathroom trim take splashes, wet towels and cleaning sprays every day. Vanity doors and drawer fronts come off, get degreased, sanded and primed with a bonding primer, then two coats of hard cabinet enamel. Baseboards and door casing near the tub get the same enamel so they wipe clean. A vanity is a small cabinet job, done the same way as painted kitchen cabinets. It is also one of the least costly ways to make a dated bathroom look current.

Late-century bathrooms in Naperville and North Naperville

How a bathroom gets painted to last

1. Check the fan. We confirm the exhaust fan pulls steam out before choosing a finish.
2. Clean and scrape. Mildew washed off, loose paint scraped, surfaces left to dry.
3. Repair and prime. Edges skimmed, bare drywall primed, cracked caulk replaced.
4. Finish coats. Two coats of satin bath paint on the walls and ceiling.
5. Cure time. The shower stays off for a day while the paint hardens.

Signs your bathroom paint is losing to the steam

• Gray or black specks overheadMildew on the ceiling above the shower, where steam lingers longest.
• Curling paint above the tubMoisture got behind the paint film, often over glossy old coats or bare drywall.
• Tan streaks running down the wallSurfactant leaching from paint that met steam before it cured; it washes off with warm water.
• Blisters near the fan or mirrorSmall bubbles where warm, wet air hits the same patch of wall day after day.
• Vanity edges worn to bare woodWater and hands have worn through the finish where doors open daily.

Bath paints made for steamy rooms

In steamy rooms we use Benjamin Moore Aura Bath & Spa or Sherwin-Williams Emerald, with Zinsser Perma-White where mildew keeps returning and Kilz primer over old stains.

• Sherwin-Williams
• Benjamin Moore
• PPG Paints
• Behr
• Valspar
• Cabot
• Sikkens
• Olympic
• Zinsser
• Kilz
• Romabio
• Ready Seal

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