The Different Types of Bathroom Paint for Your Home 

Whether you’re in the process of installing a new bathroom, or sprucing up your existing room, painting is an important step and decoration is a very personal thing. It’s your chance to express yourself and add the WOW factor in your bathroom. 

But colour and style aren’t the only things you need to consider. Bathroom paint needs to stand-up to excess humidity and ever-changing temperatures. Sometimes you need something to prevent mould growth, or deal with excess condensation. In short, choosing the correct type of bathroom paint for a specific job is important. To that end, we’re going to take you through the different types of bathroom paint available so you can make an informed decision.  

Retail Kitchen and Bathroom Paint 

A lot of people do not realise this, but brands like Dulux, Crown and Johnstone’s manufacture more than one range of paint. Retail paint is made to a lower budget and sold from DIY outlets such as B&Q and Homebase.  

Trade paints are of a higher quality, and generally sold at trade paint outlets. Decorators normally insist on using trade paint.  

With that in mind, you should avoid retail kitchen and bathroom paint. Although it may be cheaper than buying trade products, this type of paint may give you issues. For example, you may need to apply additional coats when decorating your bathroom. Or the polymer might break down over time, so the paint itself will be less capable of standing up to the adverse conditions of a bathroom. 

Just because your bathroom paint has “Dulux” on the tin, do not assume the paint is a quality product. Always look for the word “trade” on the label. 

Durable Matt Emulsion 

There are positives and negatives about using this type of paint in a bathroom. Durable matt emulsion contains more polymer binder than normal vinyl matt, making the paint more durable. Being a matt, the finish is often more desirable than paints with a higher sheen level.  

Durable matt emulsions are fine for most bathrooms but struggle to cope in bathrooms with very high levels of condensation. The pitted surface seems to hold onto dirt a little bit more than an eggshell emulsion, so sometimes you can see tramlines where water has collected and run down your walls. However, you can generally avoid this problem by ventilating your room. 

Acrylic Eggshell 

Acrylic eggshell contains even more polymer binder than durable matt. The sheen level is around 20%, meaning there is a little bit of a shine to it. This puts a lot of people off. However, eggshell stands up to condensation brilliantly. The water will just run off without leaving a mark. You can even wipe this paint down on a regular basis without issue. 

Anti-Mould Paints 

Mould is caused by fungi growth in your home and can have a negative effect on your health, not to mention the aesthetics of your room. There are a few steps you can take to avoid mould growth, and paint is a biggie.  

Put simply, some paints contain a biocide, so mould will never grow. There are a few good anti-mould paints out there, but the one held in the highest regard by decorators is Zinsser Perma-White. This is a very durable matt paint, capable of being used as an emulsion, or a finish paint on your woodwork.  

This article was written by Mike from Decorators Forum Uk. To find the article Matt from Durovin Bathrooms wrote for them, click here.