Waterproof Paint

Water damage to your home can come from all kinds of places, but the most likely cause of interior damage is generally just every day wear and tear from showering, washing clothes, taking hot baths, and cooking on the stove. Even moisture that seeps in the house from outside in the form of humidity can create problems by rusting or decaying building materials and peeling of the many painted surfaces in your home. This humidity can also help with the growth of mold and the growth of other fungi in your home.

You can prevent it, though, in most cases by simply following a few different steps. Using waterproof paint in your home can help tremendously and stop water from infiltrating your walls and ceilings. This will help stop the water from discoloring these items so you will not have to repaint them as often as you would if you used a normal interior paint.

Vapor barriers can be used to coat interior walls and ceilings and keep moisture from getting into these surfaces. When water gets underneath a layer of paint, it creates a pocket of moisture which eventually builds up so much that the paint starts to peel away and become discolored. Waterproof paint does not allow for this. There are both waterproof topcoat paints and primers available for purchase to use in your home.

The best areas to use waterproof paint in if you cannot afford to use it on the whole house right away are the areas that are most prone to exposure to water vapor. This includes the bathroom, kitchen, laundry room, and basement. These areas are the most at risk for coming into contact with large amounts of steam every day. Out of these four areas, the bathroom and kitchen are the most important, since we all have to frequent these two rooms in the home each and every day, often several times a day whether we want to or not.

Using a primer on your wall that is mold resistant is also a good idea in any humid area of your home, since mold is most likely to grow in these areas. Using one that is stain resistant is also a good idea, since water damage will usually lead to discoloration of the wall or ceiling.

High-gloss paint is easy to clean, but unfortunately if the surface you painted it with has many imperfections, each and every one will show up. Semi-gloss paint has less of a shine than high-gloss, but it is much easier to clean up. Eggshell paints and flat paints are the easiest to clean up and are starting to be more popular as higher quality paints with a high pigment content are becoming available in that style

Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of
Texas Water Damage Restoration and
Houston Water Damage Restoration Which are Certified IICRC Water damage and mold remediation contractors.