There’s a lot of joy that comes with being a homeowner, but there’s sure a whole lot of work and responsibility that it brings as well. If you’ve owned a home for even a few years, you’re likely aware of how often things can go wrong – and how expensive they can be to fix.
Water damage of some sort is common and something that you may have already experienced. Fixing the cause of water damage can be bad enough, but then you also have to deal with the impact the damage has done to other areas of your home.
Do you know how to stop paint from peeling after water damage? Many homeowners do not. Learning how to fix water damage on your walls can be key to ensuring your home keeps looking its best.
What do you need to know? Read on and we’ll walk you through the basics.
Why Does Paint Peel?
Before we get too far into any specific actions, it’s important that we take the time to understand what we’re working with. If you’ve noticed paint peeling around your home, you may be curious as to why this happens.
Is part of the reason the paint itself is cheap or not good quality? In short, no. In most cases, peeling paint won’t be too related to the quality of the paint. Even cheap paint should do the trick and stick around without peeling for many decades.
This means that if you are noticing peeling paint in your home, there’s a likely exterior source that is causing the trouble. In most cases, that will be some form of water damage.
Moisture of just about any kind and amount can cause paint to peel. It might be a huge leak or something as simple as little moisture or mildew. It doesn’t have to be in large quantities. As long as it is there, the paint around it is going to peel. Water damage and paint do not go hand-in-hand.
The moisture destroys the adhesive property of paint, causing it to come loose in key areas. It’s for this very reason that you’ll likely find peeling paint in the more humid areas of your home, such as the kitchen or bathroom, or even your basement.
Does Your Basement Have Water Damage? You’ll want to look into this question before getting too far into the weeds with repairs. If you don’t get rid of the actual source of water and moisture in your home, it won’t matter if you fix the current paint issues.
New ones will come. You need to attack the direct source of the problem first.
How To Fix Paint Issues
So how do you go about that all-important job? You’ll need to attack the source of moisture first. As long as moisture is dampening the wood in your home, you’ll never attain true paint peace.
First, identify all sources of this issue around your home. The problem could be anywhere, though joint spots, such as windows and doors, are often the most vulnerable.
Anywhere you can spot some kind of sign of water damage, you’ll want to get out some caulk and seal up any areas where moisture might be coming in. Sand and recoat these areas of the wood to better protect them against incoming moisture.
Think of this all as re-fortifying the defenses of your home. You’re in a war against moisture, and you need to make sure the structure of your home is as strong as it could possibly be.
Preventing Moisture Buildup
Once you’ve done this work, you’ll need to determine where the majority of this water damage is coming from. In the majority of instances, you can thank the gutters of your home.
When it rains on your home, the water runs down the roof and pulls in your gutters. If your gutters aren’t perfectly clean, the water can build up and sit here instead of cycling out into your lawn.
The water that sits up in the gutter can eventually seep into your home’s structure via other means. All of a sudden you’ve got water damage. Taking the time to clean your gutters thoroughly a few times a year will help to avoid this issue.
If you live in a location where debris is constantly falling into your gutters, you might need to do this kind of cleaning even more often.
If your gutters don’t seem to be the issue, check on the health of your roof. Are there weakened areas where water and moisture seem to be getting in? Make sure to patch things up and ensure this will no longer continue.
Repainting Your Home
Only once you’re absolutely sure that you’ve determined the source of your moisture problem should you actually fix your peeling paint issue.
This part of the equation isn’t actually too difficult at all. You’ll just need to head down to the store and pick up the same color paint the home was initially painted with. If you want to be extra-safe, go with acrylic latex paint, which seems to stand up the best to potential moisture issues.
Apply the paint in damaged areas and keep an eye on it in the weeks to come. If you notice changes, it might mean you didn’t truly stop the source of your moisture issue.
How to Stop Paint From Peeling
If you’re struggling with peeling paint in your home, it can be frustrating to determine what to do. The above information can help you decide both how to stop paint from peeling and how to prevent it from occurring again. Need more advice for the home? Keep scrolling our blog for more.
Danny White is a freelance writer who offers to ghostwrite, copywriting, and blogging services. He works closely with B2C and B2B businesses providing digital marketing content that gains social media attention and increases their search engine visibility.
