Do you also cringe at the damp walls during monsoons and the paint cracks that appear afterwards? Well, this is just one of the many paint problems in monsoons that people living in Mumbai have to face every year.
Clumping, flaking, and crumpling of wall paint during the monsoon are common problems in cities that receive erratic monsoons. Such issues must be addressed sooner rather than later to avoid potential underlying problems.
So, we have come up with some solutions to help you investigate the paint problems in monsoons and solve them easily. Keep reading folks!
Common Paint Problems in Monsoons (Plus Solutions)
You must be wondering what causes paint to crack during monsoon? The answer is dampness and moisture. These are the wall’s biggest enemies!
Insufficient surface preparation can also be an issue if the paint is cracking more than it should. The reason behind the same is over-thinning the paint while applying. Bring in good quality paint to save yourself the extra trouble.
There are a few paint problems in monsoons that Mumbaikars have to go through every year. Check out what causes these problems and find out their solutions in a quick read:
1. Blistering or bubbling of paint during monsoons
Blistering occurs when the paint film is unable to stick to the surface and emerges or lifts from the wall in the form of bubbles. Blisters can form on painted surfaces inside and out, including drywall, plaster, metal, and wood.
It is common in flats and apartments in Mumbai where there is high humidity and dampness in the walls during monsoons. Well, the humidity is high nearly all year long in Mumbai! Anyway, blistering and bubbling mostly occurs when the surface is not well prepared for painting.
Solution & Prevention: There's a moisture problem if the blisters contain multiple coats of paint and when you pop them open, you're left with the naked substrate. Repair plumbing, replace caulking, and/or increase ventilation as needed to address this.
Then sand smooth, clean, prime, and replace any blistered paint. Use good quality paint for your walls to avoid future trouble.
2. Paint peeling off the walls
Peeling is another paint problem in monsoons and it affects both interior and exterior walls. A faulty paint job could be the cause of the exterior layer of paint coming off in some areas. This happens when a new coat is applied over an old one without first removing the old one.
As a result, the new paint fails to adhere to the wall and begins to peel. It can also happen if the wall has not been thoroughly cleaned and has accumulated moisture before a new coat of paint is done.
Solution & Prevention: Base up the wall with drying materials before applying the new coat of paint. Smoothen the wall by removing the peeling paint by priming and sanding the surface. Apply undercoat and let it thoroughly dry. Try to have as much ventilation in the room as possible to let the walls dry properly, leaving little to no dampness. Apply good quality paint to avoid the peeling of paint in the monsoon season. Check out the best paint for exterior walls for your house in Mumbai.
3. Fungal mould
Fungal mould is identified by the presence of black, green, or brown spores on the surface of the wall. Moisture, leaking, or poor ventilation are all indicators of the same.
This happens when the paint is of poor quality and lacks any antifungal characteristics. Lack of adequate sunlight is another factor. The growth of fungal mould is a serious problem a lot of homeowners in Mumbai face, mostly the ones living on the lower floors of an apartment due to the dampness seeping in from the ground. However, there are a few options to prevent fungal moulds.
Solution & Prevention: It's best to figure out what's causing the fungal mould in the first place. Leakage, poor ventilation, dampness, or a lack of natural light are all possibilities. If the issue is leaking, start with the source.
To kill the spores, clean the area with white vinegar. Allow the area to become free of fungal mould, clean it, and allow it to dry completely. Apply a stain-blocking primer followed by an oil-based paint coat, and voila, you have your fungal mould problem fixed!
4. Yellowing of the walls
Remember those yellow patches below your window sills or lining the corners of the walls? Well, that is the embarrassing paint problem in the monsoon for people living in Mumbai. Yellowing is most common in areas such as the kitchen, behind the stove, and on the wall behind large electrical gadgets. It occurs due to a lack of light, heat, and paint oxidation.
Another reason for the yellowing of the walls is poor quality wall priming material that cracks up after a few heaving showers of rain, thus causing the paint to drip and fade over time.
Solution & Prevention: When painting over the yellow blotch on the wall, use high-quality, water-based paints. Yet again, thoroughly clean the area before applying the primer and water-based paint to avoid the yellowing issue anytime soon.
5. Wrinkling of paint on the walls
Ever notice some wrinkles on the walls like the ones you see when the clothes start to crease? That’s called wrinkling of the paint on walls, and it is the most annoying paint problem that occurs in monsoons. If the wrinkles have become your biggest pet peeve then you better get rid of them soon.
First things first, wrinkling occurs when the paint begins to wrinkle like creases on a cloth. This could have occurred because the weather was either too hot, too cloudy, or too damp when the paint was initially applied. It makes the top layer of paint dry quickly while the second layer remains damp. Wrinkling is caused by variations in paint drying time.
Solution & Prevention: Sandpaper or any other scouring agent can be used to peel off the wrinkled paint. Before applying the topcoat, let the primer dry fully. Before you apply new paint, make sure the weather conditions are suitable. Prevent the issue by fixing up your exterior wall paint so that the moisture can’t seep through the walls during heaving rains.
To wrap it up, there is only one thing you need to ensure, which is to use good quality primer and wall paint to preserve the home walls during heavy monsoon in Mumbai. We can’t stress on how important it is to freshen up your paint from time to time to avoid breaking up the walls.
As a thumb rule, the areas or wall paint affected during the monsoons use good scouring agents and sandpaper to smoothen it up before applying the next coat. Are you facing similar problems? Get more advice about the solutions to paint problems in monsoons, catch our experts by pinging.