Causes of peeling paint on walls, ceilings, and floors

The main reason for the paint peeling off, blistering, or cracking of color is due to the loss of adhesion between the color and the surface it is painted on.

1. Water is the biggest threat to the building structure. It is the primary cause as it penetrates through the different coats of paint into the home's interior and results in bulging, cracking, and flaking off color from the walls and ceilings. Water exposure on the walls and ceilings is due to leaky pipes, broken roofs, poor gutters, rainfall, or water splashes.

2. The environment with high humidity and condensation ruins the painted surface. The high humidity causes moisture build-up and leads to flaking and bulging of paint. The excess condensation causes dampness which is the breeding place for mold and fungi growth. These two cause significant damage to the health and the building when exposed for a longer time.

3. If there are any leaky pipes, roofs, gutters, sinks, or floors, it causes the moisture to build up and slowly ends up in the blistering and chipping of the paint. If the plumbing network that runs behind the walls burst, the water gets under the color, making it a complete disaster. So, it has to be periodically checked and maintained to avoid water intrusion and seepage.

4. During monsoon season, the home's exterior wall gets exposed to rainfall, and the moisture builds up between the wall and the painted surface. This results in poor adhesion, and cracks are formed. It finally results in blistering or chipping of paint. Also, the water enters through the damages to the interior walls, and moisture builds up.

5. If the surface to be painted is not prepared correctly, it leads to paint peeling within the short term. That is, if the surface is uneven, unprimed, incomplete joints, or seam tape placed improperly, then the paint will not adhere to the surface properly, leading to blistering or peeling off the paint.

6. If the painted surface is exposed to high temperatures or intense sunlight, it causes the paint to dry faster, makes it fragile, and form cracks. This weekend the adhesive bond between the surface and the color leads to peeling or flaking of paint.

7. If you do not make sure of the cleaned surface before painting, it ends up wasting time and money. The dirt, oil, or grease will prevent the paint from sticking correctly onto the wooden, metallic, or concrete surfaces. So the color will bulge or bubble immediately, causing the color to fall off.

8. If the type of paint used is not compatible with the surface of the application, it leads to the flaking of paint. So the adequate paint adhesion is not achieved in poorly cured wood, smooth and glossy surfaces. Make sure the color you are planning to use should not have a chemical reaction with the surface to prevent poor mechanical adhesion and weakening of paint coatings.

9. Make sure to use the same type of paint for each coating on the walls and ceilings. If you use different types of paint, some may not go well with the other like oil paints will not work correctly over the latex, etc.,

10. While using low-quality paints results in poor flexibility and adhesion. So you have to choose the paint that has a lot of pigmentation and resins with less solvent. Also, so many layers of paint result in the heavy coating, and the color starts to fall off from the surface.

11. When the painted surface is exposed to corrosive substances like the strong acid or base, it causes cracks, blisters, and finally peeling off paint. So always make sure to clean the painted surface with the diluted solution. The other reasons for peeling off paint are, using the wrong type of paint, expired color, paint not applied well, or bad weather leads to cracking and chipping of paint.

How to fix the peeling of paint :

Step 1:The peeling off paint or the chipping of wall dust must be removed before you paint over the surface. Make sure everything is ready that is necessary to paint over the surface like brush, primer, patching compound, painters tape, putty knife, drop cloth, safety masks, glasses, and gloves, etc.,

Step 2: Once the workspace is prepared, the damaged surface must be removed or scraped using a wire brush or paint scraper. Caution is necessary while grinding so that you should not affect the underneath surface.

Step 3:The repair work will be carried on now, like fixing any leaky pipes, resolving other plumbing issues, fixing the cracks and holes, etc., using a patching compound available in the store with the putty knife.

Step 4: After patching all the repair work, you can use the sandpaper to smoothen the surface to avoid any grooves or lines. Ensure that it's smooth to the surrounding wall area.

Step 5: Clean the area thoroughly using a dry cloth or rag and make sure it's completely free from dust, dirt, stains, oil, etc.; make sure the wall surface is entirely dried for the paint application.

Step 6: Apply the primer to the wall as it helps to seal the surface to protect against moisture, dampness, and mold growth.

Step 7: Select the suitable waterproofing paint according to the surface it has to be applied. It should possess high strength, flexibility, and excellent resistance to water intrusion and terrible weather conditions. Make sure about its high elasticity, water-soluble quality paint, and acrylic-based resins type.

Step 8: Apply two or three coats of waterproofing paint over the wall surface and make sure to dry it thoroughly after each coating. This ensures that the walls give a long-term withstanding capability against water.

So, It's always better to hire a waterproofing expert to determine the root cause of the issue and select the appropriate waterproofing method for quality and efficient work with a warranty.