White Patches On Painted Walls

[gumbokins 5]

Hey guys, saw this on ST Forum yesterday:

Home makeover ends in mouldy disaster

Dec 11, 2010

Home makeover ends in mouldy disaster

MY FAMILY repainted our house recently using Nippon Paint and we were utterly disappointed with the results.

Three months after the painting, the walls in one of the rooms started developing white patches that looked like mould. Soon all the walls having the same colour had mouldy patches all over.

We called Nippon Paint and they sent one of their salesmen down. After doing some tests, he concluded that the white patches were probably due to the cement (salt water soil) in HDB walls.

As we were unconvinced by his explanation, he arranged another appointment for his technicians to come and do a more thorough check. After another round of checks, the conclusion was that all paints were like that and the reason we didn't notice was that the white patches were not visible against light colours. Furthermore, a sealer must always be used before painting the walls.

If what he said was true, then why do they still sell dark colour paints? And if a sealer has to be used every time, why are such instructions not printed on the tins nor communicated to end-users?

Tan Peng Lee

--

I noticed the same problem on my MBR wall, painted moss green. I think we used Nippon paint too, but I don't think it's a Nippon paint problem? We managed to wipe the white stuff off with a wet rag, earlier my husband thought it was just dust from when they were building the sheltered walkway downstairs (we stay on a low floor). But now we're thinking that it's this cement-salt thing too (also known as efflorescence?). Funny thing is, only one of the walls is affected (the one that separates my unit from the common corridor). Anybody encounter the same problem?

[neubie 2]

Hey guys, saw this on ST Forum yesterday:

Home makeover ends in mouldy disaster

Dec 11, 2010

Home makeover ends in mouldy disaster

MY FAMILY repainted our house recently using Nippon Paint and we were utterly disappointed with the results.

Three months after the painting, the walls in one of the rooms started developing white patches that looked like mould. Soon all the walls having the same colour had mouldy patches all over.

We called Nippon Paint and they sent one of their salesmen down. After doing some tests, he concluded that the white patches were probably due to the cement (salt water soil) in HDB walls.

As we were unconvinced by his explanation, he arranged another appointment for his technicians to come and do a more thorough check. After another round of checks, the conclusion was that all paints were like that and the reason we didn't notice was that the white patches were not visible against light colours. Furthermore, a sealer must always be used before painting the walls.

If what he said was true, then why do they still sell dark colour paints? And if a sealer has to be used every time, why are such instructions not printed on the tins nor communicated to end-users?

Tan Peng Lee

--

I noticed the same problem on my MBR wall, painted moss green. I think we used Nippon paint too, but I don't think it's a Nippon paint problem? We managed to wipe the white stuff off with a wet rag, earlier my husband thought it was just dust from when they were building the sheltered walkway downstairs (we stay on a low floor). But now we're thinking that it's this cement-salt thing too (also known as efflorescence?). Funny thing is, only one of the walls is affected (the one that separates my unit from the common corridor). Anybody encounter the same problem?

i tink a basecoat is necessary as a priming layer before the final color is applied, makes the end-result more uniform and smooth-looking....

[Topspin 1]

It is most probably mold growth. Mold loves to "eat" paint for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Is your room rather humid? Do you open the windows often during the afternoon to introduce dryer air from the outside? Another alternative is to keep the aircon on as long as possible. Mold cannot survive if the air humidity is below 50% which you can achieve with air conditioning.

If you read some of my other posting, you will notice I have been battling mold for a long time in my house. Once a mold starts in the house, it will spread to other parts of the house, especially the wooden surfaces and it is very very difficult to completely remove them. We can control them but hard to remove it completely.

In my other posting, I strongly recommend the use of Borax to harmlessly control mold in painted walls/ceilings.

If you ignore your mold problem (assuming your health was not affected yet), very soon tiny little crawling insects (about 1 mm long) will start to infest your wall as they feed on the mold. A visitor who steps into a mold infested house will remark about the moldy smell the moment they step into the house.

If you have mold on your wall, you will probably have even more mold on your ceilings. Does your upstrairs neighbour switch on the air con full blast continuously? If yes, the cold on your ceiling will cause moisture condensation. Water condensation is ideal for mold as they feed on the paint.

Do this test, swipe a whitish patch with your fingers and then take a whiff of it. Mold will have a very distinctive musty and disgusting smell.

I stopped believing in the claims by paint manufacturer that the paint is fungus resistance for X years. The effect is usually temporary only.

Edited December 15, 2010 by Topspin

[EV-Disinfection 0]

It is most probably mold growth. Mold loves to "eat" paint for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Is your room rather humid? Do you open the windows often during the afternoon to introduce dryer air from the outside? Another alternative is to keep the aircon on as long as possible. Mold cannot survive if the air humidity is below 50% which you can achieve with air conditioning.

If you read some of my other posting, you will notice I have been battling mold for a long time in my house. Once a mold starts in the house, it will spread to other parts of the house, especially the wooden surfaces and it is very very difficult to completely remove them. We can control them but hard to remove it completely.

In my other posting, I strongly recommend the use of Borax to harmlessly control mold in painted walls/ceilings.

If you ignore your mold problem (assuming your health was not affected yet), very soon tiny little crawling insects (about 1 mm long) will start to infest your wall as they feed on the mold. A visitor who steps into a mold infested house will remark about the moldy smell the moment they step into the house.

If you have mold on your wall, you will probably have even more mold on your ceilings. Does your upstrairs neighbour switch on the air con full blast continuously? If yes, the cold on your ceiling will cause moisture condensation. Water condensation is ideal for mold as they feed on the paint.

Do this test, swipe a whitish patch with your fingers and then take a whiff of it. Mold will have a very distinctive musty and disgusting smell.

I stopped believing in the claims by paint manufacturer that the paint is fungus resistance for X years. The effect is usually temporary only.

Wow, good post, I agree with almost everything that you have written except for:

Molds will survive even in outer space, so if you can control the moisture in the air (humidity) you can control the mold from spreading, but this does not mean the molds are dead, they just remain dormant, till conditions are right before reproducing and spreading again. Note that molds are micro - organisms, you would need a optical microscope to see them, but once you can see them with your naked eyes, we call them an infection.

The protein in almost all home paints are a food source for the molds.

Do not sniff too hard when in close contact with mold, as that is how people develop allergies , Asthma ... etc

I have seen many of these 0.5mm bugs on the walls of the homes they i treat, these feed on the early stage molds (not many enough for you to see them yet) these bugs are a sign that an infection will take place soon.

I strongly do not recommend Borax, as it is classified as a poison and is toxic. You can buy from the internet, you just have to be really careful, as it needs approval as it is under the SG poison's act.

[Topspin 1]

I strongly do not recommend Borax, as it is classified as a poison and is toxic. You can buy from the internet, you just have to be really careful, as it needs approval as it is under the SG poison's act.

Thanks for contributing and advising but I think you need to at least inform the readers here that you have a commercial product to sell. We can then make our own judgement on the pros and cons of any advice given i.e advice given by you, by me or anyone else.

Edited April 14, 2011 by Topspin

[EV-Disinfection 0]

<!--quoteo(post=628470:date=Apr 12 2011, 12:31 AM:name=EV-Disinfection)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (EV-Disinfection @ Apr 12 2011, 12:31 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=628470"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I strongly do not recommend Borax, as it is classified as a poison and is toxic. You can buy from the internet, you just have to be really careful, as it needs approval as it is under the SG poison's act.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Thanks for contributing and advising but I think you need to at least inform the readers here that you have a commercial product to sell. We can then make our own judgement on the pros and cons of any advice given i.e advice given by you, by me or anyone else.

Hi Topspin,

Thank you for the response,

Firstly, i do not sell any products, but we have a service to help people with Mold / Hygiene / Asthma issues.

http://www.greensingapore.com/Singlenews.aspx?DirID=132&rec_code=715215&title=The%20cons%20of%20air-con

Secondly, Am just stating some facts on Borax. (which can be found on the internet -- Google)

Have a good weekend,

EV-D