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Top 10 Most Common House Paint Problems and How to Fix Them

By Bob Formisano, About.com

6 of 10

Mildew

Paint Mildew

Paint Mildew

© Home-Cost.com 2006

Symptoms: Mildew
Mildew is a fungus feeding and growing on the paint film or caulk and is identifiable by its grey, brown, green or dark black "splotchy" spots.

Potential Causes:

  • Combination of moisture, poor ventilation and lack of direct sunlight. Underside of soffits and eaves are especially prone to mildew.
  • Painting over a surface or prior paint film that still had mildew.
  • Use of lower quality paint having inadequate mildewcide.
  • Not priming bare wood before painting.
Possible Repairs:
  • Wearing eye protection (goggles) and rubber gloves, scrub vigorously with a trisodium phosphate cleaning solution or a household bleach solution of 1 part bleach to 3 parts water.
  • Let the solution set on the cleaned are for 10-15 minutes.
  • Rinse with clean water.
  • Wash the area with a detergent solution and rinse again.
  • Let completely dry and paint with a high quality latex house paint.

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