If you’ve ever painted the inside of your home or hired residential painters for your interior painting projects, you may have experienced “surfactant leaching.” It’s a process where the chemicals used to make the paint stick to surfaces, and walls can seep out of the paint film and into the porous surface below.
This causes discolouration or stains on drywall and other insulating materials. You may not notice it as it’s happening because it happens over time. But once you see some discolouration on your walls, there are ways to fix this problem.
In this blog, we’ll give you an overview of what surfactant leaching is, how it occurs and why it matters for interior painting projects. We’ll also share tips on how to prevent or fix surfactant leaching so that no matter what kind of job you’re doing around your home, you know how best to protect yourself from harmful chemicals while still getting great results.
Surfactants are soap-like molecules added to ensure performance, but they sometimes migrate to the surface naturally. They’re also chemicals that are used in paint and other products. In high humidity, they may leach out and leave marks and streaks after painting. Often, residential painters will know how to prevent this, and it is urgent this is fixed as soon as you find it for a few reasons.
Surfactant leaching is a problem that needs to be fixed. However, if you fix it soon after it is discovered, it will improve. The reason for this is simple: if the surfactants in your paint have leached out of the colour and into your wallboard, then there are fewer of them in the coating itself, which means less protection for your walls.
So over time, as more water seeps into the wallboard behind your drywall or plaster surface coatings, and UV light continues breaking down those chemicals, you will end up with even more damage than before. Fortunately, there are some steps that residential painters can take to assist you with this issue.
First and foremost, you or the residential painters must take action as soon as possible. If you notice surfactant leaching on an interior wall, take action quickly. The longer the marks sit there, the harder they are to remove. These painters can usually remove them within the first few days of noticing them.
They do this by using water and high-pressure hoses to eliminate the effects of leaching marks. More severe outbreaks might need more elbow grease applied; concrete surfaces may require cleaning with a soft-bristled brush.
To prevent surfactant leaching, you should avoid painting on humid days and in the winter. For example, only paint an interior wall when the weather is above 50 degrees Fahrenheit. You should also wait until at least 24 hours after significant storms (like rain or snow) have passed before starting your project.
Platinum Paints can handle your home’s interior painting and decorating. As experienced professionals in West London, we have served the local communities for years and have a combined 20 years of experience as a team.
So, no matter your house painting needs, we would be delighted to assist you, even in winter. Contact us today to get a custom quote for your property and learn more about how we can upgrade your home’s interior.
