Surfactant Leaching: Everything You Need to Know

It’s time. You’ve been eyeing a new color for a while and it’s finally time for you to paint your bedroom walls. 

After you finish your new paint job, you start to find these colored drip marks running down the side of your walls that weren’t there before. You might think to yourself, “did I buy the wrong paint? Did I use the wrong brush? Did I do it all wrong?”.

Don’t blame yourself just yet. What you’re experiencing is surfactant leaching, which a lot of people aren’t familiar with. In this blog post, the professional painters in Tucson explain to you what surfactant leaching is, what you can do to prevent it, and how to fix it if it’s already happened to you. 

What Is Surfactant Leaching? 

Surfactant leaching is what happens a freshly painted surface is exposed to water or condensation, causing water-soluble components within your paint to leach out from the paint surface. This is what’s causing the sticky brown streaks lining your walls. Most people describe surfactant leaching as brown, sticky, glossy, or even greasy. 

This happens often in humid conditions. Humidity, steam, dampness, and cold can all affect how well your paint dries and whether surfactants leach from your paint during the drying process.

Preventing Surfactant Leaching 

The best way to avoid surfactant leaching from occurring is to avoid painting rooms during periods of high humidity or cold temperatures. 

If there’s no way for you to avoid painting rooms with conditions like these, then there are a few other ways for you to avoid surfactant leaching. Use high-quality paints rated for the appropriate indoor or outdoor use. Avoid acrylic or latex paints as much as possible because the ingredients of latex paint are what contribute to surfactant leaching.

If you’re painting in a bathroom, wait a few days to take a shower or bath. When you use your shower, the hot water creates humidity and condensation, which can easily cause surfactant leaching. Make sure to use proper ventilation in any room you paint in to prevent problems from arising. 

Fixing Surfactant Leaching

If you have surfactant leaching—no worries! Check out these tips and tricks to fix surfactant leaching. 

Use a damp cloth with soap and water to wash off the leaching. If you can’t get rid of the greasy marks completely, then it might be time to repaint the problem area. If you decide to do so, just make sure you paint the room in better conditions to avoid the issue from occurring again.

Contact the Professional Painters at Nelson J. Greer in Tucson, AZ

If you’re looking for professional painters in the Tucson area, look no further! Here at Nelson J. Greer, our trusted painting contractors and commercial painters are the perfect fit to get the job done—and it’s a great way to avoid surfactant leaching altogether! 

We provide our customers with excellent painting techniques and services, quality workmanship, competitive pricing, and over 60 years of experience under our belt. Call us today at Nelson J. Greer at (520) 325-5800, or contact us now and get a free painting quote in Tucson, AZ!