San Francisco, Bay Area color expert investigates: Let's weep for my walls...

Oh wait, they can do that without any help!

Bathroom streaks, take 1.

For those of you unfamiliar with my plight, those are dry shiny drip marks you see on my walls. You can wash them out with soap and water, but they return immediately. I will give this disclaimer: we do have a rather poorly-ventilated bathroom, but we always leave the door and a window open to air it out.

Everyone wants to know about the outcome of my weeping walls. There was a great discussion that ensued in the comments section of the initial post, debating what to do, and where these pesky streaks come from.

Responding quickly, Benjamin Moore hooked me up with a gallon of their brand spanking new product in their Aura line, called Bath and Spa paint.

In preparation for my repaint, I washed the walls down with a mild soap, then rinsed them with clean water. To be extra careful, we left the bathroom unused for a week, to make extra sure the walls were completely dry. (Probably unnecessary, but I didn't want to take any chances, since this product was supposed to take care of moisture issues in high humidity spaces.) I had high hopes for this matte finish paint, as I have otherwise been quite impressed with the quality of Aura paint.

Bathroom streaks, take 2

Alas, I was sadly unimpressed with everything about it. First off, it's supposed to be low-VOC, and so shouldn't smell strongly. But it did, and the smell lingered for 3 days, even with windows open. Odd, but not the end of the world.

Regular Aura paint is thick, like yogurt. But the Bath and Spa paint was thin and covered poorly. But worst of all, after repainting my entire room, the weeping, dripping walls returned within a week. So disappointing.

First thing I will do is go out and get a dehumidifier. Given that this moisture occurred from condensation, I'm a bit perplexed why it didn't just evaporate. Why those nasty streaks on a product that was designed specifically to counter those effects?

image source

If that doesn't work, maybe I ought to make that humidity work to my advantage. How about a moss rug, sustained by the humidity in a bathroom!

So, what now? Any suggestions?