What is this stuff on my bathroom walls?!

[cwilliamsws6]

This orangish-brown looking stuff has been appearing on the walls of my bathroom for quite some time. It comes right off with a wet washcloth or a Clorox wipe. It appears on all the walls, sometimes little spots on the ceiling and the door too.

I've repainted everything twice now and it keeps coming back.

Bathroom is well ventilated, rarely gets steamed up, and nobody has ever smoked in the bathroom so it's not tar or anything like that.

 

[Propflux01]

Walls in the Amityville house did that too. Call a priest.

 

[dishdude]

Mildew, just keep wiping it off.

 

[spasm3]

You can get condensation on the walls without the bathroom being steamed up. Hot moist air from the shower, and cool walls, the color is dust/dirt. Run the bathroom fan everytime you take a shower. Also most contractor grade fans are too little to do much. Get a large bathroom fan with a cfm rating.

 

[dippschtick]

 

[DemoFly]

The Non-Demonic Reason Why Your Walls Might "Bleed" | Hunker

Are mysterious brown drips showing up on your bathroom walls? It might be surfactant leaching — here's everything you need to know about the phenomenon.

www.hunker.com

 

[Inked]

You can get condensation on the walls without the bathroom being steamed up. Hot moist air from the shower, and cool walls, the color is dust/dirt. Run the bathroom fan everytime you take a shower. Also most contractor grade fans are too little to do much. Get a large bathroom fan with a cfm rating.

Panasonic makes some nice fans. Adjustable CFM settings. Mine is set to 150.

 

[vavavroom]

Probably what's called pink mold. It's actually bacteria that likes it moist and warm and that feeds on biofilms. Pink mold thrives in soap scum. I'd wipe that ceiling down with a disinfectant every once on a while to see if that prevents the problem.

 

[Warstud]

Is it an Exterior Wall ( face the outside ) ?

 

[demarpaint]

It's soap scum mixed with perspiration that comes off your body when showering or bathing. It also mixes with airborne dust, dirt, etc. It's common in poorly vented bathrooms. It will wash right off, however it will also bleed through paint if the walls and ceilings are not cleaned of it prior to repainting. The best type of paint is a kitchen and bath type paint for bathrooms which can stand up to poorly vented bathrooms a little longer than regular paints. The fix is to get proper ventilation in that bathroom as already mentioned.

 

[Lubener]

I get that in the hallway outside my bathroom. It's from moisture.

 

[Aredeeem]

If you’re stuck with a contractor grade exhaust fan run it for a good while after you complete your bath/shower. At least 30 minutes. Also for re painting use a paint such as Benjamin Moore Aura for Bath and Spa. It has anti-mildew properties that resist that type of growth.

 

[Pablo]

Cheap paint.

The runs are not mold or growth, it's from the paint.

 

[PontiacHO]

Moisture wicking from the other side. Does your bathroom have a ventilation fan? How about a window?

 

[FT92]

i used to get that also , replaced the cheap exhaust fan with a higher end fan and all is good

 

[ka9mnx]

Zinsser, bought mine at Lowe's, makes an interior, mold resistant, paint for bathrooms. I used it to paint the interior cabin on my sailboat which has very poor interior ventilation. Five years and no mold which is amazing in my coastal climate.

 

[Passport1]

I'm sure I saw something like that goo in a couple of scenes from the movie 'The Exorcist'. Linda Blair's bedroom wall.

 

[Lubener]

I'm sure I saw something like that goo in a couple of scenes from the movie 'The Exorcist'. Linda Blair's bedroom wall.

and the pea soup.

 

[cwilliamsws6]

Thanks everyone. The bathroom does have a fan its a 70CFM Nutone. The bathroom does have a window as well.

It appears on all the walls in the bathroom, somehow the exterior wall with the window is where it appears the least.