Interior Painting Residential Painting

How Often Should You Paint Your House Interiors?

Posted on October 14, 2020

painting home interiorFor many of us, our homes are one of our single greatest assets. They can inspire in us a great deal of pride, but they can also come with many responsibilities in their upkeep. Among the most important house maintenance tasks is making sure it always has a fresh coat of paint, for both aesthetic and protective reasons.

In figuring out how to best take care of your home, you may find a lot of questions starting to pop up. How often should you paint your house? What’s the difference between latex and oil-based paints? How do I know when my house needs a fresh, new coat of paint? Truthfully, every house is different, so knowing how often you should paint your house can be determined by many factors from where you live, to how you wash your clothes.

How Often Should Paint Your House Interiors?

The rooms inside your house have different levels of wear and tear and therefore require different amounts of upkeep. There are a few guidelines you can follow to determine more or less when it’s time to paint.

Bedrooms

The walls on children’s bedrooms get to see a lot more of their personality. From scribbles and scuffs to dents and dings, these rooms will often start to show wear and tear much sooner than adult bedrooms. You’ll want to repaint a child’s room every 2 to 3 years with a stronger finish that can withstand scrubbing messes. Adult bedrooms, on the other hand, do well with a paint upgrade every 5 to 7 years.

Common Areas

Areas that are frequently subject to a lot of activity, like living rooms, kitchens and dining rooms can be maintained for a while if they are initially painted with high-quality paint. If these rooms are well-kept, they won’t need a new coat of paint for 5 to 7 years.

Areas of Most Importance

The interiors of your house you’ll want to paint most often are those that are either highly trafficked, or collect excess moisture. Bathrooms fall into both these categories. Areas like hallways and entryways/foyers tend to get a lot of foot traffic and action. Whereas laundry rooms may not be used as often, they can build up a lot of moisture that could eventually seep into and destroy your walls. These areas that are prone to moisture buildup should be repainted every 2 to 3 years, making sure to take care of any crevices where leaks may occur.

Bonus

Don’t forget your ceilings and trim. It’s recommended you paint these when you paint the rest of the room. But in case it’s been a while, you should paint your ceilings every ten years to avoid any damage from sun exposure and moisture. Meanwhile, trimming upgrades can depend on where they’re located. Whether they’re baseboards that collect more dust and dirt, or crown moldings that are a little bit more out of reach can make the difference between repainting these every 2 to 4 years.

If you’re unsure whether your home needs a new coat of paint right now, or are still wondering how often you should paint your house interiors, an expert may be able to help. A professional house painter can also help you determine if there is any underlying damage that should be treated before a paint job can begin. CertaPro Painters offers free in-home estimates on a variety of interior house painting services. Call or set up an estimate appointment online today to schedule your free consultation.