As I stated in my previous post, I've been painting for years. I started helping my parents when I was a teen, and that was several years ago. I know there are lots of people out there who would rather do anything BUT paint - my husband is one of those people. (And, to be completely honest, I would rather he not paint.) I'm not one of those people, though. I actually really like to paint! It's a relatively cheap home improvement that can change the look of a room in a short amount of time.
Here's a little secret for you, though. Ready?
I HATE painting bathrooms!
It's my absolute least favorite room to paint - I try very hard to avoid it. All those corners and tight areas! The fixtures that have to be removed or meticulously painted around! There are also all those spots that a step stool or ladder just don't fit in to allow easy reach to the top of the wall. Total frustration!!
My biggest problem with painting in a bathroom? The Toilet!!
How are you suppose to get behind that without making a mess?! You could always just get as close as you can without actually painting behind it, but then you will always know that there is this big white spot behind the commode. Or, even worse, someone might see said big white spot and question your mad painting skillz. Nope. It just won't do!
What to do? I've already avoided painting the two upstairs bathrooms for the past five years. However, with the walls looking like they do in the kids' bathroom, it was time to suck it up and get it done.
Then a moment of genius struck. I can cover the back of the commode with a kitchen trash bag to keep it clean! Sweet!
So quick. So easy. Plus, my type of trash bag was stretchy with a draw string so it really hugged the tank and stayed out of my way.
I used an extra little piece of tape to get the bag a little tighter around the tank.
I also put a hole in the bag so the toilet could be flushed. With all my interruptions, we never know how long a project will take.
The whole thing worked out perfectly! I didn't have to be careful when using the paint roller - even though I had a much slimmer profile roller, it still got paint on the bag. The toilet was still functional until I was able to finish painting. And... clean up was a breeze!
Other ideas:
- split open a paper sack and tape it to the tank so the back is protected.
- use wide tape and use several strips to tape the back of the tank
- do nothing and just be really careful
- put pre-painted panelling on the wall behind the toilet
- hire someone to do it for you
Those are my ideas. What do you do when painting in tough spaces? Share here in the comments or on Facebook.
Did you catch the first Painting Tips & Tricks post? If not, or if you want to read it again, here's the link Painting Tips & Tricks: Prepping Your Space.
No comments:
Post a Comment