How To: Paint Behind a Toilet

Hello, my friend, hello again; today we come together to talk about How To: Paint Behind a Toilet and hope the blog can help you.

Repainting the bathroom? These techniques will help you apply paint in the hardest place to reach by roller—behind the toilet—so that you can achieve professional-looking results.

The cramped space behind the toilet is a difficult portion of the bathroom to maintain, posing a challenge when it comes time to dust and an even larger one when repainting. A toilet tank situated not quite flush against the wall leaves very little room to operate a brush or paint roller but just enough that it would be noticeable to leave the color unchanged while the rest of the room gets a refresh. Fortunately, DIY-inclined homeowners and renters have two easy options for how to paint behind a toilet, neither of which require moving the bulky ceramic out of the way.

• Option 1: Cover your toilet with a trash bag and line the floor with drop cloths so that you can work without fear of mess. This option is ideal when you are repainting your entire bathroom or the full wall where your toilet sits.
• Option 2: Enlist a specialty tool called the Jimmy Sponge Stix to slide into the narrow space behind a toilet and pad on paint. Use it together with Option 1 to ensure a complete and flawless paint job or alone as a “quick fix” to correct discoloration on the patch of wall directly behind the toilet.

Before you begin, make sure to select the right primer and paint. Bathrooms, of course, are exposed to a lot of moisture and humidity, so your paint choice should be designed to withstand the combination. Consider a paint with anti-microbial additives, like Benjamin Moore’s Aura Bath and Spa collection, or an interior paint with semi- or high-gloss finish—this sheen repels moistures better than matte paints. And don’t forget to start with a top-quality, moisture-resistant paint primer. The right primer will prevent peeling and water damage for years.