Mouldy ceiling paint

[TobyLerone]

In my bathroom.

The paint is also peeling and cracking. So I want to get all the loose paint off, give it a really good clean to get as much mould as possible off it, then repaint.

What do I clean it with?

And the stupidest of all questions: If the cleaner is bleach-based, how do I protect my hair from drips?

First of all I'd tackle the cause. Is there an extractor fan fitted? If not that would help enormously. I assume there's a window; if you can, leave it open as much as possible.

Scrape as much paint as you can off. There's no need to clean it with bleach or harsh chemicals. A solution of sugar soap in hot water would do. But the most important thing before you paint is to apply a coat or two of stain blocker. This will prevent the mould/damp showing through. DIY shops will have it, you use an ordinary paintbrush to apply it. It stinks to high heaven, but does the job!

Yep, there is a window, which is always open. There is an extractor but it's a bit rubbish. Basically it's a really tiny bathroom in dire need of redecorating, but I can't afford to do it all. So I'm just going to tackle the ceiling for now. Baby steps

Thanks for the stain-blocker tip. That's great. I didn't even know there was such a thing!

Shower cap? Might look ridiculous, but better than bleach spotted hair!

Shower cap! Genius

I genuinely hadn't thought of that . I don't own one but will add it to my 'cleaning supplies' list. Even if I don't use bleach, it'll come in handy for when I paint the ceiling.