Your interior trim and baseboards are subjected to a lot of wear and tear. As the barriers that protect your walls, the paint needs to be retouched every now and then to keep them in good shape and looking their best. In this guide, we outline some telltale signs that you need to repaint your interior trim and baseboards to help boost your home’s beauty and value.

It’s Been at Least 3 Years

If it’s been three or more years since you painted, it’s time to give your interior trim and baseboards a fresh coat of paint. Professional residential painters and home value experts recommend having these interior features repainted every three to five years or at the first sign of visible damage to keep them in the best possible shape.

There’s Visible Damage

A damaged white baseboard, missing a chunk of wood

Interior trim and baseboards are highly vulnerable to damage, thanks to foot traffic, vacuums, pets, and more. Visible wear and tear like chips, scuffs, and scratches are often the first noticeable signs that it’s time for a repaint. Paint damage to trim and baseboards is usually most common in the busiest areas of your home like the kitchen or around doors.

In addition to decreasing visual appeal, wear and tear can also be functionally detrimental. Trim and baseboards are structurally integral barriers that defend your walls against damage, so it’s important to keep them maintained and protected with fresh coats of paint.

The Paint is Faded

A professional residential painter repaints the interior trim around a window.

Frequent exposure to direct sunlight can cause trim and baseboard paint to fade over time, due to the degrading properties of UV rays.

Although faded paint is often an eyesore, this can be easily fixed with a fresh coat of paint.

The Paint Is Peeling or Bubbling

woman in a painter's uniform repainting the interior window trim inside a house

Peeling or bubbling paint on your trim or baseboards is often a sign of poor adhesion caused by the general passage of time, poor application, or humidity damage. A residential painting company can easily remove the damaged paint, professionally prep the surface, and repaint your interior trim and baseboards with perfect long-lasting results.

If the paint peeling or blistering, is the result of a humidity issue in your home, that should be fixed before anything else. When water gets trapped beneath the paint, this excess moisture will cause the paint to lose its surface adhesion, which results in damage to both the paint and the interior of your home. After the humidity problem is addressed, and before repainting, your painting team will apply a high-quality, moisture and mold-resistant primer to the entire surface area to reduce the risk of future damage.

Your Trim and Baseboards Have Stains

A professional painter repaints interior baseboards with a brush and white paint.

If there are stains on your trim and baseboards that just won’t go away no matter how hard you scrub, it’s time for a fresh coat of paint. This is especially true if the current paint is a lighter color like white or gray, which highlights stains more prominently.

Using paint with a high-gloss sheen on your interior trim and baseboards will provide the most durable and long-lasting results and make them extremely easy to clean.

You Want to Freshen Up the Space

Green interior baseboards and trim

Simply wanting to revamp your living space is as perfect a reason as any to repaint your interior trim and baseboards. If you’re in the mood to spice things up a bit or go in a new interior design direction, repainting specific features like the trim and baseboards is one of the most cost-effective ways to instantly freshen up any room.

Not to mention, repainting is great for increasing the value of your home

You Notice Signs of Mildew, Mold, or Rot

Fungus and mold growing on white interior window trim

Anything in a home that is made of wood is going to be susceptible to mildew, mold, and rot, including your interior trim and baseboards.

  • Mold is a fungus that manifests as dark spots, and it’s usually slimy or fuzzy. It comes in many different colors and textures.
  • Mildew is a type of mold that manifests as white or gray blotches with a powdery texture.
  • Rot refers to the decaying of materials like wood, thanks to bacteria and fungi. Rotten wood will be soft to the touch and often causes structural damage.

If you notice any of these on your trim and baseboards, the issue should be addressed as soon as possible. Once this has been tackled, a professional painting project will protect the wood from future damage and restore a room’s beauty.

Get a Free Estimate for Your Residential Painting Project in Sonoma County Today

If your interior trim and baseboards have seen better days, a fresh coat of paint will give your home the revitalization it needs. The team of experts at Timmins Paints has been providing residential painting services to Sonoma County residents for over 25 years, so you can trust us to get the job done perfectly. We’ll paint your crown molding, baseboards, and trim with immaculate attention to detail and the friendly customer service you deserve.

For a free estimate, fill out our online contact form or give us a call at 707-792-0773.