The paint in our bathroom keeps peeling and bubbling — how do I prep and repaint so it actually lasts in the humidity?

Repainting over the same problem is why it keeps coming back within months. Bathroom paint fails for one reason: moisture gets behind or through the paint film faster than it can dry. Fix the cause and the method, not the coat thickness.

First, rule out a real leak. If the bubbling is always in the same patch, feels damp, or is on a wall shared with a pipe run, that's likely water tracking from behind — a slab/waterproofing or pipe issue, not paint. No coating survives that; get the source found first. If it's general across the ceiling and worst after showers, it's condensation — fixable below.

The prep that actually lasts: - Scrape back all loose and bubbled paint to a sound, firm edge — don't paint over flaking. - Treat any black mould with a proper fungicidal wash and let it kill, not just wipe grey. - Let it dry out fully — days, not hours. Painting onto a damp substrate guarantees re-peeling. - Sand, then seal/prime with a stain-blocking primer-sealer — this is the step people skip and the reason topcoat won't key. - Use a bathroom/kitchen-grade paint — a moisture- and mould-resistant formulation, not standard matt emulsion. Manufacturers like Jotun publish specific anti-mould interior ranges for wet rooms.

Then fix the humidity itself: run the extractor *during and 15–20 minutes after* every shower, and leave the door ajar to dry the room. Paint is the last layer — it can only hold if the wall behind it is dry. If you'd rather have the mould treated and the room repainted properly in one go, that's routine painting services in Dubai.