Why does a black spot keep coming back on the wall after painting?
Dark patches or black spots keep reappearing through fresh paint because underlying moisture problems like water damage have not been resolved. Painting over the area without fixing the root cause traps dampness, which soon makes the paint bubble and lets the spots return.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Wiping it with a cleaning solution
- 2Painting over the area multiple times
- 3Using multiple coats of primer and paint
- 4Keeping windows open
- 5Talking to the landlord
- 6Looking into a mold test
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
r/homeowners1 person · September 2026
r/CleaningTips1 person · September 2026
“I moved into this apartment almost a year ago, and today I noticed some small black spots appearing on the walls. In a few areas, the paint also seems to be bubbling slightly.”source ↗
Lonely-kiddo · r/CleaningTips · 2 upvotes
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 4White cottony growth on basement wall mold or mineral deposits?
- 3Why is this wall discolored if it is not wet?