Between kids, pets, dust, and everything else, your clean walls can get dirty really fast. How do you clean painted walls?
Cleaning painted walls can make an easy chore turn into a full-day project. It can be time consuming, frustrating, and it may damage your walls more if not careful. Hopefully, this article will help you to know what to do, and how to keep your walls nice and clean.
Figure Out Paint Type
This simple, but crucial step can make or break your cleaning process. Determining the type of paint on your walls can show you what products would be best, and how sensitive the finish is.
Types of Paint/ Finishes
- Latex Paint. Walls with this kind of paint can be cleaned with a nonabrasive scrubber and warm water.
- Glossy or semi-gloss finishes. Is likely to scratch, but durable enough to stand harsh chemicals.
- Flat, eggshell, or stain finishes. Walls with these finishes are less durable than others and can rub off if scrubbed too hard. When cleaning, avoid abrasive scrubbers and harsh chemicals. Use a mild soap or detergent and warm water.
Prepare Room
Preparing the room is essential to avoid any more messes. When preparing the room also dust the walls. This will ensure that dust is not flying everywhere while you are cleaning. Preparing the walls also includes removing any pictures, decorations, hooks, nails, etc. from the walls to ensure the entire wall is being cleaned.
Spot Treat
Depending on what chemical you decide to use, it may be a good idea to try cleaning a small spot that isn’t noticeable. This will see how harsh the chemical will be to the wall. If you don’t see any difference in the color or texture of wall (after it has dried), you can use that chemical on the rest of the wall.
Washing the Walls
Most walls (including ones with stains) can be cleaned with just warm water, or warm water and some mild detergent. If this does not work, try using baking soda. Either mix baking soda in warm water, or dip your rag or sponge into the baking soda and gently scrub onto your walls.
Just like with most stains, the faster it is cleaned, the easier it can be removed.
When cleaning, start at the top and work your way down, and gently scrub in circular motions. Try cleaning your walls on a warm dry day. Once your finished cleaning, you can open your windows to dry your walls.