There is always some risk involved with cleaning your home. You’ve been looking at your dirty walls for weeks, wishing you had the nerve to clean them.
You’d like to clean your walls, but you’re not sure how to do it and removing the paint. Unluckily, paint can come right off the wall or fade if you don’t take care.
Thinking about the components of your wall paint is a necessary first step. Several products and cleaning methods are available for oil- and latex-based paint.
Cleaning walls that have oil paint
Wall cleanup is slightly simpler with oil-based paints. Detergent and vinegar are still effective, but a light degreaser works well on oil-based paints without damaging them. There may be a degreaser in the kitchen already if the walls are made of oil.
If you want to put a degreaser to the test, one place to do so is in your kitchen, where grime tends to cling to the walls. Scrubbing with a wire brush or coarse sponge will scratch the surface further.
Even the gentlest cleaning solutions may be too harsh for these abrasive tools. A dish towel and a degreaser should suffice here.
Cleaning walls that have latex paint
Cleaning up with dish detergent and vinegar works great on latex paint. Half a bucket of water with a few tablespoons of vinegar or a few drops of dish detergent should do the trick. With a soft sponge and the combined solutions, carefully scrub the wall surfaces until they are clean.
With each scrubbing and rinsing, squeeze the sponge completely. If the sponge soaks up too much of the solution, unsightly and difficult-to-fix streaks may appear on the painted surface.
Are you supposed to clean wall before painting
You’ve probably heard that washing the walls before painting them is a must. Yet, if you’re short on time, you may be wondering whether or not this stage is essential.
The usual response is “yes.” Cleaning the walls is essential to getting ready for a flawless paint job.
Your walls need cleaning if any of the following apply:
- Dusty walls
- Walls that have developed mold
- You are painting a mudroom, bathroom, or kitchen
- Your room has a wood-burning fireplace
- Grease and filth have left streaks on the walls.
- You have a messy pet
- There are hand prints on the walls
- Marks from crayons and scuffs from shoes may be seen on the walls
- You or a previous owner smoked inside
All these flaws will make it impossible for the new paint to stick. In time, this leads to the paint fading, chipping, and wearing away. Putting off cleaning a room may be the best idea, but you will find yourself spending more time and money repainting it later.
But, if your walls were painted within the past five years and you don’t have any of the risks listed above, you may not need to wash the walls.
However, the adage “better safe than sorry” applies here. Hence, you can give them a short wash before you paint your interior walls.
How to clean walls with flat paint
What supplies do you need?
- Cleaning pad or eraser
- Soft cloth or a clean rag
- Vinegar
- Mild detergent
- Touch-up paint and a paintbrush
- Warm water
In order to remove unsightly stains or scratch marks from your flat-painted walls, here are some easy and highly effective solutions. In order to avoid scraping or otherwise ruining your paint, consider the following:
Sponge and cloth
It’s best to start with warm water and a clean sponge or cloth. There are instances when you only need water to wash away the stain. You might give the area a light rub and see if that helps. Stains and dirt should be removed from flat-colored walls as soon as possible. It will be more of a chore to clean them up if you put it off for too long.
Make an equal mixture of vinegar and water
If simply rinsing with warm water does not work, you may also try adding a drop or two of a mild detergent or a tiny bit of vinegar.
Specialty sponges
Try using a white sponge made of melamine foam if the stain still won’t come out. They won’t scratch or otherwise damage smooth paint jobs. Beware, too, because worn-out sponges can leave a white residue on deeper wall colors like green, blue, dark grey, or brown.
Retouch paint
In case it is difficult to remove the stain, a can of retouch paint could come in handy. When compared to satin or semigloss finishes, flat paints are much simpler to retouch. Just ensuring that the paint on the wall is not dirty or faded will ensure that the spot you are retouching will blend in seamlessly once the new paint dries.
Finally
Repainting the entire wall is a last resort if you’ve tried everything else and still can’t get it right and don’t have enough paint to do it. Naturally, this will require more time and preparation, but it may be worthwhile to achieve the effect of a stunningly clean wall in the end.
Can you use Mr Clean Magic Eraser on painted walls?
Whether you were moving furniture, chasing the kids, or your toddler tossed something they shouldn’t have, there will always be scratch marks on the wall. Yet, erasing scribbles from walls is a breeze.
The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is ideal for this sort of cleaning. Wall marks are nearly impossible to see after being erased with a magic eraser. Hence, you may finally rid your walls of unsightly pencil marks, fingerprints, or scratches.
Make your wall sparkle again
Cleaning the surface to be painted is the first step in any successful painting project. Before applying a new coat of paint, repair any damage and scrape or wash away all dirt from the walls.
Take your time and be careful while washing freshly painted walls. Knowing how to clean painted walls is important so that your home always looks clean and tidy.
