Have you ever spot-washed your walls only to find they look worse a few minutes later? Like the next time you walk by? This can be infuriating, especially if you have lots of natural light in the area from windows or skylights. We all know that homes with small kids can have dirty walls. It’s not usually the crayon marks that are the worst; typically, the mysterious goo spots take first place for most upsetting. To make matters worse, mashed food along with toothpaste turns to cement once it dries on the wall.
Wet rag and drying towel
The trick that millions of general contractors know about is to make your wall washing a two-step process. Many of us simply run around with a slightly damp cloth and hope for the best. If however, a seamless clean is your desired effect, you must have a lint-free soft towel or drying rag on hand. Immediately after washing away the dirty spot, follow up with your soft dry cloth and behold…your wall looks brand new again.
Elbow grease in moderation
When you are dealing with walls, it is vital to tread lightly. It can be tempting to flex your muscles and scrub diligently, however, you may remove some paint from the wall accidentally if you are too over-zealous. Check your paint can labels if you still have them kicking around. Most interior paint is an eggshell or satin finish. Kitchen and bathroom paint tends to be more durable and can take more intensive scrubbing than your hallways.
Looking at your paint in natural light will reveal the amount of sheen within. Gently try a soft circular motion to get rid of stubborn wall grit. If you are left with a giant polka-dot wall after your cleaning efforts; start from the ceiling and work down. Sometimes spot washing won’t suffice. Don’t be discouraged. Walls are often neglected and not washed as regularly as other areas in your home due to the massive job it entails and how labor intensive it is.
TSP and wall degreaser
It is common for certain areas of your walls to seem greasy and extra dirty. This can easily occur when people touch the walls with grease from the garage or buttery fingers find their way to the wall. You may discover that specific high traffic places such as the bathroom or entryway are not coming as clean as you would like. There are many homemade solutions you can try or TSP (trisodium phosphate), which is an inorganic compound that mixes easily with water and can be used to wash the walls. This product can be found in most hardware and home improvement stores. It typically sits in the paint section of the store as many people prep their walls prior to painting in order to ensure they are starting with a pristine wall surface.
Educate your family and guests
If you have just washed or painted your walls, tell people. Keeping your walls clean is a big job, especially if you’ve just repainted them. Ask kids and guests to refrain from touching the walls. Show them the next messy handprint and explain how time consuming it is to clean up. It is easy to take your walls for granted and cringe in horror upon closer inspection. Save yourself the time and energy by getting everyone up to speed. You can transform your crew into little helpers by explaining that you would rather be taking them to the park then stuck at home washing walls. Inspire your family to help make these monumental tasks easier and hopefully you won’t have to tackle them too frequently.