How To Make clean Walls With Paint Or Wallpaper In five Easy Steps

A elementary guide to one of the well-nigh oftentimes neglected chores in the abode.

Here's a question for yous: when was the last time you cleaned your walls? You lot heard that right: cleaned your walls. If y'all're like nigh folks, it'due south probably been a infinitesimal. Or perhaps this is the first time you've ever fifty-fifty considered that you lot could–let alone should–make clean your walls.

We get information technology. It's not that you lot cull not to, it's only that, well, it doesn't actually cross your listen. Which, when you stop to consider it, is . . . kind of strange, no? Walls account for a huge amount of surface area in our homes–that'due south a lot of space for dust and germs to get together and hang out on. Retrieve almost how often your hands accidentally graze your walls. Or about all the dust and pollen that probably reaches them when you lot go along your windows open on a prissy spring day. (Are you reaching for your sponge and spray canteen yet?) Yep. Cleaning your walls periodically is pretty darn important.

The skilful news is that cleaning your walls–as new as it might exist to yous–is actually straightforward. Regardless of whether you lot have painted walls or wallpaper, we take an easy-step-by-step guide to help get your walls dorsum in fighting form in no time.

Video poster

How often should you make clean your walls?

While cleaning your walls should definitely exist on your spring cleaning checklist, it's probably not enough to stop there: information technology should also be incorporated into your more than regular cleaning schedule. That doesn't hateful it has to exist a weekly thing, but giving your walls a expert one time over at least several times each yr is a really good idea. (The change of seasons is a useful cue to remind you to go scrubbing.) And if you lot're sensitive to ecology allergens or tend to keep your windows and doors open (which, no argument here, fresh air is absolutely lovely), yous might want to wash your walls a fleck more than often.

Best products for cleaning your walls

Before you lot go started, you're going to want to gather the best tools for the task! Lucky for you lot, you probably already accept all of these lying around the house. Here's what yous'll need:

  1. Acetone (or rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover)
  2. Cotton wool swabs or cotton balls
  3. A vacuum with a soft bristle attachment, microfiber fabric, and/or Swiffer Dusters Heavy Duty Super Extender
  4. A soft sponge or cloth
  5. Warm water
  6. Depending on what kind of walls yous have, one (or more than) of the following cleaning agents: a. A non-abrasive all-purpose cleaner b. A mild dish soap like Dawn c. A vinegar solution (½ cup vinegar, ¼ cup blistering soda, and 1 gallon of warm h2o)
  7. A Mr. Clean Magic Eraser for especially tough stains

How to clean painted walls

Okay, you have painted walls. Let's become cracking!

Whoa Nelly, not so fast. Earlier cleaning your painted walls, it's necessary to first determine what kind of paint your walls have on them: latex pigment or oil-based paint. Latex and oil-based paint crave slightly different cleaning products. And if you use the wrong 1, you run the run a risk of seriously dissentious your pigment.

So how exercise y'all tell the difference between latex and oil-based paint? You can always bank check the paint can if you withal have information technology. Otherwise, here's a quick examination to effigy information technology out:

  1. Get a cotton fiber brawl or cotton fiber swab wet with an acetone-based solvent. If you don't have manifestly ol' acetone, try rubbing alcohol or nail shine remover.
  2. Cull an area of your wall (preferably one that's a bit out of the way and less noticeable–you lot'll run across why shortly) and rub the cotton against the surface. Don't be afraid to put a piffling elbow grease into it.
  3. Take a wait at the cotton. Does it accept whatever color from the wall pigment on it? If so, y'all've got latex paint. If there's no sign of paint on the cotton fiber, you have oil-based pigment covering your walls.

Y'all should also accept stock of what kind of end your pigment has. The glossier the paint finish, the more scrubbing the walls tin can handle without the paint rubbing off. If your paint is matte, you should stick to a mild cleaning solution (or even simply water) and be actress careful not to scrub also difficult or yous'll have the paint correct off the walls.

How to clean walls with latex paint

You've adamant you have latex pigment! Now, yous're really ready to clean!

  1. Offset, dust your walls. Dusting is a necessary first pace regardless of whether you accept latex paint, oil-based paint, or wallpaper covering your walls. You tin can use a vacuum with a soft bristle attachment, a microfiber fabric, or Swiffer Dusters Heavy Duty Super Extender, which will help you trap whatever rogue dust or spiderwebs in those hard-to-reach corners where your walls come across your ceiling.
  1. Next, mix up some warm soapy h2o using a pocket-sized amount of non-annoying, all-purpose cleaner or mild dish soap. If your paint has a more than matte finish, consider starting with but warm water, and incorporating (an fifty-fifty smaller corporeality of) soap if–and simply if–water alone doesn't do the flim-flam.
  2. Practice a spot check on a small, out-of-the-way expanse of your wall to brand sure the cleaner you've just mixed up isn't going to do any damage.
  3. If your spot check worked out well, get ahead and launder away all that dirt and crud using your soapy water (or merely water) and a soft sponge. If you don't accept an extra sponge handy, a soft cloth or rag volition do, as well. No need to go your sponge soaking wet. In fact, doing so risks damaging your paint. Instead, wet your sponge but until information technology's damp and gently work your fashion from height to bottom (moving from top to bottom helps ensure y'all don't drip dirty h2o onto your freshly cleaned wall). Remember, slow and steady wins the race here.
  4. Got tough stains? Tackle them with your Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Just go the eraser wet and give it a squeeze to get rid of the excess water. Glide it firmly forth the mark. Later a few firm swipes, the mark should disappear and leave your wall looking refreshed and revived. Keep in mind that stains are definitely easier to get rid of when they're addressed right abroad, and so proceed that eraser handy!

That'due south it! Take a step back and admire your handiwork. Those are some not bad looking walls, if we do say so ourselves.)

How to clean walls with oil-based paint

If y'all have oil-based paint, the procedure is pretty much the same equally it is with latex paint. The chief departure: with oil-based pigment, y'all can utilize a stronger cleaning solution on your walls if needed without worrying likewise much about stripping the paint.

  1. Get-go by dusting your walls. Over again, a vacuum with a soft bristle attachment, microfiber textile, or that handy Swiffer Duster is the mode to become.
  2. Mix a cleaning solution. Assuming your paint has a glossy finish, this can be the same soapy water we recommend for walls covered in latex paint, or yous tin can use something stronger like a vinegar solution (see recipe). Recollect, though: if your paint has a matte finish–even if it'southward oil based–you lot're going to want to stick to something a bit gentler like plain water or possibly heavily diluted soapy water if apparently h2o doesn't quite get you there.
  3. Spot cheque! Make sure your cleaning solution isn't going to wreak havoc on your walls past testing it on a small, discrete spot first. Trust us, if anything goes wrong, you'll be glad you didn't just dive right in and go to town on the giant wall heart stage in your living room.
  4. Clean as yous would above! Remember, top to bottom and avoid getting your sponge also wet–a piddling bit of water goes a long fashion.
  5. As with latex paint, use your Mr. Clean Maric Eraser on tough stains.

Dang, you're getting expert at this!

How to clean walls with wallpaper

Wallpaper is definitely a different beast than paint–and if y'all have wallpaper, you're going to want to approach the job of cleaning your walls with a incomparably lighter impact than you would with painted walls. Wallpaper is far easier to damage than pigment, and scrubbing too hard–or using too abrasive a cleaning product–tin harm its color or texture. Moreover, short of putting up new paper (and no one wants to exercise that–non afterward all those hours yous already spent putting it up the first fourth dimension!), fixing damaged wallpaper is ofttimes next to impossible.

That being said, cleaning walls with wallpaper is entirely achievable by following these easy steps (many of which you'll recognize if you've already washed any painted walls in your dwelling):

  1. Dust your walls as y'all would with painted walls, using a vacuum, microfiber textile, or Swiffer Dusters Heavy Duty Super Extender.
  2. Check to come across if your wallpaper's manufacturer has whatsoever cleaning guidelines (often searchable online). If they're available, follow them before doing anything more than ambitious than dusting.
  3. If your wallpaper doesn't have readily attainable cleaning guidelines, consider whether you have a washable wallpaper. (Yes, they exist.)
  4. Washable wallpaper can–as its name suggests–probably handle a light cleaning with soapy h2o. Be actress careful not to get it too wet, though–it is all the same paper after all!–and try to give it a helping hand by blotting whatsoever excess water away equally y'all get. And remember: spot test commencement!
  5. If you take regular ol', not-particularly-durable wallpaper: go (really) easy. Instead of getting your whole wall of hand-painted wallpaper wet–and risking an unfixable, rippled mess–focus on tackling the most egregious marks and scuffs with a gentle eraser or a dry cleaning sponge.

Gorgeous. Just gorgeous.

How to foreclose your walls from getting dirty

So now you take beautiful, freshly cleaned walls! Some bones preventative measures will help keep them that way equally long as possible!

  1. You should really be dusting your walls regularly. Even information technology's probably not necessary to give your walls a full scrub-down every couple of weeks, making dusting your walls a part of your regular cleaning schedule is a practiced idea to assistance go along some of that grit and crud at bay.
  2. Effort to avoid touching your walls–and, if yous tin can, keep article of furniture a prophylactic distance away. We all take that chair that's just a few inches too close to the wall–and the scuff mark to prove it.
  3. Keep that Magic Eraser nearby, especially if y'all have kids who meet your walls equally a big bare canvas just waiting for their next masterpiece.