If your home looks a little dull and shabby, it could be because your walls need Cleaning. When was the last time you really stared at a wall? Living in polluted cities takes its toll on every part of your home. You may spend a lot of time keeping the floors clean, the rooms tidy and neat, and the windows sparkling. But if your walls aren’t as clean as they should be, they can have a negative impact on the rest of the place.
Walls make up the largest hard surface area in a room. Though vertical, they gather dirt, grease, and grime. Keeping them clean isn’t too difficult, but it’s a most often overlooked chore. When you want to take up this project, here are our useful 10 Tips On How to Clean Walls. You can make it a part of your regular routine, speed cleaning schedule, or add it to a professional cleaning service program.
Why Should You Clean Walls?
Like floors, walls can quickly become a dirt trap. They collect dust, smoke, cobwebs, grease, and insect and bird droppings. The corners are especially prone to get dirty and often miss getting vacuumed or swept.
Stains and scuffs may collect on the walls, making your home look down at heel and un-cared for. When you don’t clean walls regularly, they collect allergens and germs. The areas around door knobs, switches, and fixtures are especially likely to get soiled with fingerprints. If you have pets or small children, be prepared for messy walls. Kids love to crayon and paint, and no matter how much you appreciate their artwork, you’d rather not see it on your walls. Pets tend to scratch walls, especially if they’re papered over.
Walls in the kitchen collect grease and stains if they’re not cleaned regularly. Your bathroom walls are a breeding ground for fungi, bacteria, microorganisms, and pests.
If you live in a damp climate, mold, and mildew on walls are huge problems both inside and outside the building. They trigger allergic reactions, asthma, and respiratory issues, making the place look dingy and unhealthy.
When Should You Clean Your Walls?
Your cleaning schedule depends on lifestyle, time available, age and number of occupants, location, and climate.
- Crayoning or drawings by kids on the walls should be cleaned immediately, or they become more difficult to remove
- You can do a run-through of the house, giving the walls a quick wipe every day when you vacuum
- If you have the time, you can make wall cleaning a part of your weekly cleaning routine.
- Tackling heavily soiled walls is best done by professional cleaners as part of a thorough deep cleaning program at least once a year.
Before You Start
Wall cleaning depends on the type of walls you have. Check if the paint is water-proof, gloss, semi-gloss, matte, egg-shell, or satin finish for painted walls. Some finishes are more durable and can take tough scrubbing, while others can’t.
Oil-based paints are used in places that have a humid or tropical climate. Water or latex paints are more common, but they need to be cleaned very gently, or the paint gets stripped off, exposing the white base.
If your walls are papered over, check with the manufacturer about cleaning. There are specific wallpaper cleaners available in your local supermarket, but you need to know whether they can be used.
Textured walls must be cleaned carefully, and if you haven’t done it before, it’s best to consult an interior decorator before cleaning.
Concrete or unpainted walls are relatively easy to clean as they can be scrubbed.
Wood paneling on the walls must be cleaned with much more care and use specific wood-friendly cleaning agents.
10 Tips On How to Clean Walls
- Cover the floor: Lay old towels or sheets along the edge of the floor where it meets the wall. This helps to catch dirty soapy water so that no one slips and falls, and it’s easier to clean up later.
- Get Materials and Equipment Together:Fill a bucket with warm water and dissolve a cupful of mild liquid colorless dishwashing soap in it. Fill another bucket with clean, cold water. Gather a few sponges, soft scrubbers, microfiber cloths, and dry cotton waste. If you need special cleaners, pick them up from your local supermarket and fill in small spray bottles. Magic Erasers are a great product to use on white walls. Keep a few paper towel rolls handy. Baking soda and vinegar are great for cleaning tough stains.
- Clear the Area:Remove paintings, clocks, wall hangings, and decorations. Empty adjoining shelves. Cover light sockets with strips of duct tape before you start.
- Turn off the Power:Turn the power off before you start for safety. Remove appliances and roll them out of the way.
- Dust First:Always start by removing dust and cobwebs from the wall, ceiling to floor. You may not see the dust sometimes, but there’s usually a layer of fine dust collected on walls that haven’t been cleaned for a while. Use a soft feather duster or microfiber glove to remove the dust thoroughly.
- Analyze the Stain: If you have grease on the wall, scrub gently with a sponge dipped in soapy water. For more stubborn oil stains, spray a light mist of vinegar and wipe gently with a damp cloth. Food and drink stains on white walls should be removed with a light mist of vinegar and water solution. After scrubbing, dip a clean sponge in cold water and gently remove all traces of soap or cleaner. All-purpose cleaners work equally well. Take care to work gently and dry off the area immediately. Magic Erasers work for crayoning or paint stains.
- Circular Motion:Always use gentle circular motionswhile scrubbing and never side-to-side. Start at the topmost part of the wall and work your way downwards. For heavily stained areas, rinse your sponge frequently in cold water before you dip it in cleaner or soap.
- Heavily Soiled Walls:You can clean them more easily if you add two spoonfuls of borax to the soap solution. For especially difficult stains, dip an edge of the sponge in dry baking soda and scrub gently till the stain vanishes.
- Scribbles and Crayoning:Use baby wipes to clean crayon marks. You can also try to remove them with baking soda on a dry sponge, non-gel white toothpaste, or art erasers. Permanent marker scribbling can be removed by gently scrubbing with a cotton ball dipped in rubbing alcohol. Ball-point pen marks can be removed with shaving foam.
- Mold and Mildew:Check for the source of dampness and fix that first. Use a mixture of bleach and water in equal parts to clean the wall and prevent further growth. Dry thoroughly with a room heater or hair dryer. You may have to repaint the wall.
Final Thoughts
Wall cleaning gets low priority on your list of cleaning jobs. But clean walls make all the difference to your room’s overall look and feel. Call a professional cleaner if the stains are too large, or there are just too many walls to clean.
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