What is the best way to clean walls? Walls are one of the more neglected parts of the home when it comes to cleaning. They don’t need to be cleaned as often as the floor, but it is still important to clean them regularly. In this article, I will describe the best way to clean your walls so
The best way to clean your walls is by following these 7 easy steps:
- Move Furniture Away from the Walls
- Cover Furniture and Carpets
- Dust the Walls
- Make a Cleaning Solution
- Wash the Walls
- Rinse the Walls
- Dry the Walls
The steps for cleaning your walls are fairly simple. In general, you scrub them with a sponge soaked in warm, soapy water. Let the soapy water soak on the wall for 5 minutes. Then, scrub the walls again using a sponge dipped in clean water to remove the soap suds. For filthy walls, use the same soapy water but add a few drops of white vinegar.
The same steps are the best way to clean painted walls or unpainted walls. Whether you are cleaning painted walls or cleaning unpainted walls, the process is the same. For unpainted walls, you just have to remove or sand down any loose or extruding plaster.
Dirty walls have a way of affecting your mood. So it is important to keep them looking fresh and clean all year round.
Read on to learn the best way to clean walls including before and after painting them.
Also, take a look at a wall scrubber that makes cleaning much easier and faster – the Mamibot MOPA580 Cordless Electric Mop.
Click here to see it on Amazon.
Best Way to Clean Walls – 7 Easy Steps
You might vacuum and clean your floors regularly, but how about your walls? When was the last time your walls got a good cleaning? Regular wall cleaning should apply to every room including the kitchen, bathrooms, and living room walls.
The best way to clean walls is with these 7 easy steps:
- Move Furniture Away from the Walls
- Cover Furniture and Carpets
- Dust the Walls
- Make a Cleaning Solution
- Wash the Walls
- Rinse the Walls
- Dry the Walls
These same steps apply for cleaning kitchen walls, bathroom walls, living room walls, or any other walls in your home.
1. Move Furniture Away from the Walls
All furniture and things that rest on the walls should be moved. These areas may have dust and grime buildup that you need to clean.
2. Cover Furniture and Carpets
Cover all your carpets and furniture with plastic sheets or layers of old newspapers. Doing this will protect the floor from any accidental spills or drops of the cleaning solution while you are scrubbing and cleaning the walls.
3. Dust the Walls
Get a vacuum cleaner, dusting brush, or broom and dust the walls. Clean up and down the walls in a vertical motion. To reach higher portions of the walls, use a ladder. Don’t use brooms and brushes with hard bristles. They may cause unsightly scratches on the walls.
So wipe away every corner of the wall to remove dust, cobwebs, and dirt. Also, don’t forget to check the corners and edges of the wall from the floor to the ceiling.
I’m a big fan of the Chomp Long Handle Dust Mop for dusting and cleaning my walls.
Click here to see it on Amazon.
It has a soft, washable microfiber pad that floats across flat areas, collecting dust with ease. The round design with a pointed corner allows for getting into all corners of your walls and ceilings.
The 26-60 in. extension pole removes the need for ladders. It is lightweight and easy to control. The microfiber pads can be washed and reused several times. I recommend also getting the Chomp Microfiber Mop Refill Pack (Click here to see it on Amazon) so that you have extra back-up pads for big jobs.
4. Make a Cleaning Solution
Prepare a cleaning solution that contains one teaspoon of liquid dish soap, two cups of water, and one teaspoon of white vinegar. If you need to clean several walls in your house, you have to make more of this solution.
Alternatively, you can purchase a specialized wall cleaning solution like Zep Foaming Wall Cleaner (Click here to see it on Amazon). This wall cleaner quickly cleans painted walls without leaving any leftover residue. It is a thick foam that stays where sprayed and penetrates stains, fingerprints, and other scuff marks.
For any mold on the walls, you will want to use a mold remover such as the Home Armor Instant Mold & Mildew Stain Remover.
Click here to see this on Amazon.
This powerful solution removes mold and mildew stains with ease. Just spray on, wait about 5-10 minutes, and rinse with a clean sponge or cloth.
5. Wash the Walls
Get a clean sponge or cloth, dip it into the cleaning solution, and wash the wall. You should start at the top of the wall and gradually work your way down. Wash an area or spot on the wall that you can also immediately dry to prevent the formation of drip marks or streaks on the wall.
Cleaning kitchen walls is a bit difficult because of the typical grease and food residues splattered on the walls. The same goes for bathroom walls which can have soap residue and other grime stuck on the walls.
For kitchen walls, moisten food and grease stains with water. For bathroom walls, also moisten any grime or soap residue. Allow around five minutes for the water to soak and loosen the stains. For stubborn stains, scrub them with an abrasive sponge.
If the stains and grime are quite tough, especially for bathroom and kitchen walls, you can use the Homitt Electric Spin Scrubber.
Click here to see this scrubber on Amazon.
This scrubber is best for bathroom tile walls; however, I have used it for my other walls to remove grime and stains. It is best to first test using the brush on a small corner of your wall to ensure that it doesn’t damage the paint.
If you have stains that are hard to remove, this high-torque scrubber will get rid of them. It comes with 4 different brush heads, a 21-inch extendable pole, and runs for 90 minutes after a 3-hour charge.
6. Rinse the Walls
After letting the soap soapy water soak on the walls, rinse with a sponge or cloth dipped in clean water. Again, work from the top of the wall to the bottom to avoid leaving streaks.
7. Dry the Walls
Get a clean towel and pat dry the wall. If you are cleaning several walls, you may also need several clean towels to complete the job.
See the below video for other tips on cleaning and washing your walls:
Tips for Cleaning Walls Before Painting Them
The same cleaning steps above are the best way to clean the walls before painting them; however, there are some extra steps required before cleaning unpainted walls. No matter the paint you will be using, it is very important to clean unpainted walls before painting them.
If you don’t clean your walls before painting them, dirt, dust, and grime will cause the fresh paint to deteriorate in time. The same goes if you are putting a new coat on an old painted wall.
Follow the below tips when cleaning your walls before painting them.
After you have moved furniture away from the walls and covered the floors to protect them, remove all foreign bodies on the walls. This includes all dirt, grime, wax, and anything else on the wall.
If the old paint on the wall has chipped or peeled, remove it with a putty knife. You may require a paint peeler to remove old paint on the entire wall.
If this is the case, put a thin coat of paint peeler on the wall. Wait for a few minutes for the peeler to do its work. Scrape the old paint by using a putty knife or paint scraper.
Examine the wall for any defects. If there is any loose plaster, remove those loose pieces and try to even out the surface of the wall.
If there is a portion of the wall where old paint sticks out, sand it to even out that section. Ensure that the surface is all evened out before cleaning them.
Tips for Cleaning Painted Walls
You don’t have to remove paint on the wall if it is not peeling, cracking, or chipping. If there are only a few dirty spots, cleaning will make the wall look fresh and neat. Here are some tips when cleaning painted walls:
There are different kinds of wall paint finishes. They include latex, flat, glossy, semi-gloss, eggshell, and satin. Don’t start cleaning the wall unless you have already checked the type of paint it has on.
For Latex Paints
The best way to clean walls painted with latex paint is to use a non-abrasive all-purpose cleaner and warm water. The steps are as follows:
- Buy or make your own non-abrasive all-purpose cleaner. You can mix one part white vinegar, one part water, and a few drops of lemon. Pour the vinegar-lemon solution into a spray bottle and spray it on the smudges on your wall.
- Get a clean sponge and dip it into warm water.
- Wring it dry.
- Rub the sponge gently on the spots sprayed with the cleaning solution.
- Get another sponge and dip it into clean water.
- Rub the sponge gently on the wall’s cleaned spots to remove the residues of the cleaning solution.
So for walls painted with latex paint, you can use a non-abrasive all-purpose cleaner and warm water. Dip your cloth or sponge in the soapy water and wring it dry.
Scrub the wall gently with this sponge. Focus on the spots that frequently get touched. Examples are areas around light switches and doorknobs.
For Eggshell, Satin, and Flat Paints
These paints produce dull finishes and are not very resistant to cleaning. In other words, you cannot use degreasers or harsh chemicals in cleaning walls with these paint finishes. Do not scrub the sponge too hard on these types of paints as well. You should also wring out the sponge completely dry before making contact with the wall’s painted surface.
For Semi-gloss or Glossy Paints
These paints are durable and tough. They are mostly used in high-traffic areas, such as the bathroom and kitchen. You can use a mild degreaser to clean dirty latex-painted walls. However, you should still use a sponge to avoid leaving scratches behind.
For Walls with Oil-based Paints
Walls covered with oil-based paints can be washed and cleaned using a cleaning solution made of water and liquid dish soap. Dip the sponge to this solution to make it slightly damp. Rub the sponge gently on the dirty spots of the wall. For tougher dirt and grime, modify the cleaning solution by adding an ounce of borax for every pint of water.
Conclusion – Best Way to Clean Walls
So, to recap, what is the best way to clean walls? The best way to clean walls is by following these 7 steps:
- Move Furniture Away from the Walls
- Cover Furniture and Carpets
- Dust the Walls
- Make a Cleaning Solution
- Wash the Walls
- Rinse the Walls
- Dry the Walls
It isn’t hard to keep your walls looking fresh and clean all year. Scrub them with a sponge soaked in soapy, warm water. Give five minutes for the solution to do its work before proceeding to the next step. Dip the sponge in clean water and use it to scrub the walls again to remove the soap suds.
For filthy walls, the best way to clean them is to use the same cleaning solution with a few drops of white vinegar. Wet a sponge using this solution and scrub away.
The same steps are the best way to clean painted walls or unpainted walls. Whether you are cleaning painted walls or cleaning unpainted walls, the process is the same. For unpainted walls, you also just have to remove any loose plaster.
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