How can I thoroughly clean my walls?
Asked by
aprilsimnel (
30749
)
November 12th, 2009
from IM
The walls and inner hall-facing doors in my flat were painted in a white semi-gloss when I moved in 7 years ago. Now, parts of them are covered with accumulated hand oils, scuff marks, etc. I don’t want to paint, but my attempts at cleaning thus far have made the surface look streaky. How to thoroughly clean these doors and walls without having to repaint? Is there a way?
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8 Answers
Take a clean dust mop on a pole and soak it in a water amonia mixture. Wash the wall in an even patern. Repeat a few times reversing the patern. (right to left, up and down)
@Judi Has it! Ammonia is the cheapest solution and cuts through grime the fastest. If you can’t stand the smell, you can use plain ol’ dishwashing liquid, but this method will require a bit more elbow grease.
Follow up @Judi‘s pattern of cleaning with a clean white terry towel for it to dry without runs or streaks….during this cleaning, do not get side tracked and answer the phone. Depending on the type of paint, you could get streaking or run marks easily. I recommend trying the doors first so you can see the results prior to doing the walls.
Do you rent this flat @april? If so, your Landlord would most likely be happy to either come in a do a touch up paint for you (if you’re a good tenant, that is ;) or would gladly give you a quart of touch up paint and a paint brush (we do this all the time…especially prior to the holidays)
I’ve got a filtered facemask, actually. There’s a decent hardware store nearby to get an extension pole. I can deal with ammonia. Plus, there’s a good sized terrace with doors to air it all out as I clean.
@SpatzieLover, thanks.
I decided to remove the rest of this comment as I was venting. :/ Fin
@aprilsimnel Ugh! I hate having to deal with family battles that aren’t my own ;/
Have fun scrubbing! Hope you find a nice “new place” soon!
@Judi – I’m going to give it a go next week!
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The “Mr. Clean- Magic Erasers” work really well. I use them on my white/eggshell walls and they work better than any rag, towel, water, solution/s I have tried. Just be careful not to scrub too hard.
TSP always and was from bottom to top-no rinsing.
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