How to Clean Painted Walls

Cleaning your home’s walls should be part of your spring cleaning process, and this is especially true for kitchen walls. Walls attract fingerprint smudges and grime, while baseboards attract scuff marks. We’ll show you how to clean painted walls to remove stubborn stains without using harsh chemicals.

There are many reasons that walls may become stained. Kitchen walls are a magnet for splattered food, a children’s bedroom walls may have hidden crayon marks, hallway walls attract scuff marks, and entryway walls may have dirty handprints. Some paint finishes attract dirt more than others.

Home improvement often involves home renovations, floor waxing, and furniture arrangement, yet cleaning the walls is often overlooked. Occasional spot cleaning and yearly wall cleaning can brighten a room and bring life back to those painted walls.

Clean Painted Walls the Easy Way

Walls are generally painted using eggshell, semigloss, latex, or flat paint in a zillion different colors. Each type of paint has a characteristic that requires a particular kind of cleaning solution to maintain the integrity of the paint.

Once you have established the kind of paint that is on your wall, you can easily clean its surface using one of our cleaning recipes. For the best way to wash walls, find your type of paint and solution below and get started.

How to Prevent Dirty Walls

Regular maintenance of the walls prevents the accumulation of dirt. This can be completed in a few easy steps, and it will make your annual wall cleaning process easier and quicker.

Dirty Wall Prevention

Use the brush attachment on a vacuum cleaner to vacuum the walls to remove dust and cobwebs. Alternatively, you can use a long-handled duster for dusting the walls.

Use a damp sponge to wipe away fingerprints, scuff marks, or dirt as soon as you notice them. Take this opportunity to do any paint touch up to areas that have scratches or scuffs.

How to Prepare a Wall for Cleaning

Before you clean the walls for the first time, there are a few things you need to do to make the job easier. Take this opportunity to figure out what type of paint is on the wall so that you’ll know which cleaning method to use.

Cleaning Wall Prep

Start by inspecting the wall paint before removing old paint from walls or just giving it a good clean. If the surface of the wall paint is flat and dull, then it is probably a flat or eggshell latex paint.

Eggshell finishes are not very durable and can be damaged if you use the wrong type of cleaning method. If the paint surface has some shine to it, then it is most likely a semi-gloss or enamel paint and can withstand more abuse.

Before cleaning, make sure that the walls are dust and cobweb free. Use a duster or a vacuum brush attachment to clear any debris and cobwebs from the walls. Start at the top of the wall and work your way down. Finish up by laying towels or sheets along the baseboards and floor to absorb any water drips that may occur while cleaning.

How to Clean Walls with a Flat Finish

Eggshell and flat finishes are less durable and tend to stain easily. This type of paint finish also gets scratches often, so special care is needed when cleaning. The following will show you how to clean walls with flat paint.

First, try to clean the walls using a microfiber cloth and clean water. If plain water doesn’t do the trick, move on to something a little stronger. Mix the warm water and a couple of squirts of mild detergent into the bucket.

Use the microfiber cloth to clean sections of the wall using the soapy water. Clean one area at a time using a circular motion. Wipe each section clean using fresh water. Dry the wall with a towel after each section is cleaned.

Cleaning Walls with Latex Paint

This non-abrasive wall cleaner is an excellent choice for use on latex paint. The small amount of vinegar in the solution will help to safely break down old stains and dirt without scratching the paint.

Mix the water and vinegar in the bucket and use the sponge to apply the solution to the wall, whether you need to clean bird poop off painted walls, have handprints, are cleaning candle smoke off a wall, or heavy dust. Start at the top of the wall in sections and work your way down.

Pay special attention to areas around corners, doors, and windows where there is a higher chance of dirt. Wipe the wall dry using a towel.

This home remedy is also a great choice for removing painted wallpaper.

How to Clean Walls with Oil-Based Paint

Oil-based paints can handle a little more work than flat paint, so you’ll be able to give this wall type a bit more deep cleaning. The following method also works well for textured walls that tend to capture more dust and debris.

Mix the Borax and water in a bucket and use a sponge to clean a section of the wall. Use a damp cloth to wipe away soapy residue and finish by wiping the area with a dry towel. Wring both sponges and repeat in a new section.

Cleaning Painted Walls with an All-Purpose Cleaner

This cleaner recipe is an easy solution for cleaning painted walls without having to lug around a messy bucket. By using a cleaning spray, you’ll be able to quickly remove dirt and grime from all areas of the wall.

To make this homemade cleaner for walls, mix the water, vinegar, and soap in a spray bottle and shake gently. Spray the cleaner onto the wall, paying attention to areas that may attract more dirt, and allow it to sit for ten minutes. Use a wet sponge to wipe the cleaning solution and grime away. Follow by wiping down the area with a dry cloth.

How to Wash Painted Walls

If you have some seriously dirty walls that need deep cleaning, give this cleaning recipe a try. These steps show you how to wash painted walls that are built up with extra dirt and grime.

Add all the ingredients to the bucket and stir to mix the solution well. Use the sponge to apply the cleaner to the wall in sections. Scrub each area using circular motions to loosen up the dirt. This recipe works particularly well to clean nicotine off walls and eliminate the smell, as well.

If you have nasty stains on the wall and the paint is an oil-based finish, try a scrub brush with soft bristles to remove stubborn stains. After each section is clean, use a clean sponge and fresh water to wipe away the residue. Ensure you wipe down the walls with a dry towel after cleaning to prevent water marks.

Removing Tough Stains from a Wall

Even after your wall has been cleaned and looks as good as new, there may be a time when it gets stained. The following is ideal for use on small stains and wall blemishes, like when you need to remove Sharpie stains or dark scuff marks or removing scratches from a wall. Because baking soda is a mild abrasive, this method should not be used on a flat finish painted wall to prevent damaging it.

Make a paste using a little baking soda and water for this stain removal solution. Apply the cleaning mixture onto the stained area of the wall using a soft sponge. Or, use it to remove water drip marks from painted walls. Gently rub the stain away and then rinse off with clean water. This is also an easy way to clean baseboards and remove scuff marks and dirty handprints around doorways.

How to Clean Painted Kitchen Walls

Most kitchens are painted using semi-gloss paint. The vinegar in this solution acts as a mild degreaser and can do wonders to get oil out of walls and any other splattered mess in the kitchen while cooking.

After mixing all ingredients into a bucket, use a sponge to apply the cleaning solution to the wall. Do this in sections for the best results. Clean each area using a circular motion.

Follow by using a clean sponge and some fresh water to remove the dirt and soap residue. Wipe the area dry with a cloth and repeat the steps in the next section.

How to Clean Crayon Marks Off a Painted Wall

If you’ve got kids, then you undoubtedly have some crayon decorations on a wall somewhere in your home. Can you blame them?

When you’ve got a box full of colorful crayons and a giant, blank canvas to fill, the temptation is just too great. Not to worry, we have several tips for removing crayon from the wall.

Some of these home remedies may also work to clean wax off a wall if your candle spluttered when you blew it out. It may help to scrape the excess off with the edge of a credit card first.

No, you don’t need all of these ingredients to remove that crayon from the wall; you only need one of them at a time. We just wanted to give you several options.

If one solution doesn’t do the job well, try another. Some of these techniques are not recommended for flat finishes because of their abrasive quality.

Use a pencil eraser or Magic Eraser to rub away crayon marks. If you’d prefer the old stand-by, baking soda, dab a wet cloth into some baking soda and get crayon off walls by rubbing the marks.

If you’re out of baking soda, try dabbing some mayonnaise onto the crayon markings and let it rest for several minutes before wiping. Toothpaste is also an abrasive similar to baking soda. Apply the paste to the marks and scrub them away.

Cleaning Walls without Removing Paint

If you have smaller wall areas to clean or you’re doing a little spot cleaning, then this method will work the best. This straight-to-the-point and straightforward recipe is one of the easiest to use for cleaning walls. Best of all, it’s in a spray bottle, so you will have less mess to clean afterward.

Mix the water and dish detergent into a spray bottle and shake gently. Spray the cleaning solution onto stained areas and use the sponge to work the stain away.

If you are cleaning an entire wall, then start by spraying a section at the top and work your way down. Wipe away leftover residue with a damp cloth and dry thoroughly with a towel.

Before tackling the ceiling the same way you did with the walls, remove peeling paint from the ceiling. A clean surface is much easier to clean and restore.

While cleaning painted walls is not something you want to do every day, it should be included in your annual house deep-clean. By knowing the type of paint on your walls and using the right cleaning solutions, you can keep those walls looking newly painted and stain-free.

We’re happy we could show you how to clean painted walls using the right cleaning products, and hope that you’ll share our wall cleaning tips with your family and friends on Facebook.