Clean Walls

Over time, walls can gather all kinds of marks, dust, and grime. It can be surprising how much brighter any area of the house will be after you give your walls a thorough cleaning. Clean your walls in order to make your house look like new again.

Steps

Cleaning Unpainted Walls

1. Cover any carpet or furniture in the immediate area. Using temporary coverings like newspaper, towels, old sheets, or painter's groundsheets, cover anything of value as this will prevent possible spills of water or cleaning solution from ruining the carpet or furniture.
2. Move everything that is against the wall. Move these pieces of furniture because dust can build up behind dressers, appliances, and other types of furniture. Once it’s out of your way, you can clean the areas that often go neglected.
3. Dust the walls. Use either a broom, a dusting brush, or a vacuum cleaner to do this. Run the broom, brush, or vacuum up and down the walls in a vertical motion.
   • If the broom or brush has strong bristles, tie an old t-shirt or other cleaning rag over it to prevent the sharpness of the bristles from scratching against the wall.
4. Start at the top of the wall when washing. Then, move up gradually, drying as you go. This will help you to avoid the creation of streaks or drip marks.

Cleaning Painted Walls

1. Remove marks or stains first. It is recommended that you always test an inconspicuous area of the wall before cleaning the stain off, to check that the product you're using won't lift the paintwork.
2. Wash the walls. For most painted walls, it will be sufficient to use warm, soapy water. Or, use a cup of distilled white vinegar in one bucket of warm water if you want something with slightly more strength. Vinegar won't leave any residue, so there's no need to rinse.
   • Prepare two buckets for comprehensive wall cleaning. One bucket is for the cleaning solution, and the other is water, in order to rinse the wall about 5 minutes after the solution has been applied. Change the rinse water when it is looking dirty.
   • Avoid the use of proprietary products that contain alcohol for wall cleaning. Such products risk breaking down the paint surface and this will leave a bright and shiny mark in its place.
3. Make your own spot cleanser. To do this, simply add ½ cup of baking soda to a gallon-sized bucket of warm water. Spray this mixture onto a soft towel and wipe over the stains or sticky spots. Rinse with water and wipe dry with a separate towel.

Cleaning Wallpapered Walls

1. Clean wallpaper with warm, soapy water. In general, after dusting the wallpaper, you can wash it with either soapy water or warm water to which a little ammonia has been added.
2. Use a vinegar mixture for vinyl-coated wallpaper. Soak a cloth in white vinegar and warm water, and use this to dab the walls clean. Don't apply vinegar directly to the walls.
3. Use vinegar and water to scrub stains and mold off walls. If the mold is bad, a proprietary product suitable for the wall surface is usually your best bet––follow the instructions provided by the manufacturer.
   • For ink, crayon and marker stains, use a liquid solvent cleaner to lift stains off, such as WD-40 or dry-cleaning fluid.
   • To remove grease stains, use warm, soapy water.
4. Rinse clean. Use a cloth dampened in warm water to gently and lightly rinse off the cleaning solution. Dab dry using a soft towel similar to the same process as cleaning painted walls.

Cleaning Wooden Walls

1. Dust the walls. Use a broom, dustpan brush or a brush attachment on the end of a vacuum cleaner. Due to the lack of paint, you can be less gentle with the wooden walls in this step, as the risk of leaving marks is mitigated with wooden, unpainted walls.
2. Use warm, soapy water to wash down the walls. Use a mild detergent solution and supplement it with warm water.
3. Create a vinegar mixture to remove any stains. Mix ½ cup of white vinegar and warm water in a bucket. Use a towel to dip into the bucket, and rub the stains with this towel.
4. Rinse walls with clean water. Use water without detergent to rinse the walls, and then dry them with a clean towel. Make sure that the walls are completely dry after cleaning to prevent possible wood rot.

Tips

• If in any doubt about the suitability of a solution for your wall, or are hesitant about using water on a wall, test it on an inconspicuous, small spot first. If it looks okay and does no harm to the wall, then you can assume it will be okay for the rest of the wall, too.

Related Articles

• Clean Plaster Walls
• Clean Soot Stains from Walls
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Sources and Citations

See also

• Clean Liquid Laundry Detergent from Painted Walls
• Clean Soot Stains from Walls
• Remove Ceiling Mold
• Clean Stucco
• Get Water Stains Off a Ceiling
• Clean Smoke Off of a Ceiling
• Clean Wallpaper
• Clean Drywall Dust

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• Clean a House
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• Clean Soot Stains from Walls
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