How to Clean Painted Walls

They may be vertical surfaces, but your walls get dirty, too. When you get the notion, get your wall cleaning in motion.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Dry-sponges
• Liquid Dish Soap
• Soft-bristled Brush
• Sponges
• Terry Cloth Towels
• Old Newspapers
• 2 Buckets
• Ladders
• Ladders
• Sponges
• Terry cloth towels

1. Protect your floors with newspapers or towels.

2. 

   Brush cobwebs and dust from the wall with a soft-bristled brush.

3. 

   Remove any remaining dirt with a dry-sponge - a rubber sponge available at most hardware stores. Rub the dry-sponge along the wall to lift dirt from it.

4. Fill a bucket about three-quarters full with warm water.

5. 

   Add a small amount of dish soap - about as much as it takes to clean a sink full of dishes - to the bucket. This will be the cleaning bucket.

6. Place a second, empty bucket near the cleaning bucket. (You'll use this when you wring out the cleaning sponge.)

7. 

   Dip a small portion of the flat face of a sponge into the cleaning bucket until it is damp.

8. 

   Spread the cleaning solution on the wall with the sponge, beginning at the top and working toward the bottom. Use a ladder to reach the high spots on the wall.

9. Squeeze - but do not wring out - the sponge over the empty bucket after wetting the entire surface of the wall.

10. Blot the surface of the wall you've just cleaned to lift any further dirt from its surface.

11. Repeat this process until you have covered the wall.

12. 

    Dry the wall using a terry cloth towel.

Tips & Warnings

• Commercial products are available to remove oil-based or grease stains.

on 6/30/2006 The drips of a solution coming down a wall spoils the surface cleaned (if we resort to the reverse approach). One caution needed is that the area should be cleaned as soon as you have started - top to bottom.

on 6/11/2007 This only works if your walls are smooth. Use a Swiffer sweeper. The dry version is great for dust and the wet version is great for dirt. I used mine on all the walls in our new house to get rid of nicotine stains. It saved my back and I didn't need a ladder. Also, since there are no buckets of chemicals, I can work with my pets in the house.

Because of the way it's made, you can attach a regular cloth or cleaning rags to it and use your own cleanser.

Caution: I have only used this on white walls. I don't know if the chemicals in the wet version will affect colored paint.

on 12/8/2005 Murphy's Oil Soap is great for cleaning wood floors and other surfaces, and is also excellent for cleaning bamboo shades.
First, find a place outside where you can drape or hang your damp shades to dry in the sun for about 30 minutes once they are clean.
Then, fill the bathtub with hot water and the recommended amount of Murphy's Oil Soap.
Next, roll the first blind all the way to the top before removing it from its hooks. Don't worry about dusting or vacuuming the blind as doing so is completely unnecessary. The soapy water will remove dust, cobwebs, even nicotine!
Gently carry the bundled shade to the bathtub and lay it in the hot, soapy bath water. Agitate the water with the rolled shade for at least one minute to ensure that the hot, soapy water penetrates into and around all of the rolled layers of narrow bamboo slates.
If the shade is very grimy, the water will change color quite quickly. Once the shade has been throughly cleaned in this way, you can drain the water from the tub, rinse the tub, and repeat this action to rinse.
Or, simply stand the blind on one end and let the shower spray run down inside the bundle. Either way, the soapy water will run off down the drain. Let the bundle remaining standing on one end until most of the water has drained out, at last one minute. Then, gently carry the bundle outside, let the shade down and drape it or hang it to dry for at least 15 minutes.
Your shades will look and even smell so much better. Doing this once or twice a year will not over-dry your bamboo shades but will leave them sparkling clean.

on 11/22/2005 I had really bad stained nictoine walls, what i did was bought a new bug sprayer dispenser, and purchased the one gallon size of Mean Green cleaner ( I found mine at Dollar General Store cost only 5.00), I filled up sprayer with cleaner to about 3/4 full then filled to the top with hot water, then shake well. First i vaccumm the walls and cieling, then i got a roll of oil dry paper towles,( this will soak up all the excess water that pours down the walls and wont get your carpets wet), i put the sprayer on the setting to where it sprays a medium mist, start at the top and do a section across about the length of one arm, go slowly where it saturates the wall, then turn up the setting then hurry up and get back to the top and go slow it just melts the grime, grease and nicitine, trhen get terry towles and start at the top and go over it till its dry, they come out sparking clean, i had full gloss white painted walls, worked wonders for me!
I also did my fake plant arrangements, mini blinds, ect., with the same solution and sprayer but put the solution on them outside then rised them off with water hose then air dried them

on 11/22/2005 I use the Fels Naptha soap, washing soda, and borax laundry soap recipe. I dilute this in hot water and wash with a sponge. Work in sections, and wipe immediately with clean terry towel. For tough spots (like really dirty baseboards) I recommend the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, or a paste of washing or baking soda works well, too.