If you’ve ever had your home’s interior professionally painted you know how transformative it can be to a space. The bright, clean lines of a fresh coat of paint can make a space look fresh and new.
But what about in a few months when the scuffs from shoes have marked the baseboards and children’s fingerprints have sullied that clean look of the trim and surfaces? How should you clean the surfaces without damaging that beautiful paint job that previously looked so nice? Liberty Painting professionals are here to help. Here are a few ideas on how to remove those eyesore marks without taking off the paint or damaging the sheen.
Clean Regularly
Not all homeowners do a deep clean every week including washing down the walls and getting rid of spiderwebs along the corners of the ceiling and baseboards. This level of cleaning may not be in the cards for everyone’s busy lives, but if you can dust the walls and crevices of the baseboards and complete a quick wipedown of the surfaces a few times a year, you will find the true color of your paint will shine through.
Regularly cleaning with a damp cloth will remove dust, dirt, and any splatters that may have found their way onto your wall surfaces. Even the random smudge from a peanut butter and jelly sandwich can stain and detract from the aesthetics of your space.
To Erase Dirt & Fingerprints
It’s fairly common, especially when children are living in a home, to have smudges and fingerprints on the walls closest to the light switches and door handles. Life happens.
To clean these messes, use a mixture of gentle dishwashing soap with warm water. Use as little pressure as needed to remove the messes to avoid washing off the sheen of the paint.
To Remove Scuff Marks
Take a close look at your baseboards. Do they have scuff marks from shoes, pets, or furniture rubbing against the surface?
Scuff marks are a bit harder to remove than your average dirt and grime marks but not impossible. If the solution of dish soap and warm water doesn’t work, try adding a little baking soda for a little extra umpf.
Worst case scenario, try a melamine cleaning sponge such as Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. However, do not scrub or you will find that your paint magically disappears as well as the scuff.
For Food Stains
Stains on kitchen and dining room walls that include grease, pasta sauce and all types of food ingredients can be tricky to remove. Start with grease-cutting soaps that are gentle on surfaces first. If that doesn’t cut the grease or food remnants, try the baking soda mixed with dish soap. Again, if that doesn’t take care of the stain a mixture of rubbing alcohol and vinegar may take care of stubborn food stains.
For Crayon Marks
If you’ve ever lived with a toddler, you know that the crayons don’t always stay solely on the paper. For crayon drawings and marks on wall surfaces start the process as you would any other stain. A warm water mixture with dish soap and baking soda is where homeowners should start. Then if that doesn’t work, move onto a mixture of rubbing alcohol and vinegar. If that doesn’t work, some professionals use an old toothbrush to scrub mayonnaise (full-fat kind) into the stain. If that also doesn’t work, try rubbing a pencil eraser over the area and wiping it down with vinegar.
In all of these circumstances try to keep the wetness on the wall surface to a minimum. If you must use a melamine sponge, be sure to rub only as hard as it takes to get the stain to budge.
Stains and marks on walls and trim can make a professional paint project look worn and dated quickly unless you maintain the surface with regular cleaning. For even more suggestions, Good Housekeeping online has suggestions and mixtures that could help remove even your most stubborn stains.
