What are Some Tips for Cleaning Walls?

While many people are diligent about dusting furniture and scrubbing floors, not everyone considers the need to clean walls on any type of regular basis. Normally, cleaning walls is something that takes place when some type of smudge appears near molding or around a light switch. However, it is possible to incorporate the cleaning of walls into your regular routine and keep your home cleaner and smelling fresh.

One of the first things to understand about cleaning walls is that you do not have to wait for some noticeable stain or smudge to show up. Dust your walls from time to time. Using a simple dust mop, you can easily remove any stray cobwebs as well as any dust particles that may help those tough stains to adhere to your wall surfaces with greater ease. Taking a few moments to run the dust mop over your walls will make the job of deep cleaning easier at a later date.

When preparing to wash dirty walls, your first task is to determine what type of wall you are dealing with. Paneled walls cannot be cleaned using the same chemicals as painted or wallpapered walls. Even with painted walls, it is important to know whether the paint job is oil-based or water-based. It is only after you know which cleaning supplies are appropriate for your walls that you can begin the process.

Assembling your supplies is key to learning how to clean walls effectively. By pulling together everything you need before starting the job, you will save yourself a lot of time and frustration. In general, you will need to include a duster, a bucket, clean cloths, dry towels and some sort of cleaning solution. Depending on your physical condition and the height of the walls, a step stool may also be useful.

Always dust your walls before beginning any deep cleaning. Removing loose particles will make it easier to spot subtle but stubborn stains. This will also minimize the chances of accidentally streaking the dust on the wall surface when you begin to apply the water and cleaning solution and creating another stain to contend with. Always dust from the top down, in order to prevent loosened dust from resettling on a section of wall you’ve already addressed.

However, cleaning walls effectively demands that you wash the walls from the bottom up. The reason for this seemingly unusual approach is that water streaks are bound to occur. Those streaks will be much easier to remove if they are over sections you have already cleaned, rather than caked onto sections of wall that have yet to be cleaned. Choosing to clean walls in this manner may seem like more work, but in fact it will require less muscle overall to finish the job.

Learning how to clean walls is something that anyone can master. By choosing the right cleaning agent, assembling your tools in advance, and making sure to dust from the top down followed with washing bottom to top, you will soon be cleaning walls like a professional.