How to Clean Interior Painted Surfaces

There are many benefits of a clean home, both in terms of physical health and state of mind. Routine vacuuming, dusting, and disinfecting are important activities to maintain healthy indoor air quality. But what about washing the walls inside a home? When was the last time you washed the painted surfaces in your home? Most homeowners and renters have never washed their interior painted surfaces (i.e. the walls in their home), and often times this is simply because no one has ever shown them how or impressed upon them how dramatically this activity can affect the appearance and value of their property. This article explains why it is important to occasionally wash interior walls and details the process concisely, start to finish.

First off, why is it important to periodically wash your walls? For three primary reasons:

1. Painted surfaces that are kept clean maintain their like-new appearance for significantly longer than walls that are allowed to become grimy. Oil and dirt on walls can cause colors to lose their luster and finishes to lose their sheen. Over several years this can dramatically affect the appearance of your home and even influence the value of your property during resale.
2. Over time the oils and residues which accumulate on your walls can trap dirt, dust, and even harbor dangerous microorganisms such as mildew and mold. Over long periods of time this can reduce interior air quality and cause persistent unpleasant odors, albeit mild ones.
3. Finally, walls that are frequently washed are easier to wash! The longer oils sit on walls the harder they are to remove.

So here’s the process in a nutshell: you are going to dust the wall to remove large bits of dust and dirt, wash the wall with warm soapy water, wipe it down with a damp cloth to rinse, and then dry. Here are the details for each step:

1. Dust the wall. Do not skip this step! Large bits of dust can easily stain when wet, so definitely take a moment to remove these bits before you start washing the wall. Otherwise they can form streaks that are difficult to remove.
2. Wash the wall with warm soapy water; it is very important that you use a mild, non abrasive cleaning product that is not ammoniated. After soaking your sponge or rag in the warm soapy water, make sure to wring it out; we don’t want a lot of excess water running down the wall and pooling at the bottom. Also know that certain types of paint finish are less durable than others. Generally speaking, the more glossy the finish the more durable it is, and the less glossy (and more ‘matte’) the finish is the less durable it is. Be extra careful not to use an abrasive product on less glossy finishes.
3. Rinse the wall. Soap residue holds all the dirt and grime that was lifted from the wall, so letting it dry will just deposit the same residue right back onto the surface. Take a wet rag or cloth and wipe the wall down to lightly rinse off the soiled soap residue.
4. Finally dry the wall with a towel. Although most paint finishes are mildly resistant to moisture, it isn’t a good idea to let water and moisture just sit on the paint finish.

Other important factors to keep in mind:
1. Be gentle and use gentle products, you don’t want to scrub the paint off your walls, and you’d be shocked how easy that is to do.
2. Never let dirty streaks or soiled water dry on the wall, it can quickly set as a stain.
3. Be very cautious when using commercial cleaning products like Mr. Clean Magic Erasers, although these can work well when removing really tough stains, they are often extremely abrasive and can easily cause discoloration. It is always a good idea to test your cleaning method on an inconspicuous area first to make sure the products you are using aren’t going to cause any damage to the paint surface.