Restoring Interior Walls
Restoring life to Interior Walls
When thinking about giving a new life to a room, most people automatically assume that the room needs a new coat of paint. While a new color might sound nice, most overlook the possibility of giving the walls a good cleaning, and the drastic results it can have on the appearance of a room. The reason? Most people never clean their walls. Ever. Sometimes, a color isn’t outdated, the walls are just dirty. Not cleaning interior walls means those walls accumulate dirt, stains, smudges, and other things. How often do you glide your hands along the walls, lean on walls, or even touch the walls in any home? Let’s not even mention the little ones and pets. Failing to clean the walls in a home means that the colors go from bright and glossy to dull and faded. Here are four steps to follow to help restore and give life to any wall in any home.
Determining the Type of Paint
As many find out when looking for paint, there are different finishes to every color. The type of finish will determine the type of cleaning applied to the wall. Dull finishes, such as Flat, Satin, and Eggshell, tend to have a lesser lifespan. When cleaning these types of finishes, make sure to avoid harsh chemicals and degreasers. Finishes that have a semi of full gloss finish can weather harsh chemicals better and can therefore withstand degreasing cleaners.
Prep and Wash
Walls shouldn’t just have water thrown on them and scrubbed down. Just as furniture needs to be moved for proper carpet cleaning, the same principles apply to wall cleaning preparation. Furniture that covers wall space should be moved out of the way, to ensure a uniform color once the wall is all clean. Paintings, lamps, and other items hanging from the walls should also be removed. Once the area is clear, dust the walls down. Doing this with a cheese or tack cloth works well. Lay something down at the baseboard of the walls to catch any water that may drip down from your cleaning. Once all these steps are completed, it’s time to wash.
If the wall has a Flat, Satin, or Eggshell finish, focus on using a mix of mild dish detergent and warm water. Have one bucket with the cleaning solution and one for rinsing, with a sponge to do the scrubbing with. Test to see if this solution damages the paint by applying a small amount to the sponge and scrubbing the wall lightly. If not, then it’s good to go. Focus on scrubbing lightly from top to bottom. Going from cleaning the bottom first, then the top, will cause the dirty water from the upper areas to come down and smudge the already clean areas on the bottom. This same process applies to glossy finishes, only you can use degreasers on those walls.
If pets and children are present in the home, special care and focus may be given to the lower areas of a wall. If needed, a stronger cleaner may be applied, but only after testing it on the wall.
Aftermath and Touch-ups
Once the wall has been dusted and scrubbed down, make sure to wipe it down with a clean cloth to remove any excess dirty water. Leaving water on the walls can leave it extremely smudged and damaged beyond repair. If there are still a couple of tough smudges or marks, consider dabbing a bit of the same paint color on them to mask those defects. Now that the wall is clean, the color difference shouldn’t be too stark. Replace the furniture and wall decorations as needed.
Call in the Pros
Sometimes, you just want to skip the stress and mess. Having been in business since 2001, our main company goal has always been to build a company culture of success and amazing customer service. If you have an interior or exterior paint project you think is too much, or you just want out of your hands, put it in the hands of those who can and contact us today!