How do you wash walls?

[punkin]

The walls on my staircase are filthy (lots of little hands around here). I tried washing them, but now I have black stripes down my walls. Any suggestions? I tried both with Fantastic and the magic eraser. The stains are gone, but the streaks are ugly.

 

[BelleBoo&AmisMum]

The walls on my staircase are filthy (lots of little hands around here). I tried washing them, but now I have black stripes down my walls. Any suggestions? I tried both with Fantastic and the magic eraser. The stains are gone, but the streaks are ugly.

I'd go back over it with a magic eraser and make sure you rinse it out really good. I used it on my disgusting wet dog wall and it looks great again!

 

[cardaway]

I don't wash walls, I just buy extra paint to touch up later.

IMO it can't be done right no matter what you use. It always leaves a noticeable mark. Touch ups are fall less noticeable.

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

I don't wash walls, I just buy extra paint to touch up later.

IMO it can't be done right no matter what you use. It always leaves a noticeable mark. Touch ups are fall less noticeable.

that has always been my experience - everything leaves a mark and those magic erasers seem to be worse than anything else....


I know what you mean about the staircase - between kids and the dog ours gets bad. I usually try dish soap with a little ammonia in water, but nothing really works 100% and it never looks the same after....

 

[punkin]

I'd go back over it with a magic eraser and make sure you rinse it out really good. I used it on my disgusting wet dog wall and it looks great again!

I tried it with a brand new magic eraser, but it still streaks.

I don't really want to repaint the walls and I don't have paint to match anyway. Oh Poop!@!

 

[irishbosoxfan]

I have always used Pinesol in a bucket of water and some Ajax to remove everything my kids could ever dream of putting on the walls!

I dip the rag(old sock) in the pinesol water,sprinkle Ajax on the sock and go at the wall. Stains are gone!

I hate Magic Eraser--I tried it on my stairwell and now have a permanent stain running top to bottom pretty much in the middle of the wall--Threw them away and decided to stick to the tried and true!!

 

[1Prince2Princesses]

Be careful with the magic eraser... I used it to remove pen marks, and it worked great... except it took the paint OFF. The dark streaks I had were actually the dry-wall underneath the paint showing through!

 

[cardaway]

that has always been my experience - everything leaves a mark and those magic erasers seem to be worse than anything else....

Even if you get the offending mark off, the texture of the wall never matches up. Nothing is perfect short of repainting, and because of that I have repainted the stairwell walls before just because I'm anal about how it looks.

 

[UrsulasShadow]

I use Simple Green on everything, and it seems to work well. I was going to suggest the Magic Eraser, too, but I guess it's not so good.

 

[irishbosoxfan]

Even if you get the offending mark off, the texture of the wall never matches up. Nothing is perfect short of repainting, and because of that I have repainted the stairwell walls before just because I'm anal about how it looks.

Actually after I posted my answer I started thinking about it and I wonder if her "streaks" are the same as my "line?? It is exactly where I used the "magic" eraser and it is kinda shiny.
We live in military housing and all the walls are white--The only gloss paint is in the kitchen--every other room is flat and the staircase I did it on is flat but now it has a shinny darker stripe down the middle

 

[kdibattista]

I don't wash walls, I just buy extra paint to touch up later.

IMO it can't be done right no matter what you use. It always leaves a noticeable mark. Touch ups are fall less noticeable.

that's what we do. I was just telling DH to get the paint out the other day

Now, we do have semi gloss on our kitchen walls and I am able to just wipe them clean with a wet cloth.

 

[punkin]

Actually after I posted my answer I started thinking about it and I wonder if her "streaks" are the same as my "line?? It is exactly where I used the "magic" eraser and it is kinda shiny.
We live in military housing and all the walls are white--The only gloss paint is in the kitchen--every other room is flat and the staircase I did it on is flat but now it has a shinny darker stripe down the middle

You know, you may be right.

 

[irishbosoxfan]

You know, you may be right.

I'm sorry Because now it has to be painted! We have yet to do ours because it is military housing and we'll have to do it soon enough AND it is just one area(bugs the heck out of me though)

It happened to me about a year ago and I have washed that wall with the pinesol/ajax combination which has never let me down maybe 4 or 5 times since then and it doesn't budge--It will be there until it gets repainted

 

[disneyfan67]

Try a product called Murphy's wood oil soap. Follow the directions on the bottle and it's easy to mix. Add a couple of caps full to a bucket of warm water and use a soft terry cloth towel. I own a cleaning/janitorial business and find it strong enough to get dirt/marks off painted walls, but not strong enough to damage the paint. It's also good for cleaning wood and won't damage it. You don't have to rinse it, but will have to change the water frequently. Works great on wallpaper as well and has a clean scent, plus it doesn't have harmful chemicals in it and won't damage your hands. I have used this product for years and my mother used it for decades as well. People make the mistake thinking it's only for wood, it's not and you can clean just about anything with it, trust me, I have.

http://www.colgate.com/app/MurphyOilSoap/US/EN/Products.cwsp

 

[punkin]

I will try the Murphy's I have some in the house. Will post back results (if any)

 

[ClaraBug]

In a clean spray bottle, mix one part ammonia, one part water, and one part white vingar. Lightly shake up the bottle, spray on the area and wipe using soft cotton rag.

This also work fantastic on rug stains and laundry stains.

 

[Straitlover]

When you do repaint, don't use flat paint. Go w/ at least a satin if not semigloss. That way, you won't ahve the same problem again.

 

[irishbosoxfan]

When you do repaint, don't use flat paint. Go w/ at least a satin if not semigloss. That way, you won't ahve the same problem again.

plus the cleaning is so much easier!!