What is the best way to clean walls painted with flat paint?
Question:
Answers:
sorry to say that flat paint is not washable. best thing to do is repaint it with a good semi-gloss paint.
Step OneProtect your floors with newspapers or towels.
2Step Two Click to enlargeBrush cobwebs and dust from the wall with a soft-bristled brush.
3Step Three Click to enlargeRemove any remaining dirt with a dry-sponge - a rubber sponge available at most hardware stores. Rub the dry-sponge along the wall to lift dirt from it.
4Step FourFill a bucket about three-quarters full with warm water.
5Step Five Click to enlargeAdd a small amount of dish soap - about as much as it takes to clean a sink full of dishes - to the bucket. This will be the cleaning bucket.
6Step SixPlace a second, empty bucket near the cleaning bucket. (You'll use this when you wring out the cleaning sponge.)
7Step Seven Click to enlargeDip a small portion of the flat face of a sponge into the cleaning bucket until it is damp.
8Step Eight Click to enlargeSpread the cleaning solution on the wall with the sponge, beginning at the top and working toward the bottom. Use a ladder to reach the high spots on the wall.
9Step NineSqueeze - but do not wring out - the sponge over the empty bucket after wetting the entire surface of the wall.
10Step TenBlot the surface of the wall you've just cleaned to lift any further dirt from its surface.
11Step Eleven Repeat this process until you have covered the wall.
12Step Twelve Click to enlargeDry the wall using a terry cloth towel.
Tips & Warnings
Commercial products are available to remove oil-based or grease stains.
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Overall Things You'll Need
Terry cloth towels
Dry-sponges
Liquid Dish Soap
Soft-bristled Brush
Sponges
Ladders
Old Newspapers
2 Buckets
Tools Digg del.icio.us
Member Comments
by eHow Friend on 12/8/2005
How to clean bamboo shades - Murphy's Oil Soap is great for cleaning wood floors and other surfaces, and is also excellent for cleaning bamboo shades.
First, find a place outside where you can drape or hang your damp shades to dry in the sun for about 30 minutes once they are clean.
Then, fill the bathtub with hot water and the recommended amount of Murphy's Oil Soap.
Next, roll the first blind all the way to the top before removing it from its hooks. Don't worry about dusting or vacuuming the blind as doing so is completely unnecessary. The soapy water will remove dust, cobwebs, even nicotine!
Gently carry the bundled shade to the bathtub and lay it in the hot, soapy bath water. Agitate the water with the rolled shade for at least one minute to ensure that the hot, soapy water penetrates into and around all of the rolled layers of narrow bamboo slates.
If the shade is very grimy, the water will change color quite quickly. Once the shade has been throughly cleaned in this way, you can drain the water from the tub, rinse the tub, and repeat this action to rinse.
Or, simply stand the blind on one end and let the shower spray run down inside the bundle. Either way, the soapy water will run off down the drain. Let the bundle remaining standing on one end until most of the water has drained out, at last one minute. Then, gently carry the bundle outside, let the shade down and drape it or hang it to dry for at least 15 minutes.
Your shades will look and even smell so much better. Doing this once or twice a year will not over-dry your bamboo shades but will leave them sparkling clean.
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by eHow Friend on 11/22/2005
Soap pads and cake soap - When I was a smoker, I had a hard time removing the yellow nicotine from walls. I found by prespotting the worst of them with a ordinary SOS pad then washing the walls with warm water with a bar of Sunlight soap, they shine.
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by alissa B. on 11/22/2005
Clean painted walls - I use the Fels Naptha soap, washing soda, and borax laundry soap recipe. I dilute this in hot water and wash with a sponge. Work in sections, and wipe immediately with clean terry towel. For tough spots (like really dirty baseboards) I recommend the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, or a paste of washing or baking soda works well, too.
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by Beverley Crawley on 11/22/2005
how to clean painted walls - Dampen a rag or sponge and then dip in baking soda. Rub gently into the wall. This removes crayon, pencil, ink and other stains immediately. Rinse with a rag dipped in plain water.
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by Ronda Hoffpauir on 11/22/2005
Cleaning walls - To clean walls, I use 1/2 cup ammonia, 1/4 cup white vinegar, and 1/4 cup washing soda (Arm & Hammer still makes this, though it is getting harder to find) to one gallon of warm water. I also use a sponge mop to wash both walls and ceilings.
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