Painting your walls regularly is one of the key aspects of keeping your home clean and healthy.
However, doing it too often isn’t so good nor convenient, so it’s important to find some kind of balance. Once you paint your house, everything looks so clean and fresh, but it doesn’t take long for the walls to become all drab once again.
Yet, there has to be a way to slow down that process and keep your walls clean and fresh for as long as possible. Of course, you can always hire a professional, someone who knows all the secrets of the trade. Or you can just put wallpaper and end it all.
But if you still prefer painted walls, here are a few tips and tricks from home cleaning professionals at Geaux Maids which will help you keep them clean.
Let It Dry
Contrary to what many paint producers say, it actually takes more than 24 hours for the paint to dry. So make sure you give it enough time, normally, more than what’s written on the package.
After one day, the paint is dry enough for the second coat if needed, not for touching the walls. The actual time it needs to dry fully and properly is about two weeks. This means that you shouldn’t touch the walls, put the furniture close to them, or let children without supervision into the room during this period.
After a couple of weeks, you can get the things back to normal and use the room as usual.
Dust the Walls
Just like the carpets, or anything else for that matter, it is easier to keep the wall clean if you prevent the dirt from building up.
The best way to achieve this with painted walls is to dust them regularly, more often than you wash them. This will make the washing easier and more efficient, and will also save the paint from grinding. You can use a wool duster for this.
Alternatively, take a microfiber cloth and wrap it around a broom. This is a good option, often recommended by professional home cleaners especially for the places that are really high or difficult to reach. Another possibility is vacuuming the walls using the attachment with a soft brush.
Get Rid of the Dirty Spots ASAP
As soon as you notice a smudge, or a spot, which are possible to appear even if you let the paint dry for two weeks wash them immediately. The sooner you clean them, the more difficult that task will be.
If the paint is still relatively fresh, you can use just a damp cloth, without any soap. But if it’s been a while, you can use the soap as well and try a somewhat more aggressive approach. You should, however, make sure you use the right cleaning solution in order not to damage the paint.
The best and cheapest option is a mixture of one cup of borax, two tablespoons of dishwashing liquid and four liters of water. You can also try with a cup of ammonia, one teaspoon of the dishwashing liquid and four liters of water, but it may be better to avoid ammonia if you can.
Call the Professionals
Sometimes it is just impossible to keep your walls clean, despite all your efforts. It might be due to the long-term “effort” from your children who simply refuse to stop drawing on the wall or keep putting their hands or head on the same spot.
It can be your pets’ “achievement”. It may be the accumulated result or one-time splashing accident, but when you see it, you’ll know you only have two options: repainting or calling a professional. And the second options seem easier, cheaper and more convenient. So make sure you get a professional cleaner to take care of one such mess, instead of trying yourself and making things even worse.
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