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If you take pride in keeping your home neat and clean, then you know a trick or two for housekeeping. From scrubbing and mopping to hardwood floor care and carpet cleaning, you want to keep your home looking beautiful. But do you know the best way to clean walls? If “wall washing” hasn’t made it to your cleaning checklist, you’re not alone. Most of us don’t even notice our walls like we do horizontal surfaces like floors, counters, and furniture.

But considering how much we touch our walls, especially areas around switch plates and doorways, learning how to wash walls is a skill worth learning. Dust, dirt, and germs can easily build up without regular cleaning. Keeping your walls clean cuts down on the dust that can aggravate asthma and allergies, and washing away dirt and grime makes your home look and feel cleaner. This minimizes the spread of germs and viruses, allowing you to create a healthier environment for your family.

Learn how to clean walls with these 10 tips and make them a part of your regular housekeeping routine for a more beautiful and healthy home.

1. Go easy on flat, satin, and eggshell finishes.

Many wall paint finishes are less durable than the paint typically used for window trim, doors, and baseboards. Never use harsh chemicals or commercial degreasers on walls with flat paint finishes. Wash these walls with a soft sponge dampened with a cleaning solution. Don’t scrub too hard or you could remove some paint.

2. Gloss and semi-gloss finishes are tough.

Because these paint finishes are so durable, they’re sometimes used in high-traffic areas like kitchens and bathrooms. It is safe to use a mild degreaser on glossy walls as long as you scrub carefully. Even though glossy paints are tough, use a soft sponge to prevent scratches.

3. Use warm water and an all-purpose cleaner for walls with latex paint.

Wash this type of paint with a soft sponge and a safe, all-purpose cleaning solution like water, dish soap, and distilled white vinegar. Dip a clean sponge in your wall cleaner, wring it dry, and gently clean your wall. The vinegar odor should go away after the wall dries, but you can hasten its departure by wiping the wall with a damp cloth.

4. Wash walls with oil-based paint using warm water and dish soap.

Skip the white vinegar for walls with oil-based paint. The acid in vinegar can dull and damage oil-based finishes. Use dish soap, baking soda, and warm water, but keep your sponge a little damp while you’re scrubbing the dirt away. The dish soap should give you enough dirt-busting power for oil-based paint, while the baking soda acts as a mild abrasive.

5. Clean safely.

While you should clean wall areas around outlets, light switches, and thermostats to get rid of built-up grime, don’t get these areas wet. If your switch plates and outlet covers are dirty, turn off the breaker before cleaning them with anything liquid. To protect your floors, use towels along the base of the walls while you clean them.

6. Dust your walls before you clean them.

Dust your walls from the top down. A broom is good for getting up near the top molding and for removing cobwebs. An unused paint brush or dry microfiber cloth makes dusting chair rails and wall corners easier. If your walls are really dusty, use your vacuum and its brush attachment.

7. Spot-test your cleaning solution first.

The cleaning ingredients we recommend are gentle and safe, but it’s always best to spot-test an out of the way spot on your walls first. This is especially important for flat or matte finishes; if the cleaning solution is too harsh, it could leave light-colored streaks and stains.

8. Use the right technique.

When you’re learning how to clean painted walls, it’s vital to use an appropriate technique. Get two buckets, some soft sponges, and dry microfiber cloths. Fill one bucket with warm water for rinsing and the other with your wall cleaner. Start at the top of the wall and work your way down using light, circular motions. Work in sections to prevent spotting and discoloration. Wash the wall with your cleaning solution and then wipe off the residue with a sponge dipped in your rinse bucket. Dry the wall with your microfiber cloth and move on to the next section.

9. Work on stubborn stains after you wash your walls.

When you’re cleaning painted walls, save yourself some time and work by focusing on stains after you wash the walls. This way, you give your cleaning solution a chance to work on the stain and possibly get rid of it altogether. If you still see stains on your walls after you wash them, you can concoct a safe, homemade stain remover.

For stubborn stains like crayons, shoe scuffs, and grease, make a paste with baking soda and water. Gently rub the paste onto the stain using a non-abrasive pad or sponge and work in a circular motion. For fruit drinks and red wine, hydrogen peroxide is a natural bleaching agent that’s typically safe for painted finishes. Use a clean, damp cloth and dab a small amount of hydrogen peroxide directly to the stain. Wait about five minutes. Next, wipe the stained area with a damp cloth.

10. Keep Walls Clean with Regular Cleaning Maintenance

Dusting your walls regularly and spot-cleaning will keep them clean and looking good. Regularly clean high-traffic areas of walls like around switch plates and door frames. You can remove most scuffs and surface stains with Mr. Clean Magic Erasers and use a damp microfiber cloth to wipe chair rails and the wall area near them.

How to Clean Wood Walls

Textured walls like wood require a different approach for cleaning and maintenance. To deep clean and condition your wood walls, you can mix your own gentle wall cleaner with one cup of water, 1/4 cup white vinegar, 1/2 cup mineral oil, and about 15 drops of lemon oil. Mix your ingredients thoroughly and use a clean cloth to work the cleaner into the wood going with the grain.

For stubborn stains, use more pressure and a circular motion to lift more of the stain from the grain. There’s no need to rinse; just let the wood air dry. The cleaner described above will leave the wood with a warm shine and a pleasant lemon aroma. For spot-cleaning and regular cleaning maintenance, use a cloth dampened with lemon oil.

How to Wash Walls Made with Brick and Concrete

The wall cleaner you’ll use is safe, effective, and readily available—all you need is dish soap and salt. The dish soap cuts through grease and dirt while the salt acts as an abrasive to remove stains and grime. Combine one cup of dish soap and one cup of salt to mix a thick, gritty paste.

Cover nearby floors and furniture with a tarp or plastic sheeting to protect them from your cleaning solution and debris. Remove dirt and dust from the wall using your vacuum and the brush attachment. Use a soft-bristled brush to get into nooks and crannies, but avoid using a wire brush, as that could damage the finish or the mortar.

Because brick and other textured walls absorb liquids, use a spray bottle filled with water to saturate the wall. This step will keep the wall from absorbing your cleaning solution and let it do its job breaking down dirt and grime.

Work in sections that are about 3×3, moving from the top of the wall to the bottom.
Spread the paste onto a section with a clean cloth. Gently scrub the section using a brush with stiff nylon bristles. Allow the paste to work on the dirty wall for 10 minutes. Remove excess paste from the section with a wet, clean cloth. Once the remaining paste has dried, use a vacuum with a brush attachment to remove the rest of it.

Washing walls, especially ones that haven’t been cleaned in a while, isn’t the easiest housekeeping chore. But if you follow these safe and effective wall cleaning tips, you can make your walls look fresh and new again.

If you need help washing your walls, floors, or windows, or if you need a whole-house deep cleaning, The Maids is ready to get to work. Find a location near your neighborhood and get a free, customized estimate for all your cleaning needs.

Eager to turn fresh drywall into flawlessly finished walls? Whether it's your first taping job or you're simply looking to improve your technique, level up your drywall taping skills with these tips and tools.

Photo: istockphoto.com

Betswall Tips For Nurses

Professional drywall taping crews make it look so easy: They move quickly, slather compound on every joint and nail hole, and leave behind walls that are ultra-smooth. While taping drywall isn’t a difficult task, a flawless finish can be hard to ace. That requires the right techniques, appropriate tools, and patience. With the following guidelines—and a little help from Hyde Tools—you’ll be taping walls like a pro in no time.

Photo: hydetools.com

DO put your power drill to work.

Drywall mud must be smooth and free from lumps before you begin taping. Mixing powdered compound and water by hand is time-consuming, and you might not work out all the lumps of powder if you don’t stir long enough. Instead, use a mixing bit, such as Hyde Tools’ Stir Whip, attached to a heavy-duty ½-inch power drill to blend the compound until it reaches peanut butter consistency. Even premixed mud (always a good idea) can benefit from a burst of machine mixing, as it may have settled in the container.

DON’T buy the wrong mud for your project.

One of the most common mistakes new tapers make is selecting the wrong mud. Use an “all-purpose” or “setting” compound for the initial coat and for each additional coat—except the final coat. All-purpose compound goes on smooth and adheres well to joints and drywall tape. For the final coat, though, switch to a “topping” compound, which creates a fine surface and sands easily.

Unless you’re an experienced taper, steer clear of “fast-setting,” or “hot,” mud that dries very quickly. Hot mud can set up before you have a chance to smooth it out, leaving you with a lot of extra sanding.

Photo: hydetools.com

DO prefill wide joints.

Gaps 1/8 inch or wider between drywall panels can give a drywall installation an amateur appearance, but gaps aren’t the end of the world. Just fill ’em up before you get to work taping! Because the compound used to fill them has a tendency to shrink, it may cause the paper tape (and the entire initial coat) to warp if you fill the gaps at the same time as you apply your initial tape coating. If you prefill the gaps, however, and let them dry before you apply the tape coat, the compound in the gaps will not negatively affect the tape.

To prefill gaps, use an all-purpose compound and a small flexible putty knife like Hyde Tools’ Black & Silver 2-Inch Flexible Putty Knife. When prefilling joints, carefully press the compound directly into the joint, then wipe the excess off with the blade of the putty knife—you don’t want any mud buildup on the face of the drywall. Allow joints to dry completely (24 hours) before applying the first taping coat.

DON’T overlap drywall tape.

Applying a single layer of paper tape will help minimize any chance of ending up with a bulge in the finished wall. Begin by applying a thin layer of compound to a single vertical joint using a quality knife, such as Hyde Tools’ 6-Inch Flexible Black & Silver Stainless Steel Joint Knife. Its flexible blade will distribute mud uniformly over the joints. Then, immediately after applying mud to the entire length of a single vertical joint, position a strip of paper tape (about two inches shorter than the joint) over the wet mud. Pull the joint knife smoothly—working from the middle of the tape to each end—to bed the tape securely in the mud. Repeat with all vertical joints. When you tape horizontal joints, cut the tape so it fits between the vertical joints without overlap. If they do overlap, they will probably leave bumps.

DO take steps to reduce the mess caused by wet compound.

As you tape, you’ll find that splatters of drywall compound go just about everywhere: in your hair, on your clothing, and on everything else in the room. Wear a hat, protective eyewear (drywall compound stings!), and old clothing that you can toss when you’re done. Remove furniture from the room, and cover the floor with a canvas drop cloth.

DON’T skip nail or screw holes while applying each coat of compound.

It takes just a dab of compound to cover the head of a fastener. Smooth out the compound with your 6-inch joint knife. Only the dimple over the fastener should have any mud—the wall around it should be completely clear. Wipe the knife over the fastener a second time in a different direction to remove any excess mud.

DO cut away bubbles that form in the paper tape.

After the initial coat of compound dries, check for bubbles in the paper tape. These indicate that there wasn’t enough mud on the wall beneath the tape or that you may not have pressed the tape firmly enough with your joint knife. Fear not: You can remove these blips. Use a sharp utility knife, such as Hyde Tools’ Auto-Lock 18mm Utility Knife that features snap-off blades, to cut around the edge of the bubble, and then remove the loose piece of tape. Apply a dab of fresh mud over the bubble, smooth it out, and let it dry.

DON’T apply the next coat of mud over bits of dry compound.

While it’s important to smooth the compound with each coating, it’s common to end up with a few slight ridges caused by excess mud that escaped the corners of the knife and dried. These, in addition to any unintentional flecks of compound, should be removed before applying the next coat. Scrape them off using a taping knife, such as Hyde Tools’ 8-Inch Pro Hardwood Stainless Steel Extruded Backing Taping Knife. Rather than pulling the knife as you do when you spread the compound, simply push the edge of the blade along the wall to scrape off any hardened bits of compound.

Photo: hydetools.com

DO apply multiple thin coats instead of a thick coating of mud.

The biggest secret to a professional finish? Apply three or more coats of very thin compound rather than one or two heavier coats. Yes, it takes time for the compound to dry, but don’t try to rush the drywall taping process along by applying fewer, thicker coats. Doing so only increases your sanding time, and you may never be able to get the joints completely smooth. As well, compound shrinks slightly as it dries, so thick layers have a tendency to buckle and warp, leaving you with a hardened, lumpy mess.

DON’T forget to feather out joints.

Betswall Free Tips

“Feathering” involves applying a coat of mud and then using a taping knife to smooth the edges of the compound so thin that it’s hard to tell where the mud stops and the wall starts. It’s a technique that takes practice and quality tools. For most feathering situations, a good 10-inch taping knife, such as Hyde Tools’ 10-Inch Pro Project Blue Steel Extruded Backing Taping Knife, will give the best results. Hold the taping knife at a 45-degree angle and use light pressure—just enough to smooth out the edge, but not enough that you make a ridge in the mud.

DO add an extra swath of mud on each side of butt joints.

While standard drywall joints (where the long edges of two panels meet) have a factory bevel that accommodates a four-inch coating of compound, butt joints (where the ends of two panels meet) do not. There, the compound you apply tends to build up over the joint. To make these joints less noticeable, apply the first coat of mud and paper tape as usual, but apply two additional swaths—8 to 10 inches wide—on either side of the second coat of mud. This will give you a swath that spans 20 to 30 inches across the butt joint. By spreading the compound out over a wider distance, the joint will be less obvious. With each successive coat, continue to spread the mud in the same manner over the entire joint.

Photo: hydetools.com

DON’T sand before protecting yourself and your home.

Betswall Tips Meaning

Your top coat has dried and you’re probably anxious to see just how smooth the finish turned out, but don’t start sanding until you have dust protection in place. Tape plastic sheeting over doorways, vents, and registers to keep drywall dust from filtering throughout the rest of the house. Wear old clothing, a hat, protective eyewear, and a full respirator mask. Drywall dust is incredibly invasive. It will cling to everything and even travel out of the room if you’re not careful.

Best Wall Tap Surge Protector

If you have a lot of sanding to do, it’s a good idea to invest in Hyde Tools’ Professional Dust-Free Pole Sander. This sanding pad connects to a shop vacuum that will suck up most of the dust as you smooth walls top to bottom. While you should still wear some protective gear, the Dust-Free Pole Sander will remove up to 99 percent of the drywall dust that otherwise gets into the air.

This content has been brought to you by Hyde Tools. Its facts and opinions are those of BobVila.com.