How To Wash Walls

Washing your walls is a fantastic deep cleaning chore that is best tackled in late spring and early fall when you can crack a window or open a door to assist in the drying process. However time consuming, it is a necessary task to keep your home looking (and smelling!) great and can extend the life of your paint job.

Washing your walls is a fantastic deep cleaning chore that is best tackled in late spring and early fall when you can crack a window or open a door to assist in the drying process. However time consuming, it is a necessary task to keep your home looking (and smelling!) great and can extend the life of your paint job.

• Broom
• Towel
• Vacuum with broom attachment or foam craft brush
• Bucket with warm soapy water
• Bucket with clean water
• Dust cloth, wand, or brush
• Drop cloth

1. Remove all artwork from walls and move your furniture to the center of the room. Create a good amount of workspace for yourself.

2. Dust off your walls and baseboards. An easy way to do this is by covering a broom with a towel and wiping the walls from the top down. If my baseboards are really dirty, I attach the broom brush to my vacuum; if they just need a light dust I like to go over them with a foam craft brush.

3. Protect your floors by laying a drop cloth to catch any water that runs off the walls.

4. With a lint free washcloth or undyed sponge, scrub down your walls from top to bottom with warm soapy water. Stay away from using colored soaps or dyed sponges, you don’t want to chance it staining your walls.

5. Follow up step 4 with a clean water rinse. Be sure to change out any dirty water in your bucket so you aren’t making the walls dirtier!

If possible, crack a few windows to help air flow through the room—not only will it smell great, it will help your walls dry faster.

More great tips and tutorials: Cleaning Basics