How To Clean Walls With Flat Paint? Easy And Complete Way

how to clean walls with flat paint

How to clean walls with flat paint? Starting with a clean, damp sponge or cloth, rub the stained wall. Try adding vinegar to your damp sponge or cloth and gently cleaning the walls if plain water doesn’t work. Use an eraser sponge on problematic areas if vinegar doesn’t completely get rid of the stain. Continue reading, you will learn more details to clean walls with flat paint.

Can You Clean Walls That Have Flat Paint?

Flat paint can be cleaned with a cloth, but you should wipe it gently to avoid wiping away any paint along with dirt and debris. After cleaning the walls with a dry cloth, any stains should be treated with a sponge dipped in warm water. If the stain doesn’t come up, try adding a few drops of mild dish soap or detergent, but don’t scrub.

How to Tell If You Have Flat Paint Walls?

If your walls are painted flat, there is a simple test you can use to tell. The way your wall reflects light will immediately reveal whether it has a gloss or sheen. If light reflects off of your walls rather than absorbing them, your walls are not flatly painted. Matte is another term for flat paint. Eggshell paint, also referred to as satin, is second to matte in terms of its reflective qualities. Semi-gloss and gloss paint are the two types that reflect light the most.

Cleaning Supplies Checklist

The items you will need to clean your flat paint walls are simple, and most can be found lying around the house:

  • Water
  • Sponge
  • Dish soap or laundry detergent
  • White vinegar
  • Bucket
  • Towel

How to Clean Walls With Flat Paint?

Walls that are worn and dingy are never appealing. Make your living room feel cleaner and more inviting by cleaning the walls in addition to other areas of the room. Recall that flat-painted walls require particular care. Overly vigorously rubbing flat paint could degrade the finish and leave patches of uneven sheen. So, how do you clean flat-painted walls? Just remember to use these recommendations.

Find Out If You Have Flat Paint

Make sure your walls are flat-painted before implementing our cleaning techniques. This description describes the wall’s matte finish rather than the texture of the walls. Flat paint is good for hiding flaws in accent walls and ceilings because it doesn’t reflect light. If your walls do not reflect any light at all, even when viewed from an angle, they most likely have flat paint, which ranges in gloss from 0 to 10%.

Gather Your Cleaning Supplies

Make sure your cabinet of cleaning supplies includes the following essentials, which you’ll need to clean flat-paint walls:

  • Sponge or cloth
  • White vinegar
  • Eraser sponge
  • Foam cleanser
  • Detergent
  • Touch-up paint and paintbrush
how to clean walls with flat paint

Clean Flat Paint Walls

It’s critical to remove dirt and stains from walls painted with flat paint as soon as possible. The harder the walls are to clean, the longer you ignore them. Here’s what we suggest for removing smudges, smears, and scuff marks from flat paint walls:

  • Starting with a clean, damp sponge or cloth, rub the stained wall. You may not even need any cleaning products in some cases because water is all that is required to remove stains. If you address wall-stains as soon as you see them, this is most likely to succeed.
  • Try adding vinegar to your damp sponge or cloth and gently cleaning the walls if plain water doesn’t work.
  • Use an eraser sponge on troublesome areas if vinegar can’t completely get the stain out. This mild cleaning solution ought to get rid of the stain without harming your flat-painted walls.
  • Apply a mild foam cleanser from the store to particularly difficult wall stains. For the best outcomes, abide by the instructions printed on the container.
  • Applying diluted detergent is the final cleaning method you should try. It should work with about one tablespoon of detergent to one gallon of water. To get the last of the stain off the wall, gently scrub it with a rag dipped in the solution.
  • Grab a paintbrush and a can of original wall paint if you still have it. To permanently cover the stain, make a touch-up. Another choice is to repaint the entire wall with new paint that has a tougher sheen. A 10 to 25 percent gloss eggshell finish is more enduring and easier to maintain than flat paint without looking overly shiny.

Call for Professional Help

If all else fails, get assistance from a cleaning crew. The team consists of insured, certified, and uniformed housekeepers who are experts at keeping your home looking, feeling, and smelling clean. Along with many other household tasks, we can remove obstinate wall stains.

How to Remove Crayons from Painted Walls?

Children enjoy coloring and drawing, and occasionally their skills make it to the wall. Don’t give up on removing those crayon smudges from the wall; there are a few ways to do so and restore the wall’s pristine appearance.

  • Blow Dryer: Using a blow dryer to heat the markings, wipe them with a microfiber cloth or paper towel that has some dish soap on it.
  • Cleaning Eraser: To avoid rubbing the paint off, use a cleaning eraser and rub it very gently. Test first in a discreet location.
  • WD-40: Remove the crayon scribbles by misting a little WD-40 onto a piece of cloth or paper towel. Wash the wall to remove the oily residue after the crayon has been removed.
  • Mayonnaise: Apply some mayo to the crayon smudges, let sit for a few minutes, and then remove with a damp cloth.
  • Toothpaste: Use only non-gel toothpaste for this remedy. Apply toothpaste to the markings and scrub with a rag or scrub brush before wiping the wall down with a damp cloth.

What Are the Tips to Keep Your Flat Painted Walls Clean and Longer?

  • The most common causes of stains and marks on walls are hands and fingers, so avoid touching them.
  • To quickly remove any scuffs or markings, have a cleaning eraser, a damp rag, and a cleaning solution on hand.
  • Don’t let kids draw on walls when you can use a canvas instead.

How Often to Clean Flat Painted Walls?

how to clean walls with flat paint

Flat-painted walls should be dusted and cobwebs removed as part of your regularly scheduled chores at least monthly—twice monthly is even better. The smudges and dirt around doorknobs and light switches should be removed as soon as possible. Deep cleaning with wet solutions shouldn’t be done frequently on flat paint; instead, it should only be done once or twice a year before repainting the room.

DIY Cleaning Flat Paint Walls Vs. Hiring a Pro

The cost to clean walls ranges between $170 and $480. Your walls’ dimensions and the amount of dirt that has accumulated over time will affect these costs.

If you decide to DIY instead, you’ll spend roughly $30 gathering the necessary supplies if you don’t already have them at home.

What Are the Benefits of Flat Paint?

Paint that is flat or matte provides a smooth, understated appearance and exhibits very little sheen when dry because it absorbs light. Flat finishes hide flaws and imperfections that are occasionally brought on by shoddy construction work or shoddy framing because they cover them up so well. Flat paint is a great option for your walls because it minimizes the visibility of these minor flaws. For this reason, it looks fantastic on ceilings, in living rooms, dining rooms, and bedrooms.

Does a Magic Eraser Work on Flat Paint?

Try using one of the melamine-foam-based white sponge varieties; while they are less likely to scratch flat-painted surfaces, their ablative action (they wear away) may leave a white residue on darker hues. Simply follow them with a soft blotting motion and an absorbent WHITE towel.

What is the Best Cleaner to Use on Flat Painted Walls?

If plain water doesn’t work, try adding vinegar to your damp sponge or cloth and gently scrub the walls. Use an eraser sponge on troublesome areas if vinegar can’t completely get the stain out. Without harming your flat-painted walls, this gentle cleaning product ought to remove the stain.

FAQ About Clean Walls With Flat Paint

Does Flat Paint Wipe Clean?

To avoid removing any paint along with dirt and debris, you can wipe flat paint clean, but you should use caution. Clean the walls with a dry cloth before applying a warm water-soaked sponge to any stains. If the stain still won’t come out, try adding a few drops of mild dish soap or detergent. It’s always a good idea to perform a spot test first.

Can Flat Paint Be Cleaned With Isopropyl Alcohol?

There will be more mess to clean up if the paint is liquified by the isopropyl alcohol. Once more, use some water and a mild cleaner.

Can Flat Paint Be Cleaned With Bleach?

While bleach is frequently used in homes to clean surfaces, using it on walls can permanently damage the color. You should use a light touch, some water, and perhaps a mild cleaner.

Conclusion On Clean Walls With Flat Paint

Rubbing the stained wall should be done initially with a clean, damp sponge or cloth. If plain water doesn’t work, try adding vinegar to your damp sponge or cloth and gently cleaning the walls. If vinegar doesn’t completely remove the stain, apply an eraser sponge to the troublesome areas.