There’s nothing like a sparkling clean house to brighten your day. If your walls are smudged, stained, or dingy, they can make the whole room look a little grimy. Cleaning walls is easy and makes a big difference in the look and feel of your space! But if you have flat paint, cleaning the walls can be just a little bit trickier. Read on for how to clean flat paint walls easily!
Flat Paint: The Good and the Not-So-Good
Flat paint has a velvety matte finish on the wall. It does not reflect light. Because of this, it’s great for hiding imperfections in the walls and ceilings, like nail holes, scrapes, or divots. It’s often used in new construction homes because it’s so easy to roll or spray onto a wall. Flat paint is often a good choice for rooms with a lot of natural light.
On the downside, flat paint is much more porous than eggshell, semi-gloss, or gloss paint. This means that it can absorb stains more easily. It also means that it does not resist water. If you use a lot of water to clean the wall, it will leave behind a streaky area that can look worse than the original stain. Scrubbing flat paint walls too vigorously will leave shiny spots or patchy, damaged paint behind. While it is notoriously hard to clean, in recent years, a few paint companies have started making more washable flat paint.
If you treat your flat paint walls gently, you can keep them looking their best!
How Do I Know if My Walls Have Flat Paint?
If you didn’t paint the walls yourself, it can be tricky to know what type of paint was used. Try this trick to help you figure it out:
Shine a light at an angle toward you, on your wall. If the wall looks lighter but doesn’t reflect any of the light, you probably have flat paint. If it reflects some of the light but indistinctly, it’s likely eggshell or satin paint. And if you can clearly see the outline of your light source, you are probably dealing with gloss.
Each type of paint requires a different cleaning technique, so it’s helpful to know what you have on your walls before you get cleaning!
Get Ready to Clean
To clean your flat paint walls, start by moving furniture away from the wall and removing artwork (this would be a great time to dust or wipe your artwork clean as well!). Lay down a tarp if you need one, and gather your supplies:
- A step stool
- A feather duster or vacuum with an upholstery attachment
- A few microfiber cloths
- A bucket or large bowl of warm water
- White vinegar
- Baking soda
- Clear dishwashing soap
- A melamine-cleaning eraser
Begin by removing dust, cobwebs, and any loose dirt with your feather duster, Swiffer, or vacuum. Even just this one step will improve the look of your walls.
Cleaning the Whole Wall
When cleaning flat paint walls, you want to start with the gentlest method. You may need to use stronger cleaning supplies, but by trying the gentlest options first, you are less likely to damage your walls.
Always scrub gently. If you apply too much elbow grease, the wall may end up with patchy paint or shiny spots that only repainting can fix.
Option One:
Start with a bucket or bowl of warm water and a microfiber cloth. Microfiber is a material with–as the name suggests–fibers that are so small that they are thinner than a strand of silk or human hair. This means they can snag dirt and debris more than other types of cloth and are often an effective, gentle cleaning solution.
Wet the cloth and wring it out so it’s just damp. Wipe the wall in gentle, circular motions and see if that’s all you need to get your wall clean. Always start at the top of the wall and work your way down so that you can catch any drips and won’t have to re-clean a space.
Option Two:
If water alone wasn’t enough to get your flat paint wall clean, add a half cup of white vinegar to a quart of warm water and try again. Vinegar contains acetic acid, which helps break down dirt, oils, stains, and even some bacteria. It should gently remove many stains on your wall.
Option Three:
Clean your microfiber cloth or use a new, damp one. Fold it into a square and sprinkle some baking soda on it. The abrasive nature of the baking soda may be enough to remove dirt and stains without damaging the flat paint.
Option Four:
With a fresh bucket of warm water, add another half a cup of white vinegar and a teaspoon of clear dishwashing soap (make sure it’s clear so the color doesn’t transfer to the walls). Use a clean microfiber cloth and wring it out. Try this cleaning solution on the walls.
Option Five:
If all else fails, you can use a melamine cleaning eraser on the wall. Melamine is a very abrasive material that loosens dirt and grime and traps it in the sponge. Be very careful when using this on a flat paint wall. Scrub lightly and check the sponge to make sure the paint isn’t transferring onto the sponge. If it is, you will damage the paint job on the wall. But used carefully, a cleaning eraser can remove tough stains and save you from having to repaint.
When Cleaning Won’t Cut It
It’s difficult to get stains off of flat paint walls–especially grease stains and crayon markings. If you can’t clean the walls, you can cover the stains with paint. For small areas, touch up the paint, making sure to feather the edges of the area so it blends in with the original paint. For larger issues, you may need to repaint the entire wall. You may want to consider changing to a different sheen that is easier to clean. This post gives you a breakdown of the different types of paints, including their pros and cons.
Tips for Keeping Your Flat Paint Walls Looking Great
It helps to clean any dirty areas on your flat paint walls as quickly as possible. The longer the grime sits on the wall, the more likely it is that the paint will absorb the stain. Clean areas around light switches and door knobs weekly, and spot clean as needed. Dust the walls at least once a month, but don’t do a whole-wall cleaning very often, or you may wear out the paint.
Crayon marks and oil spots are the hardest to remove from flat paint walls. Cleaning as best you can and then spot-painting over them is probably your best bet.
Summary
Flat paint is great for hiding imperfections in walls and ceilings, but it can be difficult to clean. Remember to always scrub the walls softly and lightly and to use the gentlest cleaning products and solutions first. If you can’t get the walls clean, you can touch up the paint or repaint the wall altogether. But often, a gentle touch and some mild cleaning supplies will get the job done so that you can enjoy a clean, fresh home.
