Easy ways to dust and clean your painted walls

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Repainting a room is a lot of work, and that's why it's good to know how to clean walls and to keep them good looking as long as possible.

If it's been a while since you've painted, don't be surprised if cleaning your walls takes a considerable amount of work. The good news is that, once clean, it takes just minutes each week to keep them in shape. Doing so makes your home look better and reduces dust, too!

Dust your way to clean walls

The first step in cleaning walls is dusting them. Start at an entrance to the room work top to bottom, moving clockwise around the room. The best way to dust is using a microfiber dust cloth on a long-handled sweeper. You don't need to take down pictures or move furniture.

Wash kitchen and bath walls

Remove the residues of cooking and steamy showers by washing the painted areas of kitchen and bathroom walls at least once every year.

Make your own wall-washing soap

Homemade soap mixtures do a great job cleaning painted walls. Both of these mixtures are inexpensive, simple to make, and at least as good as commercially available cleaners.

Test painted walls before cleaning them

It's safe to wash glossy and semigloss paint, which are commonly used in kitchens and baths and on woodwork. Most modern flat and satin paint are also washable, but always test them in an inconspicuous spot. If paint chalks off on your sponge, don't wash that paint. Never wash with trisodium phosphate (TSP) except when you are about to repaint; it dulls the finish.

Wash high-traffic areas

Remember, you don't need to wash an entire room, areas around switches and thermostats may need an occasional washing alongside areas behind the sofa and on walls behind TVs or other electronics and above radiators or heating grates.