DIY Techniques to Maintain Your Wall Paint in NYC
Tips and tricks from Bolo Clean, your affordable interior painting services in Manhattan and Brooklyn
As exciting as the New York City life is, this concrete jungle is pretty polluted. When outdoor dust and grime settle indoors, they affect the surfaces of your home and are especially vile to new coats of wall paint! Keeping painted walls clean is also important in light of regular indoor hazards like cooking stains, scuff marks and your kids’ not-so-creative artwork.
While we recommend leaving handyman services to professional painters, there are steps you can take to extend the cleanliness and appearance of your interior paint. If your sunny walls are looking a little muggy, here are some useful tips to try out:
- Dusting: An annual dusting goes a long way to keep the luster in your painted walls. Use a feather duster or your vacuum cleaner’s dust-brush to siphon off loose dirt from ceilings and walls.
- Washing: Most walls, especially semi-gloss painted kitchen or bathroom walls, are easy to clean with a soapy water wash. Adding a cup of distilled vinegar makes this solution stronger. An alternate solution is a cup of borax and two tablespoons of dishwashing liquid to a gallon of warm water. This should also work on mold and grease stains. Sponge your preferred mix onto the walls, starting from the top and drying as you go so as to avoid streaks.
- Spot removal: This is especially useful for areas around switches, furniture and appliances. Make a paste by adding half a cup of baking soda to a bucket of warm water. Spray this mix onto a cloth to rub off stains. Next, wipe the area down with water before drying it.
- Fixing small scrapes: Occasional touch-ups help maintain wall paint and prevent unsightly peel offs. Sand the area first and then feather in the original paint color to complete the job.
Keep in mind a few points before you start:
- Always test your cleaning mix on a small wall patch before you get your project going
- Avoid products that contain alcohol for painted wall cleaning
- Use gentle, circular motions to wash walls
- Use soft cleaning tools – abrasive products can dull or rub off paint
If you’re still unhappy with your work or unwilling to try, you can always call on local painting contractors like us!
We hope this blog was helpful. Bolo Clean is one of NYC’s best painting companies – visit our website for a free painting quote or for more information on our interior painting, cleaning and maintenance services. We look forward to getting in touch!