5 Signs You Should Clean Your Walls Before Painting Them
In general, experts recommend that you clean your walls with a specialized de-greaser before you have them painted. However, sometimes this step is unnecessary if rooms are well-kept or seldom used. Below are five signs that you should clean your walls before painting them.
There Is Dust On Your Walls
If there is dust on your walls, clean them before painting begins. This is usually a problem in seldom-used rooms, where dust can accumulate. If your walls look grimy or if you run a white cloth over them and it comes off dingy, you should wash them.
You Have Children
If you have children in your home, your walls are more likely to have oils from your children's skin on them. This is because children tend to lean against or touch walls more often than adults. It is important to remove these oils before painting. Additionally, you should remove any marks or foreign substances that your children have stuck on the walls, like crayons or stickers.
You Have Pets
Pets will often brush against walls while they walk through a room. If you have pets, you should at least wash the lower half of the walls where pet dander, fur, or oils may have rubbed off while your pet walked by.
You Have a Wood-Burning Stove
Even if you have a great ventilation system, it is likely that your wood-burning stove has leaked some smoke into your home over the years. That smoke will build up on the walls, and it is important to remove that buildup before you begin painting.
You Are Painting Your Bathroom or Kitchen
Humid rooms, such as kitchens and bathrooms, are at a greater risk for mold growth, so the walls should be cleaned to remove potential spores before a new layer of paint is added. Additionally, kitchens tend to have a fine buildup of grease on their walls, which needs to be removed for paint to adhere well.
If none of these situations apply to you, then you may not need a professional wall cleaning before your upcoming residential painting service. However, most residential painting services will offer wall cleaning or wall prep as an extra service. To avoid extra charges, you may be able to clean your walls yourself, but if you are uncomfortable on ladders, you should hire professionals to make sure you get a thoroughly clean surface on all of your walls and ceilings.