Removing Oil Pastel, Crayon and Pencil Writing on WallWhen there's kids at home, always expect a mess. Children, especially toddlers love to draw anywhere and mostly on walls. The worst thing is, they draw with different coloring materials such as wax crayons. I was pretty worried seeing my apartment walls full of crayon and oil pastel drawings. Good thing I discovered this very effective way of cleaning this kind of mess.
Using a Swiffer to Clean WallsDo you have high ceilings or hard to reach areas in your home to clean? I found that using a Swiffer with the dry cloths works well! When I run out of refills, I plan on using microfiber cloths, washing them and reusing.
Removing Crayon Drawings from your WallI have a little girl who loves to write, draw, and color on our walls. I mean from big to small drawings, she colors the wall as if it is a big coloring book! Crayons are her life, she always had some in every corner of our house and has some hiding in her pocket!
Cleaning Nicotine from WallsWe bought a cute cottage at the beach, but the walls, everything stinks of smoke. I am in the process of cleaning all the walls. I use Clorox cleaner with bleach. This is a picture of how dirty the walls are. The house was built in 1952 so we have a lot of cleaning to do.
Cleaning Nicotine Off WallsOur apartment has been smoked in for 15 years. All walls were originally painted white, but now are a lovely shade of yellow/brown. We decided to stop smoking so now I have begun the arduous task of cleaning walls.
Kaboom Bathroom Cleaner for Nicotine on WallsI sprayed it on a small section of the wall, waited for it to change color then used a kitchen sponge mop to wipe down the section I had sprayed. Well to my surprise, it worked. Since it's a foam, you don't have to worry about it running down the wall.
Clean Walls with Vinegar and AmmoniaI'm currently cleaning an estate, and this is PROOF that nicotine can be washed off of the walls with vinegar, and ammonia. I didn't even use the baking soda with the concoction! :) Also, if you use a Scotch-Brite Dobie, it works much better than just using a rag! Happy cleaning!
Cleaning Hard Water Spots Off WindowsUse shower cleaner, a green scrubbie pad, and water.
Getting Colored Wax Off WallsI knocked a brown candle over and the wax went all over my living room wall. I used a hair dyer to melt the wax, but wiped the wax off with a Mr. Clean eraser dipped in 2 cups hot tap water with 2 tsp of white vinegar. No stains! This works really well on white/cream walls.
Pencil Eraser for Smudges on WallsTry using a pencil eraser to remove black smudges from white walls.
Getting Crayon Marks Off of WallsGood way to get crayon marks off of walls is to take your hair dryer and hold the heat on the crayon for a couple of minutes. It will start to melt the crayon. Then take a rag with warm water and it will wipe off.
Cleaning Grease from WallpaperTo remove grease spots on wallpaper, hold several white paper towels over the spot and press with a lukewarm iron (hot may set the stain) until the grease is absorbed.
Use Rag Wrapped Squeegee to Clean WallsWhen washing walls, wrap a rag that has been dipped in your choice of the cleaning product and water then rung out around a squeegee. It is a very efficient way to clean walls.
Permanent Marker On WallsI have a 4 year old who loves to draw. I read on here that hand sanitizer works to take permanent markers off walls. It sure did, along with a layer of paint, but it did the job. I also tried rubbing alcohol. It didn't do anything.
Cleaning Crayon Off WallsI swear by Mr. Clean magic erasers. My daughter took a red crayon to the wall and the white brick by the fire place. Eraser took it right off!
Use Foaming Tub And Tile Cleaner On Your WallsI have used several cleaners to clean my walls in the office, which still had wallpaper paste drips staining the painted surface below the paper border. Regular cleaners that run down the surface make a mess.
Nail Polish Remover To Clean Graffiti Off Vinyl SidingSpray paint off vinyl siding, teens thought this was fun in my neighborhood. All of us got one! I found that nail polish remover and a nail brush, plus elbow grease got black paint off light tan siding without bleaching out the vinyl siding.
Washing Paneled WallsMy whole apartment (5 rooms) is all paneling, so every spring I like to wash it with Murphy's Oil soap.
A Fingerprint HuntThis tip is good if you have small children around or large children like my husband, (ha ha), and tend to get fingerprints on your walls. Take fifteen minutes every Saturday with a small container of soapy water and a rag and go on a fingerprint hunt.
Removing Crayon With ToothpasteUse toothpaste to remove crayon from surfaces/walls. Rub in and wipe off! My toddler colored on my living room wall one day (just left the room for a second!) with non-washable crayon.
Fighting Mildew with BleachFighting mildew? Bleach and water! Just put it in a spray bottle. We recently had a severe mildew problem on all of our walls and windows. A spray bottle with a little bit of bleach and lots of water did the trick and got in those tough corners, too.
By Mara
