amo_mea_filiis. Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 I may have posted this before. The wall in my stairway is nasty! Both kids run down the stairs with their hands rubbing the wall. This is almost 30 months of dirty hands on the wall. With any other wall prints (like around light switches or doorways) I've done fine with a magic eraser. However, on this wall it just leaves dirt streaks. I have tried 409 and some other cleaners, as well as a bucket with hot soapy water. I have not been able to successfully clean even a small spot. I need to repaint at least this wall. The landlord used the cheapest flat paint available and it is very hard to clean. Do i just wipe it and repaint? Or do i have to get it de-finger-smeared and repaint? What kind of paint do i use? Do i just wait until summer (I'm hoping to move around july) and repaint it with the flat paint? I am not just doing this for the landlord; it's my home and i don't like how dirty this is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acorn Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 I would use something like TSP. We used something like that but was more environmental friendly. Ask at a hardware store. Then paint with semigloss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acorn Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 We used TSP substitute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 I think the problem is just the paint with the action: it grinds the dirt and oils in. TSP is probably your best bet. If you're going to repaint *because it's your home* I would repaint in an eggshell finish, which should resist the grinding in a little better. If you are going to wait til shortly before you move, I'd just repaint with flat. In future spaces, if you aren't able to use a slightly glossier paint in high finger traffic areas, I wonder if a coat of matte, water based polyurethane would help with the washability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambam Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 A friend put washable wallpaper along side her stairs to about four feet for this very reason. She was able to wash it and keep it clean easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amo_mea_filiis. Posted December 9, 2012 Author Share Posted December 9, 2012 What is TSP? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 Tri-sodium phosphate. It comes powdered, in a box, at the hardware store. You use it to clean decks, old paint prior to repainting, for cleaning away lead dust... And they treat frozen shrimp with it. Gross. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amo_mea_filiis. Posted December 9, 2012 Author Share Posted December 9, 2012 Eww on the shrimp! What price range is it? Do i have to be careful using it (like kicking the kids outside, opening windows, etc)? I have to go in the direction of Home Depot today, so if it is cheap, I'll grab it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 I think you'll have to repaint. Flat paint doesn't come clean. I would go to Walmart and get a gallon of cheap paint. I'd give it a good wipe down before painting and make sure it's dry. But I wouldn't use anything fancy or go through lots of trouble. I encourage everyone to use semi-gloss because it is so much easier to clean, if you get to choose, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 I'm all about the semi-gloss for high traffic areas here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 Since it's a rental, I'd just match the color with a decent quality semi-gloss. That really should take care of it. Also, the kids are getting older. You can teach them to touch the bannister instead of the walls. If there is no bannister, your landlord should install one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 Eww on the shrimp! What price range is it? Do i have to be careful using it (like kicking the kids outside, opening windows, etc)? I have to go in the direction of Home Depot today, so if it is cheap, I'll grab it. It should be cheap. It is not fumey, but don't get it in the eyes, mouth or much on the skin. It has a high pH, AFAIR. I used to use it to get mold off walls, and you water it down quite a bit and leave it on as a "wash" to keep mold from growing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justLisa Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 You can get tsp in a spray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuirkyKapers Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 You can get tsp in a spray Do you know where you can get it in a spray? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justLisa Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 Do you know where you can get it in a spray? Thanks! I bought some at Lowes. It was probably around $5? It just looks like a typical spray bottle. It was buy the other cleaners and tsp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 For this first scrubbing, definitely tsp. Then every week spot wash the walls, just soapy water and a cloth. Do that stairwell, kitchen walls on the way to the bathroom, and the front entrance walls and they will stay looking great. My kids like to run their fingers along walls while they walk, and ds9 is like pig pen from charlie brown the dirt cloud is always around him. I have found spot washing the areas he touches the most every week takes all of 5-10 minutes and keeps it looking clean. This first time will take you a bit longer because 2.5 years of dirt takes some elbow grease to really clean well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 Eww on the shrimp! What price range is it? Do i have to be careful using it (like kicking the kids outside, opening windows, etc)? I have to go in the direction of Home Depot today, so if it is cheap, I'll grab it. I buy it in a little carton(like a little milk carton) for $3-5 at the walmart. Wear rubber gloves when you use it as it is harsh on your skin but there is no fumes and the kids have no problem around it. In fact my oldest 2 have helped with some of the washing I have done with tsp with no problem. We used it to scrub factory walls, when my dad took over the plant when we were kids. My sister, brother and I scrubbed those walls and windows everyday for a week and got 20+ years of grime off them with just tsp and water and elbow grease. If we could take all that off, finger prints should be no problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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