Wall Cleaning

babyharley

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We live in an apartment that we rent - there are a few dirty spots on the walls (kitchen, entry way) that I desperately need to clean off - but I'm not sure how to clean them without hurting the walls or leaving a mark. I was thinking about those Mr. Clean Magic thingy's - they seem to work on everything else - I'm just a bit weary. Ugh... I hate renting


Any suggestions would be appreciated, I'm going to go get the supplies tomorrow morning and start doing some cleaning.... please help!
 

MoochNNoodles

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I've used the magic erasers on our walls without problems. Are the walls painted? If so, is it a gloss or flat, etc? That will make a differnece.
 
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babyharley

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They are painted walls, flat or gloss, uhhh... they are flat
.... John said the magic erasers should work....I just don't want to ruin anything!
 

MoochNNoodles

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Originally Posted by babyharley

They are painted walls, flat or gloss, uhhh... they are flat
.... John said the magic erasers should work....I just don't want to ruin anything!
Just test it in a corner inside a closet or behind a door or somewhere discrete. I love the things, they took a burn mark off the wall and the smoke stains on the walls and doors from the people who lived here before.
 
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babyharley

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Perfect- then they SHOULD work.... those marks are just bugging me so badly, I saw they have out extra strength magic erasers - maybe I'll try those ones if the regular ones dont work
 

valanhb

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We're finishing up cleaning and clearing the apartment this weekend, and I have to tell you - those Mr. Clean Magic Erasers are great for cleaning stuff off of the walls! It took off dirt from around the light switches and where we touched the walls all the time, took scuffs off from where my desk was constantly hitting the wall, and didn't mess up the paint at all! That in itself is amazing because you know apartment complexes use the cheapest paint known to man.
 
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babyharley

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Originally Posted by valanhb

We're finishing up cleaning and clearing the apartment this weekend, and I have to tell you - those Mr. Clean Magic Erasers are great for cleaning stuff off of the walls! It took off dirt from around the light switches and where we touched the walls all the time, took scuffs off from where my desk was constantly hitting the wall, and didn't mess up the paint at all! That in itself is amazing because you know apartment complexes use the cheapest paint known to man.
Thats so great to know from someone that's cleaning in an apartment! This paint drives me nuts - its white/off whitish color - and shows everything. Of course, like you said - they use the cheapest paint, and because of that, I was concerned on what to use.

I've used them before in the bathroom and kitchen (counters/sinks, ect) but never the walls. I'm paranoid


I'll be going to get some tomorrow - I hope they work as well as they have for you guys!
 

sarahbeez

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Just be careful you don't wipe off the paint! I had to do this for my apartment too recently. Now, I was just using a moist washcloth and I wasn't going crazy or anything
But you can see where I spot cleaned if you look at it in the right light.

In my bathroom we had a semi-gloss type paint and I didn't have any problems in there. It's just on the flat/matte paint and drywall. My mom said she doesn't think it will be a problem since you can only see it from certain angles and she called it "normal wear and tear"
 

yosemite

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We had just painted our walls (about 3 weeks fresh) and my husband made black rubber hammer marks while he was installing the hardwood floors before we moved into this house. I was worried about taking the paint off with the Magic Eraser but figured the paint was new enough that I could touch it up without it being noticed. I used the Magic Eraser and the marks came off and the paint was left looking perfect. Mind you, we used very good paint but still, I could not believe how MAGIC it really was.
 

starryeyedtiger

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I've used the magic eraser before and love it!!!! It's worth a shot!
Good luck
 

gailc

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For good scrubbing I will use either Soilax (comes in a powder mainly found at older hardware stores like tru value) or TSP. I used TSP on my metal storm door before I painted it last week-wow I didn't realize how dirty it was!!! I also use on my painted woodwork and either on walls before I paint!!
 
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