Post-Painting Care: Prolonging the Fresh Look
Repainting the interior of your home is an exhausting and messy job, but when you do it your home gets a brand-new look. It’s amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do to any room, so you’ll want to extend the freshness of your paint job for as much as possible. That’s easily achievable if you know the basics of post-painting care, so here’s what you should do.
Know your stains
As a general rule, the easiest way to clean a stain is to do it immediately after the spill, so make sure you take care of food and drink stains before they dry out. Furthermore, you can wash walls periodically with mild soap water solution but not for the first two weeks after the repainting. Also, you should be aware of the critical spots in the house, such as hallways, children’s room, and kitchen since these are the rooms that have the most traffic and get stained easily. The same goes for corners which you can protect with corner guards.
Clean it dry and wet
The first thing you can do to protect your walls is to dry clean them i.e. dust them off occasionally. You’ll need a cloth on a broom or vacuum cleaner with a soft brush attachment. This type of cleaning is great for removing debris and dirt in order to keep it from permanently staining your freshly painted walls. Do this once a month and not only will you keep your walls clean, but you’ll also purify your indoor air at the same time.
The next step is wet cleaning with soap water, but don’t forget to test it out first to see if it’s damaging the paint. Most wall paints, like emulsions and washable distempers, can be cleaned this way, but make sure you do it gently. Use as little liquid as possible – do it with a soapy sponge and then clean it right away with a clean, wet sponge.
Combat mold and mildew
Mold loves warm and humid areas, such as bathrooms and basements and can stain your wall paint permanently if not taken care of in early stages of development. Also, make sure you check your walls for signs of flaking or peeling since this can be the early sign of moisture or seepage problems. The smartest thing you can do is to opt for a specially formulated paint that prevents the emergence of mold and mildew.
If they still continue to pop up, examine the problem and look for its source. Installing an electric dehumidifier or upgrading your insulation should help, while mold can be removed from walls with chlorine bleach and water solution. Just don’t forget to test it out on a small patch first!
Go high quality
Finally, the simplest way to keep your wall paint fresh is to opt for high-quality paint. This might seem like a more expensive option at first but it can really pay off, especially in the long run. Quality counts, so make sure you make the right decision. Besides paint, proper tools make a difference when it comes to durability as well.
Don’t go for cheap, disposable brushes and rollers – buy quality ones, keep them clean with acetone or methylated spirits(depending on the type of paint you used), and then store them safely until the next repainting project. Don’t forget to store them upright in a container, so the bristles are not deformed once they get dry.
As you can see, post-painting care is actually quite simple – all you have to do is to inspect your walls regularly, keep them clean, and take care of stains as soon as they appear. Your home won’t need repainting anytime soon and it will look as good as new for years.
