Re: WASHING WALLS

River Song · ‎03-15-2010

I just started cleaning the painted baseboards and wainscoating in my house using ZEP Wall Cleaning Wipes. This product also comes as a foaming wall cleaner in a spray can. No need to rinse and doesn't leave a residue. Got it at Home Depot. Use gloves. Works well removing the grunge that accumulates on the baseboards. I like the wipes for the baseboards better than the foam (less mess). Certainly more expensive than using TSP or Spic-N-Span but I'm not schlepping a bucket of soapy water on my wood floors nor having to deal with dripping sponges. The worst part is having to crawl around on my hands and knees and the aches and pains the next day! Oh, the joys of getting old.

The product information says it is for use on walls, ceilings, woodwork, painted surfaces, vinyl coverings and washable wallpaper. Not for use on floors.

The statute of limitations on murder is forever. Justice may be delayed but will not be denied. How will you say ‘no’? How many have to die before you say ‘no’?

Mominohio · ‎08-08-2010

I wash walls every year, some papered, some painted.

First and foremost, you can't wash walls painted with flat paint, especially cheap flat paint that you often find in rentals. I mean, you CAN do it, but they won't get clean and they won't look good. So if painted with flat paint and not acceptably clean, they will most likely need painted, and I highly recommend they use a good quality satin or semi gloss.

I believe in starting at the top and working down. And they key is a well wrung out rag. I prefer old terry cloth, like wash cloths. I also prefer to use something like Murphy's Oil soap, but Dawn should work.

This isn't like washing a car, with a bucket full of soap suds and the cloth/sponge dripping wet. I think people who have never washed walls think that is what is is like!

And if the walls are particularly dirty, like get greasy in a kitchen, you will have some trouble getting them clean and not streaking no matter what you do. Cheap paint of any finish might not clean well and cause streaking too.

Good luck with the process, and you are a great friend!

Mom2Dogs · ‎03-09-2010

@henderson ...We thought the same thing.

@henderson wrote:
@Mom2Dogs wrote:
Thanks for the replies.....generally the landlord would have the apartment cleaned but the cleaning lady is in quarantine for 10 days....the landlord will reimburse my friend for cleaning the apartment herself.

She does not want to wait to move in and if she waits the 10 days for the cleaning lady I won't be able to help her much, as I will be back at work.

THE LANDLORD CAN'T FIND ANOTHER CLEANING LADY? I suggest using TSP on the walls to clean them.

Mominohio · ‎08-08-2010

@Mom2Dogs

As for those yelling about the landlord needing to do the cleaning/painting, yep it's a thing for sure, but in the day of Covid, nothing is going as normal, and no one is going to clean to suit me, going in on someone else's 'dirt'. So I'd be cleaning after the cleaning people did it anyway. I'm guessing that especially now, if your friend wants it done well, right now, doing it yourselves is really the best bet anyway!

Whitney400 · ‎02-24-2013

This should be done BEFORE she moves in. Have her review her lease, if she has one, and make sure that the landlord's responsibilities are clearly stated. if not, find another place. Also, she needs to make a list of the condition of the apartment. I have been living in my apartment for 11 years and it is month-to-month. The landlord has not raised the rent since I moved in in 2010. However, she recently stated that tenants can do whatever they want to their apartments but she is not payng for any upgrades, whether they are necessary or not. Good Luck.

faeriemoon · ‎03-14-2010

My mother used to wash ceilings and walls. (My father was a smoker.) She would start with the ceiling and work her way down the walls.

~The less talent they have, the more pride, vanity and arrogance they have. All these fools, however, find other fools who applaud them.~ Erasmus

qualitygal · ‎10-04-2010

This is on my to do list, as soon as my knee and back feel a bit better. I'll go top down. I do the ceilings that are washable, (This is my own home though, not an apt.)

Cookie2025 · ‎03-10-2010

I have NEVER heard of any apartment not being prepared for move-in by the new resident. Everything is washed, walls painted. Depending on the age of the carpets they are replaced.

Management in our building will re-paint your apartment every 7 years ... and replace the carpet too.

proudlyfromNJ · ‎05-01-2010

@Cookie2025 wrote:
I have NEVER heard of any apartment not being prepared for move-in by the new resident. Everything is washed, walls painted. Depending on the age of the carpets they are replaced.

Management in our building will re-paint your apartment every 7 years ... and replace the carpet too.

@Cookie2025 Granted this was in the seventies in a garden apartment we rented. We were told we had to paint the apartment before we got our deposit back. Management said that is how they do things.

Mom2Dogs · ‎03-09-2010

@proudlyfromNJ wrote:
@Cookie2025 wrote:
I have NEVER heard of any apartment not being prepared for move-in by the new resident. Everything is washed, walls painted. Depending on the age of the carpets they are replaced.

Management in our building will re-paint your apartment every 7 years ... and replace the carpet too.
@Cookie2025 Granted this was in the seventies in a garden apartment we rented. We were told we had to paint the apartment before we got our deposit back. Management said that is how they do things.

As I stated up thread....the owners of this complex refuse to paint. Possibly because this is a small town, they get away with this, in a larger city they might not get away with it.

I looked on line at the state's website about renters and landords, there is no law/rule stating they have to paint for new renters.

They 'said' it was painted two years ago, but who knows.