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[lolakimono]

@flickerbulb

What time can I expect you?  I'll have the bucket and the sponges at the ready. 

[gardensla]

I wash all the walls (and I do it myself!) twice a year! Nothing makes a room feel more clean and fresh than ridding it of dirt and dust. I use a very mild solution of TSP which is a bit of a pain as it has to be rinsed very well. Totally worth it, especially in the kitchen and bedroom.

[flickerbulb]

@lolakimona

Ha! I am lucky if I get to it once a year!

Some areas get cleaned more often because I put my grubby hands on the walls!

[SilleeMee]

I started washing my walls in order to prep them for painting. Back in the days before primers, you had to do this otherwise dirt and grime would show up after you painted which then required more painting...arrrrg. Nowadays they make primer paints so you don't need to wash your walls unless of course if you want to.

[Mominohio]

I wash walls once a year, entire house including rooms with wallpaper. Can't imagine living anywhere that doesn't occur, except if one is like my best friend. She never wash a wall (or a window) in her life, but she repainted about every other year. If I were painting that often, I'd not wash walls either, no point.

I was taught to use Murphy's Oil Soap (and still do) and the idea is to wring the rag out till just damp, no water running down walls (or your arms!) and unless marked up or fingerprinted requiring scrubbing, it is more like a wet dusting of the walls. 

I wash the curtains, baseboards, all linens in the room and scrub the furniture down good with Murphy's at the same time. The house feel so bright and clean when this is done, but I certainly don't for a few days afterward.

It is disgusting how dirty that bucket of water is just halfway through a room!

[tedEbear]

  and this is what is called SPRING CLEANING, all fresh and new.  Rugs go outside and hung on a line and practically beat to death with a paddle, getting the dust out.

[151949]

When we lived in Pa I cleaned every wall in my house every spring. Like you , the water was BLACK. I always said anyone who washes the walls once will do it every year. The house would feel so clean and fresh when I was done. It would take me a week doing one room a day. I too used Spic & span powder, I would also clean the venetian blinds in that room and launder the curtains, plus clean out the closet and any drawers, cubbys or cupboards. Everything got refreshed. New shelf paper etc. Our bedroom was the most difficult but was also the most worthwhile to be done. Where I live now I don't have washable paint or I would be still cleaning the walls.

[software]

My late mom washed everything that could be washed and I do the same.  Including furniture, cabinets, etc.

She used Spic N Span, I use Mrs. Meyers, sometimes Pine Sol but prefer MM.

I always likened myself to PigPen in the Charlie Brown comics, dirt just seems to follow me around!

[151949]

We lived in our house 28 years and only had to paint twice in all that time - the second time was to put it on the market I painted the whole house ivory. Otherwise washing the walls rejuvenates the dingy looking paint, and when you throw away that dirty water you know why. You may not think those walls are dirty- but they really are.

I had an all electric house - I imagine it would be even worse if you had gas or oil heat.

[JeanLouiseFinch]

Spic & Span is a cleaning product that goes way back.  It was only a powder for a long time, but then made it into the liquid category.  Growing up, washing walls was a given and part of our spring cleaning.  My mom & dad usually hired a guy we'd known for many years.  He'd do our interior and exterior painting jobs too.  He used a powdered product that was apparently safe for the skin.  For all I know it could have been Spic & Span or something similar.  These days I use TSP for wall washing, but I have to admit I'm not quite as strict as my mom was regarding how often we do it.  Whenever we redecorate, though, wall washing is a must before painting.