How to quickly wash off wallpaper from dirt at home
Today, perhaps, there is no dwelling whose walls are empty of wallpaper. The functions are varied: some decorate the walls, blending harmoniously into the interior, others hide the traces of everyday life. There are fabric, paper, non-woven, photo paper and even liquid. Along with wallpaper, maintenance products are developed. Let's talk about them. How to clean and wash wallpaper at home, using improvised means and specialized household chemicals.
What wallpaper can be washed
In order not to damage the coatings during cleaning, it is important to know which wallpapers are exposed to moisture and which deteriorate because of this. Fabrics that can be washed are said to be washable. These do not include everything available, but only a part.On the packaging, the manufacturer applies special signs, thanks to which you can understand to which category the product belongs. Let's see how to find out whether decorative coatings can be washed?
A wave
The designation a wave in a square means increased resistance to moisture. Wallpaper can absorb moisture, but wetting them on purpose is not recommended - this will lead to their deformation and disruption of the pattern. It is permissible to wipe them with a soft, slightly damp cloth. Do not use additional cleaning products. It is important to do all cleaning movements carefully, without using force.
two waves
The designation on the roll label - a square with two drawn waves - indicates the ability of the walls to come into contact with moisture. This can be done with a damp cloth, but carefully, without scratching. Otherwise, the top layer of the coating may be damaged.
three waves
These symbols indicate that the sheets are washable or super washable. The rags do not get wet under the action of water. Additionally, foaming detergents can be added to the water.
Wave with a crest
Cloths on the label of which this sign is applied can be safely washed, and rubbing is allowed with coarse material, for example, melamine sponge and other fabrics. The cleaning of such coatings with a vacuum cleaner is permitted. The price of such wallpapers is usually quite high, but the result justifies the financial costs.You can stick them in the children's room, in the kitchen.
Wallpaper varnish
When you do not want to quickly get rid of your favorite wallpapers, they are coated with a special varnish or PVA glue. This technique will allow you to cover the top layer of the canvases with a waterproof layer. The purpose of varnishing is to preserve colors and patterns. In addition, the walls will become glossy, the pattern will be clearer and more spectacular.
- Most often, the paper is varnished. The varnish is chosen colorless, which will give them water resistance and shine. The best varnish is VAK-A-104.
- In order not to damage the liquid wallpaper during cleaning, they are coated with a special Poliver treatment, which does not change the appearance of the coating.
- The canvas for painting is varnished only after the main paint has been applied, but this should not be done without paint.
Varnishes have a protective function. In addition to moisture resistance, resistance to mechanical damage is added.
washable types
All wallpapers can be cleaned, only some can be washed with water without fear of consequences, while others must be treated very carefully. Consider the types of washable coverings.
Vinyl
Unusual texture of wallpaper, when a layer of PVC is applied to the paper base, absolutely harmless to human health. They are simple and foamy. Such fabrics can also be washed in soapy water, if it is compact vinyl. A soft cloth and special sponges are applied to them.
textiles, cork
This type of wallpaper is not recommended for use in the kitchen, since if the texture is porous, they absorb unpleasant odors and moisture. They are not suitable for wet cleaning, only dry cleaning is intended.
Many people like cork and fabric coverings. They have the ability to retain heat and release it in cool weather and, conversely, absorb it in hot weather. Their composition is totally natural.
If, nevertheless, you want to buy cork or fabric canvases, it is better to buy oilcloths, which also play a soundproofing role and are also easy to clean with water.
Nonwoven
Non-woven fabric is made of cellulose (paper) and fabric fibers. The basis is paper. These wallpapers are very strong and dense and require dry cleaning with a sponge or vacuum cleaner. Often such coatings are glued for painting. If the walls are dusty, you just need to repaint and the problem will solve itself. It is possible to paint 5 times or more.
To easily handle nonwovens, paint is used waterproof, which will further facilitate their maintenance.
Paper
Paper wallpapers, the most popular, are in great demand. A variety of colors, ease of gluing, low cost are the main indicators due to their demand. However, they are particularly demanding in their care, they cannot be influenced by a damp cloth, but only vacuumed with a soft brush or swept with a feather duster.
Wallpaper
The mural is a large image glued to the wall, made up of separate segments. Images can be of any texture: paper, vinyl, acrylic, non-woven, screen printing. Everything except the paper can be washed with special detergents. Maintenance of the wallpaper should be carried out as for vertical wallpaper.
Liquid
Modern decorative "clothes" for walls.It contains natural ingredients: cellulose, silk fibers, cotton. The consistency is obtained by diluting with water-based paint. They are applied to the walls with a special roller. Such coatings look original, their subsequent painting is assumed, and they have no seams. Cleaning of dirt and dust is carried out dry: with a whisk, a vacuum cleaner.
Traditional methods of cleaning wallpaper at home
There are many ways to clean and wash wallpaper without the use of chemicals and abrasive substances which, after repeated use, will alter the appearance, violate the integrity of the pattern and wash away the paint.
Important! Before using this or that substance, even from improvised products and materials, it is necessary to conduct a test. To do this, in an inconspicuous corner or on the remains, apply the product, rub it lightly and observe the response. If the wallpaper has not deteriorated, has not lost its color after drying, if stains have not appeared on it, they continue to clean with the selected method.
baking soda solution
Almost every housewife has a box of baking soda. It can legitimately be used to clean wallpaper. This method is considered the simplest, the most inexperienced hostess will cope with it:
- A solution is prepared at the rate of 1 tablespoon of soda per 1 liter of clean warm water.
- For washing you need to take a soft cloth or sponge. A microfiber or bamboo towel is suitable as a cloth; when spinning, the water will not flow or drip. The sponge should be without a hard layer.
- The cleaning object is moistened in the solution and the dirty areas are wiped.
Food grade sodium will tackle the toughest stains on your kitchen wallpaper.
Soapy water
Soap solution is much more often used in everyday life, it can even cope with fat.
- To prepare the detergent, you need 1 part liquid soap and 10 parts clean water. The composition is well lathered.
- Dampen a soft sponge or towel in the solution and wipe the dirty area of the wallpaper. You can even rub it if the wallpaper allows it.
- The next step is to wipe with clear water, without soap.
Soda and soap can be applied immediately after drawing on the wallpaper with felt-tip pens, pencils, that is, the dirt has not yet had time to penetrate deeply into the fabric. If the children's tricks managed to eat away at the structure of the coating, then they can only be treated with stricter methods.
Cleaning with talc
Talc is a fluid substance that will remove dirt immediately after application. In addition, it resists well to old grease on the wallpaper.
Application procedure:
- Take a soft sponge and a white powdery substance - talc.
- Pre-cover the floor and the surface of the wallpaper without contamination with newspapers, paper or oilcloth. This technique will prevent the talc from spreading onto clean surfaces.
- Talc is poured onto a sponge and applied to the dirty area. Let it act for a few minutes.
- Then remove the rest of the substance with a clean sponge.
If the fat is not completely removed, talcum powder is applied again, covered with a dry towel and heated with an iron. This will allow the grease to melt and be absorbed into the talcum powder. In this case, it acts as an adsorbent that absorbs dirt. Baby powder and potato starch work like talc.
lemon acid
Citric acid cleans everything, including wallpaper.She is able to remove any plaque, including fat. How it is used:
- Take 1 glass of cooled boiled water. The main thing is to keep it clean. Add 2-3 tablespoons of acid to the container and mix.
- Use a soft sponge dampened with liquid to clean the dirty area on the wallpaper. This must be done carefully, preferably in one direction, so as not to damage the image.
- The solution is left on the wallpaper for 5 minutes, then it is removed with a sponge dipped in clean water. This removes citric acid residue.
An excellent remedy for marks painted over with alcohol-based markers.
Alcohol
At the sight of a few stains on the walls, for example painted children, sprinkled with grease or fruit juice, the housewives shrug their shoulders. But it is possible to preserve wallcoverings if you use regular rubbing alcohol. If a stain is found, so to speak, "in pursuit", a cotton swab or a piece of cloth should be moistened with alcohol and rubbed until the plaque is completely dissolved and the alcohol dries . You don't have to do anything else.
When a marker or glue of a sticker is on the wallpaper, you don't need to rub the place with cotton, just hold the cotton to the same place. The residue will dissolve and be absorbed into the swab.
Dishwashing liquid
Wallpapers that can be abundantly moistened and even rubbed can be washed with soapy water and dishwashing detergent, be it AOS, Fairy, Kaplya, Myth, Biolan. A few drops of the product are diluted in a liter of water and carefully foamed. Then the foam is applied to a soft towel and the blanket is wiped dry. After a few minutes, wipe it off with a towel dipped in clean water.
Hydrochloric acid
This instruction can be safely added to your piggy bank of home hacks, because not everyone knows how to remove brilliant green from wallpaper. And hydrochloric acid will help.
- Take 3% or 5% hydrochloric acid.
- Be sure to try the remedy on the remaining part or on an inconspicuous area and monitor the behavior of the wallpaper under the influence of acid.
- Dampen the cloth in the solution and apply it to the dirt. You can even rub it lightly if the wallpaper allows it.
- Acid residues are removed with a cloth and clean water.
Important! The substance can only be used with gloves.
Hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide removes blood stains from wallpaper. A cotton swab is moistened in the liquid and the dirty place on the wall is wiped until the stain is completely dissolved. Take a new cotton swab for each stain, as clean areas can be stained. After the procedure, wipe with a tissue and clean water.
The vinegar
In places where the strips of wallpaper meet, there is often glue left over. Or, with unprofessional wallpaper gluing, you can smear the canvases with a dirty cloth with glue. Not all products can dissolve wallpaper paste. In this case, vinegar will help. You will need 9% vinegar and a spray bottle.
Acid is sprayed on the glue-stained areas and left for 15 minutes, after which it is wiped off with a damp cloth.
Melamine sponge
The sponge removes stubborn dirt - marker, marker, ink - from vinyl wallpaper. The object is quite hard and hard to the touch, so they need to be cleaned carefully, only in the place of contamination.If the pattern on the wallpaper is foamed or printed on paper, these items cannot be used.
Peel with bread
If the wallpaper cannot be subjected to mechanical stress, namely friction, then rye breadcrumbs will do. It is pressed against the dirt and held there for a while until the gluten absorbs the rest. The procedure is repeated several times until the splatters of fat and food are completely eliminated.
Wet wipes
By wiping the wallpaper with wet wipes, you can remove traces of dirty hands, children's pranks, for example, plasticine, fresh drawing with felt-tip pens. In the kitchen, only fresh remnants of food splashes are also disposed of with napkins: fruit and berry drops.
Clean with an eraser
If a child made a "rock drawing" with pencils, a ballpoint pen, you can erase them with an ordinary stationery eraser. It will also help remove insect incubation marks.
Important! An eraser soaked in kerosene for several hours will remove grease and traces of glue.
How to clean with an iron
A paper towel is applied to the stain and run over it with a hot iron. If organic compounds are present in the residue, the heat will dissolve them and absorb them into the towel. When there is a lot of dirt, the towel is changed until it disappears.
Important! You can not work with a very hot iron, because any awkward movement - and the wallpaper will become unusable. Already iron stain do not wash anything.
Professional detergents
If you're looking for wallpaper cleaner on store shelves, you can probably find it.In order not to waste time, housewives use the means most familiar to everyone, intended for kitchen surfaces or for cleaning furniture.
Pronto
Furniture cleaner works great on stains on your wallpaper. It comes in a spray bottle for easy handling. Pronto will remove dust, fingerprints and baby pens.
Disappear
This product is used to clean soft surfaces: carpets, furniture. It is added to water and stirred until a thick foam forms. The foam will remove any dirt on the wallpaper and on those that cannot be washed at all.
cool bubble
The spray for cleaning kitchen surfaces from grease and carbon deposits is also used for washing wallpaper. By analogy, you can use a detergent for all types of surfaces - Ecover. Both products are equipped with nebulizers for easy handling. Simply apply the substance and then wash off the traces with a damp cloth.
Washing methods
There are several ways to clean walls covered with wallpaper, each of them depends on the composition of the stain present. Let's imagine the most common ones you may encounter on a daily basis.
Of pollution
Usually the dirt, after applying the decorative coating, dries, so the first step is to remove it with a brush, brush, vacuum cleaner. Wet cleaning is started if there is an encrusted stain after sweeping.
- Apply a water-soda solution, let it dry, then sweep away the rest.
- You can remove dirt and dust with talc; how to do it is described above.
Such techniques are applied to washable wallpaper, the paper will only need to be covered.
Fat and plaque
It is easy to degrease the walls if they are fresh and have not had time to saturate the structure of the coating. Used against fat:
- Special household chemicals with the indication "anti-grease" for kitchen coatings, for example Morning Fresh or Fairy.
- The fat will absorb the breadcrumbs.
- A combination of alcohol and gasoline is the best solution for dissolving older grease stains on wallpaper.
- The same can be done with acetone.
- Starch, soda and baby powder are well absorbed by the wallpaper. Chalk can be used as a substitute.
- And best of all, toilet paper will remove and absorb grease if you iron it over with a hot iron.
Various plaques can be removed with one of the above agents: alcohol, Mister Muscle, ammonia.
Stain
Wallpaper stains can be of any origin - organic or synthetic. Everything can be removed with soapy water or gasoline. When using gasoline, make sure that there is no fire nearby, and after the procedure they need to ventilate the room.
ink and paint
If there are small children in the house, it is impossible to avoid cartoons on the walls. Therefore, in advance, you need to stock up on the skills to remove traces of felt-tip pens, ballpoint pens, paints, markers, plasticine. The following tools will come to the rescue:
- For white wallpaper, use any bleach (Vanish, Whiteness, Bose). Only clean the area under the design with clean objects and clean hands.
- Another way to remove ink is to use a solution of citric acid or oxalic acid. You can treat it with half a fresh lemon.
- An interesting option is to use a boiled egg.When cooled, it is applied to the dirt and kept for 5 minutes, then wiped off with a clean, dry cloth.
A fresh drawing can be removed with a sponge or a melamine eraser.
tobacco smoke
The listed funds will help to remove not only stubborn cigarette smoke, but also soot, soot.
- Citric acid can remove yellowing from smoke, soot and soot.
- Another substance that will not only remove dirt but also neutralize odors is 9% vinegar.
Such techniques are used not only on wall coverings, but also on wallpaper on the ceiling, where soot accumulates the most.
mold
A mold remover should contain a corrosive substance that can kill the fungus. Vinegar, lemon can serve as such preparation. It is applied for 15-20 minutes on the wallpaper. During this time, mold spores die and penetrate very deeply, even into plaster and concrete.
Food
If tea, coffee, fruit juices and other food products accidentally fall on the wallpaper, the traces can be removed with soapy water. First, the dirty surface is moistened with a solution, then wiped with a clean cloth and water.
Brilliant green
Zelenka is easy to clean with hydrochloric acid. How to do this is described above.
from dust
Dust is easily swept away with a feather duster, soft brush, broom and vacuum cleaner. But there are dusts that stick to soot or mix with grease, and then more drastic methods are used to break down organic matter: soda, starch, bread and dishwashing detergents.
Answers to questions
- What is the best wallpaper to use in the kitchen?
Initially, you need to remember that the kitchen wallpaper should be very durable and wear-resistant, so that it can be washed frequently, does not absorb odors and food splashes. The wallpaper is glued only along the perimeter of the working area. Non-woven wallpaper is more durable and can be washed without spoiling the appearance. But their relief surface will accumulate dust and soot. In general, experts believe that the best option is paintable fiberglass, which will allow them to be washed, and if the stains are not removed, they are simply repainted.
- If, after repair, there are traces of water emulsion on the wallpaper after painting the ceiling, how to clean it?
Water-based paint dissolves easily in water, but since it's impossible to get wallpaper wet, you can dissolve the dried stain with detergent foam. Then remove the foam with a clean, dry cloth.
- How to dry wallpaper properly after washing?
Do not dry with a hair dryer, as the texture of the wallpaper deteriorates. Also, it is categorically impossible to air the room, since the canvases are damp and can move away from the walls. Better to let them dry naturally.
This instruction for cleaning various types of wallpaper will help even the most inexperienced housewives. The main thing is to remember that the chosen means and method should depend on the nature of the applied dirt. And do not forget to check the selected medicine or recipe in an inconspicuous area so as not to spoil your wallpaper.