Ask These Girls

There is nothing quite like the joy of cleaning. Unless you are like me, and cleaning does not come naturally. I see something that needs cleaning my initial reaction is to always try to avoid direct eye contact with the spot or mess. In my mind, if the mess does not see me, the pesky culprit cannot possibly need cleaning, right? Well, that has yet to actually work, but one can dream.

When I do go rampaging through the house once a week doing a thorough clean, I always find what I call mystery spots on the floors and walls. After much deliberation, I generally bring out my trusty 409 and a damp cloth. Few messes can get past my 409 and me.

Yet, there always happens to be those mystery spots that simply refuse to go away. All I have done after a thorough cleaning is simply make it shine all the more because the wall behind the mess is now sparkly clean while the mess, well, lives brilliantly on like a tribute song you can’t get out of your head.

Over the years, I have discovered some very useful tips on cleaning just about every type of wall imaginable. Those annoying spots, drips, dribbles, and splotches don’t stand a chance.

The Beauty of Crayons
This was probably my first complication with defeating unappealing and highly visible spots on my walls. My little Picasso was only about 3-years old, and all I could think was, Thank goodness he isn’t trying to eat em anymore, or feed them to the cat.” He was so proud of his masterpiece, and to this day, I have a collage of those masterpieces in a scrapbook it was a phase we both went through.

1. Clean the waxy residue off the wall by gently running a spoon or other flat utensil against the surface.
2. Get a clean white washrag, and wet it with warm water. Be sure to use white because the color can bleed onto your wall. Not a pleasant experience; I know this from experience.
3. Sprinkle any brand of baking soda onto the damp, white washrag.
4. Now hand the washrag to one of the little Picassos. After almost a year of cleaning crayon marks off the walls, it took only three times of my Picasso cleaning the spot before he decided it really wasn’t much fun to clean walls.
5. Rinse the white washrag with warm water thoroughly. Have your Picasso, or one of your Picassos, gently clean the baking soda residue off the wall.
6. If the crayon doesn’t come off after this, try using a multi-purpose lubricating spray such as WD-40. Do NOT let children do this step.
7. Finally, wipe the wall clean with a clean dishtowel.

The Art of Pencils
There are many reasons a child would use a pencil to write or draw on a wall, and believe it or not, there are even reasons perfectly sane adults do as well. There are just as many reasons to remove pencil marks from a wall including the adult being a horrible artist and deciding a mural should be purchased not hand-drawn. However, that is another story.

1. Use an art gum eraser and gently erase all the misplaced pencils.
2. If you don’t have an art gum eraser, try adding baking soda to a damp, white washrag.
3. Gently wipe the area down with the baking soda and washrag.
4. If the pencil mark is still on the wall after the banking soda trick, try using non-gel toothpaste.
5. Finally, if all else fails, paint over the markings or add a mural.

These easy tricks do not cost a lot of money, and they save time. Of course, remember to teach children that crayons and pencils are not for walls. I know many parents buy washable crayons, but writing on walls is not a good habit to teach your children. Remember, baking soda is a wonderful cleaner, and as good for washing children as the walls they so lovingly decorate.