How to Clean Walls with Sugar Soap

There’s nothing worse than old, stained basement walls. Having an old wall somewhere in the house feels like a rotten tooth in the mouth that we avoid fixing.

By avoiding cleaning and fixing a wall in the house that’s almost falling apart, we are putting the entire family at risk of breathing in mould, which can have severe consequences on human health. 

Old walls don’t look cool, plus they are unsafe. Even if there’s no mould involved, some walls can look old, peeling, or have stains that you don’t know how to remove. 

We all know how to clean ceramic surfaces, tiles, and even wood and marble, but how do we clean walls? There are millions of people around the world having this dilemma.

If you’re wondering if the best thing isn’t calling a professional commercial cleaning service and cutting off the family budget by a couple of hundreds to have someone clean the walls for you, then maybe you should hold your breath for a second. 

There are creative ways of finishing house chores that seem impossible. Stained walls are no fun, and it’s more than clear that cleaning them doesn’t sound attractive either. If you are still considering spending your hardly-earned cash on professional cleaners, stop there for a second.

There might be an easy way of cleaning your walls, and you’re not even aware of it. 

Introducing Sugar Soap 

No matter how sweet and sugary this sounds, sugar soap has nothing to do with sugar. It’s a granulated-looking powder that people use for cleaning walls.

So, sugar soap is a powerful chemical that also exists in liquid form, and it’s perfect only for cleaning large wall areas, like entire rooms, basements, bathrooms. 

Sugar soap is essential for cleaning the walls before painting them. The more preferred version is the powder rather than the liquid because it has better cleaning properties. 

Preparing walls before painting them is a crucial step that many people skip, therefore end up with a poorly done job. 

Sugar soaps contain skin-irritating ingredients, so extra caution while using them is always a plus. 

Why Use Sugar Soap? 

Walls get dirty, like it or not. Whether it’s grease on the kitchen wall, crayon paint in the kids’ room, old wallpapers, or nicotine stains, walls need to get cleaned before painting. There’s no doubt that this step can be skipped, but it will cost you extra work and money down the line. 

Washing a wall before a new paint coat maybe looks like more work now, but it will save you time later. When painting a stained wall, we are potentially causing more damage. Dirt and stains can develop in cracks and holes and cause serious harm to the walls. 

No matter how boring wiping down the walls before painting them may look like, this is one of the most crucial steps for adding longevity and a smooth finish to your walls. 

Imagine painting over old nicotine stains, your child’s greasy palm stains, or your dog’s muddy paws? No paint in the world would successfully cover this dirt, at least not long-term. 

Sugar soap is a powerful cleaning agent for walls that removes all dirt and uneven spots for even and smooth paint application. 

Think of it as a necessary touch to your wall before putting on makeup. You can’t put on makeup before first cleaning your face and removing all the sweat, dirt, and sunscreen. It’s the same with walls – they need to be clean before absorbing the new paint coat. It’s simple as that. 

How to Clean Walls with Sugar Soap 

Cleaning walls with sugar soap is not rocket science, although it requires extra caution. The liquid sugar soap is easier to use, but it’s more expensive. The powder sugar soap is more affordable, but as we said before, it contains skin irritants, so protective rubber gloves are mandatory. 

Get a bucket of warm water and dissolve the sugar soap in it. Get a brush or a cloth and soak it in the solution. Start wiping the wall, always being careful not to touch it with a bare hand. 

You will notice how all the grease, nicotine, old paint, and old wallpaper glue dissolve as you clean the wall. 

Clean your brush or cloth after every half a meter of cleaned surface and soak it again. Some stubborn stains take more time to dissolve, but you mustn’t give up and add more powder to the water. 

Although it is more work than just repainting your walls, cleaning them with sugar soap will lead to superb results afterwards, and you’ll feel happy not skipping this essential step. 

If you’re hasty about it, share your opinion with people who’ve already tried this wall cleaning method and then decide if it’s something that you’d like to do. However, painting experts always advise cleaning and disinfecting the walls before painting them. 

When you’re done wiping the walls with sugar soap solution, get a bucket of clean water and a new cloth, and repeat the same process to remove the soap from the wall. 

After these, give your walls time to dry before they are ready for paint application. If planning on cleaning your walls with sugar soap, do it when it’s warm outside or blast your A/C to help dry faster. 

Can You Use a Different Type of Detergent? 

There are plenty of other cleaning detergents for the household, but none is perfect for this purpose as the sugar soap. 

Other detergents can’t be easily washed from the wall as sugar soap, so no matter how excellent they are, they are simply not for cleaning walls. 

Not to mention that sugar soap is much cheaper than anything else you’ve tried, so that’s another fact that you can’t avoid.

After reviewing sugar soap, you’ll probably order your product right away and make the most out of your wall preparation. 

Final Word

In the end, it’s up to each and every one of you if you’re going to clean your walls before painting them. Nevertheless, we shared the importance of doing so with you, revealing an extremely affordable yet superb product that will help prepare your walls for painting and renovation.

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