Check the paint before you clean walls
The finish decides how hard you can go. Flat or matt paint marks easily and can polish up shiny if you rub it, so use a light hand and as little water as you can. Low sheen, satin and semi-gloss paint, the usual choice for kitchens, bathrooms and hallways, will take more washing.
You can't always tell by looking, which is why the hidden spot matters. Behind a door or inside a wardrobe is ideal.
How to clean walls, from dusting to drying
Protect the floor
Move furniture away and lay down an old towel along the skirting board.
Dust first
Use a vacuum with a soft brush, or a dry microfibre cloth around a broom. Washing a dusty wall just turns the dust to mud.
Mix a gentle wash
Add a few drops of dishwashing liquid to a bucket of warm water, and have a second bucket of clean water beside it.
Test a hidden spot
Wipe a patch behind a door, let it dry, and look at it from the side. If the colour or shine has changed, stop and use plain water.
Wipe from the bottom up
Wring the cloth until it's barely damp, and work a small section at a time. Going upward means drips run onto clean wall, where they won't leave streaks.
Rinse and dry
Wipe each section with a cloth wrung out in clean water, then dry it with a soft towel before moving on.
Wall cleaning for common marks, gentlest first
- Scuffs and shoe marks: a barely damp cloth, then a drop of dishwashing liquid if they stay.
- Kitchen grease near the stove: warm water with dishwashing liquid, wiped often with a clean cloth.
- Finger marks around switches: a damp cloth with a little detergent, keeping water away from the switch plate.
- Sticky putty marks: roll the leftover putty off with a fresh bit of putty, then wash the spot.
- Pen or crayon: test first, and go gently. If it doesn't lift, leave it rather than rub through the paint.
Stop wall cleaning for mould or old flaking paint
Fix the moisture before you clean mould. Small patches can take mild detergent or vinegar diluted in water, but don't dry brush them, and never mix bleach with ammonia, acids or other cleaners. Large areas that keep growing back need a mould remediation professional. If paint in a home built before 1970 is flaking, don't sand, scrape or scrub it, because it may contain lead. Keep children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers away, and tell the owner or agent. Using a ladder for high walls? Put it on dry, firm and level ground.
Moving out? Clean the wall marks, leave the repairs
Wash off the marks that weren't there at the start. Check your entry condition report first, because you aren't washing the whole home back to new. Our fair wear and tear guide shows where that line sits.
The NSW Government's own examples are handy here. Paint worn off near a light switch is fair wear and tear, while paint pulled off by posters stuck on with putty or sticky tape is damage.
Patching holes and repainting are repairs, not cleaning. WA's Consumer Protection treats them as a separate item on its leaving checklist, and they aren't part of a cleaning job through Cleaner Scout.
The walls add-on in our form means spot cleaning marks and scuffs on painted walls and doors. Tick it if you want a cleaning business to take that on with the rest of the end of lease clean.
Wall marks you can handle, and when to add them to a clean
Worth doing yourself
- A quick wash of scuffs in hallways and around switches.
- Grease splashes near the stove while they're fresh.
- Dusting cobwebs from corners and cornices.
- A photo of each wall, before and after.
Where a cleaning business earns its keep
- Marks through the whole home, in one visit.
- Spot cleaning walls and doors alongside an end of lease clean.
- Rooms where you'd rather not risk a dull patch on flat paint.
Wall cleaning advice: start at the switches
Start with the hallway, the switches and the door frames, because that's where hands and bags have been. Test behind a door, wipe gently, and stop when the mark's gone rather than when the wall looks new. If a mark won't lift without lifting paint, leave it and ask the agent what they'd like done. A rubbed patch usually shows more than the scuff did.