If you’ve got kids, you’ve dealt with this problem. If not, it’s hard to imagine just how hair-tearing the frustration can be. You turn your back for literally 5 seconds and your darling children produce the most extraordinary works of art on your walls. Having seemingly produced pens from thin air. Cute from a bystander’s perspective, not so adorable for the poor property owner doing their best to keep the place clean and presentable!
It’s quite incredible how just a few seconds here and there are more than sufficient for a single child with an unassuming art supply to cover such a huge surface area. You can be as watchful and protective with your pens and pencils as you like, but nothing on this Earth can stop a toddler on a mission!
As such, there’s no point getting bogged-down with questions like ‘why’ and ‘how’. You’ll probably never find an answer for them, Instead, it makes far more sense to focus on a more important and productive question…
How can you remove ink from your walls?
If you’ve attempted to remove ink previously by way of brute-force, you’ll know it’s a fruitless endeavor. In fact, the most important rule of thumb when it comes to removing ink from painted surfaces is to do so by doing as little as possible. The more intensive your efforts, the more likely you are to cause permanent damage and leave things looking even worse than before.
Hindsight is always 20:20, but it’s worth factoring in at this point the potential value and sanity-saving qualities of more durable paint-types. For example, there are countless paints on the market these days that are specifically designed with easy-cleaning in-mind. Not to mention, the kinds of high-gloss paints that are exponentially easier to clean than matte finishes.
Assuming this particular ship has sailed however, we’ll get on with the removal recommendations. First and foremost, under no circumstances should you reach for any kind of generic cleaning products or chemicals. That is, unless you’re out to wreck your walls entirely. Instead, opt for one of the following for the best possible shot at removing the ink safely:
- Clean Magic Eraser. Every family home should have at least a couple of these things about the place. From crayons to markers to ink to all manner of grubby marks, these guys really do deliver on their promises.
- Baby Wipes. The humble baby wipes you’ve got stockpiled all over the place are perfect for a thousand and one household hacks. One of which being the removal of ink from walls – a gentle rub often being all that’s needed to clean things up.
- Rubbing Alcohol. You’ll need to be careful with this one, as it does have the potential to remove your paint in the process. If the paint on your walls is fairly hard-wearing and durable however, a little rubbing alcohol on a cotton bud can do the trick.
- Toothpaste. It may sound odd, but place a measure of toothpaste over the stain, leave it in place for about 10 minutes and wipe it away with a damp cloth. Depending on the type of ink, you might be surprised by the results!
Painting Over Ink Marks
If you still have some of your original paint lying around the place, you might be tempted to simply paint over the ink marks. Long story short, don’t even think about it! The reason being that upon applying a new coat of paint, you run the risk of infusing moisture back into the dry ink, which will then bleed through the new coat and show through with pride and prominence. If you plan on painting over it, you’re first going to need to apply a layer of high-quality primer, in order to prevent this from happening.
Encourage Their Creativity
Last but not least, if you find yourself fighting a losing battle, why not encourage your kids to get creative with your walls? Perhaps not in their current guise, but apply a few layers of chalkboard paint and you’re golden. As covered a while back, chalkboard paint has the potential to transform just about any surface into the kind of easy-clean creative haven kids can’t get enough of. So rather than fighting a battle you aren’t going to win, why not turn the whole problem into something productive?
For more information on anything to do with painting or the preservation of painted surfaces, get in touch with a member of the Homm CPS customer service team today.