Interior paint is one of the best ways to spruce up the entire look and feel of a room or your entire home. According to House Grail, 88% of people have a stronger desire to be at home after painting a room inside their home. House painting projects can do so much more than just change the colors on the wall. The right color choice can help to evoke a specific mood or emotion, can help to emphasize architectural features, or can help to make space seem larger, brighter, or more airy. If you have recently hired a professional to complete your house painting projects, you may want to do everything you can to extend the life of the paint and keep your space looking fresh and clean for years to come. Here are eight tips to help you care for your home’s new interior paint.
1. Only Use High-Quality Paint
The lifespan of your new interior paint is directly affected by the type of paint you buy. As such, before the professionals start your house painting projects, it’s important that they use high-quality paint. Ask them to learn more about the different types of paint and which ones may be the best for your situation. High-quality paints are more resistant to fading, cracking, and peeling, and are easier to clean.
2. Regularly Remove Dust With a Microfiber Duster
Caring for your paint job should be fairly easy but there are a few things you can do to help it last longer. One of them is to dust your walls. Dust, cobwebs, and residue can build up on your walls. However, most people are busy and have a lot going on, and their walls don’t get cleaned as often as they should. Ideally, you should be using a microfiber duster and lightly dusting your walls at least once a month. If you live in an area with a lot of dust, you may need to dust your walls more. This helps to prevent dirt and dust from building up on your interior paint.
3. Wipe Down the Walls With Soapy Water to Remove Smudges and Fingerprints
In a perfect world, your walls would never be tampered with. This would help to extend the lifespan of your paint significantly. However, walls do get touched. Your pets may rub on the walls, your small child may constantly place their hands on the wall, or you may even use a wall to balance yourself when putting on your shoes and socks. Your wall can start to develop smudges, fingerprints, and hand prints due to dirty hands and oils naturally found on the skin. This leaves a slight residue behind on the walls. Don’t worry, these smudges won’t ruin your interior paint job. If you see any smudges or marks on your wall, you can use a soft cloth to gently wipe them away.
4. Repair Chips, Cracks, or Peeling Paint
As your home settles, small cracks can start to develop in your walls. This can affect the paint. Additionally, you may find that your paint starts to crack, chip, or start peeling, either naturally or because the paint was damaged. However, this won’t be a problem if you hire a professional to paint your home’s interior. If you notice cracks, chips, or peeling paint, they are trained to know how to properly touch up these areas. Ideally, you want to reach out to the experts as soon as damage is noticed. If you don’t, the paint can continue to peel, crack, or even start to flake off if the repairs aren’t made in a timely manner.
5. Use Protective Items to Help Protect Your Walls From Scuffs and Scratches
After having your home’s interior painted, you want to take steps to help minimize damage to the walls in your home. There are many different products that you can purchase to help with this task. You can use door stoppers to help prevent your doors from slamming into your walls. You can use chair rails or wall guards to protect your walls from chairs or furniture slamming into them. You can also install corner guards to help protect the corners of your walls and the most delicate part of your walls from damage that can occur if someone runs into them. Not only do these products help to protect the paint on the walls, but they also help to protect the drywall and the wall itself.
6. Always Use Your Exhaust Fan in the Kitchen or Bathrooms
If your house painting projects have included your kitchen or your bathrooms, you should always use the exhaust fan in these spaces to help care for your home’s interior paint. When you use the exhaust fan in your kitchen, you help to minimize the amount of smoke that is present while you’re cooking and you also help to minimize grease from accumulating on the wall. When you use the exhaust fan in your bathroom, you can minimize the amount of humidity that is present, which helps to reduce the risk of mold and mildew. Reducing all of these issues can keep your paint looking great for years to come.
7. Install Window Coverings
One of the biggest causes of paint to prematurely fade is the sun. Unfortunately, the sun doesn’t shine into every corner of your home with the same amount of light. As such, the sun’s rays can make only one wall, or one part of a wall, look faded, while the rest of your paint looks vibrant. You can install window coverings, such as curtains, blinds, shades, or shutters to help minimize the amount of sunlight that hits your walls, which helps to minimize fading.
8. Minimize the Use of Nails, Screws, or Bolts
The final tip to help you care for your home’s new interior paint after your house painting project is complete is to minimize the use of nails, screws, or bolts. Instead, opt for adhesive mounting strips for items such as pictures or holiday decorations. These strips can be easily removed from the wall without leaving a hole behind or damaging your paint. This helps to prevent holes in the wall that will later need to be patched, while also helping to protect your walls from unnecessary damage.
Upgrading your home’s interior paint comes with many benefits. After a professional painter has completed the project, it’s important to do your part in taking care of your interior paint. Follow these tips above so that you can enjoy your paint for as long as possible. At Midlands Pro Painters, we are a team of highly skilled painters who take pride in providing quality services and results. We use only the best products and tools to ensure your paint project goes smoothly. We are dedicated to transforming your space into a place you’ll love. Contact us today for a quote!