Say Goodbye to Crayon and Pen Stain on Your Wall!

If you have children that love color, you’ve probably spent at least one day of your life trying to find out how to get a pencil off the wall. Has it worked? Or did you notice that, without scratching the paint, you couldn’t get the pencil off the walls? Here are four tips to keep the walls clean, even if a frustrating (but lovely) mess is created by your children. Here are some practical tips from professional residential painters that you can implement on your project.

Use Baking Soda

If you’re looking for a way to clean up those stains with product you have on hand, try baking soda. The grit would not damage the paint but still able to rubs the crayon away. Put a dime-sized amount of baking soda on a damp cloth and gently scrub. This may take a little more time and effort, but eventually the crayon will give way to a clean wall. When you’re done, use damp rag to wipe and let the wall dry.

Grab a Magic Eraser

Magic Erasers are small pieces of melamine foam with a cleaning agent in them. But it’s not the cleaning agent that makes them work – it’s the material. Melamine is a powerful-yet-delicate abrasive that will remove anything, from scuffs to crayon, to pen marks to a permanent marker from your walls. Wet the foam, then wring it out, so it’s damp but not soaked. Then gently scrub the area. Pro tip: You can buy melamine foam and cut it into small pieces if you want to DIY your own Magic Eraser.

Try Baking Soda and Toothpaste

Another riff on the baking-soda tip involves an unexpected ingredient: toothpaste. To help accelerate unwanted color out of the wall, the toothpaste adds an additional layer of grit, plus cleaning and whitening agents. Smear a toothpaste coating over the crayon first. Then, make a paste of soda and water for baking. Place a small brush with the baking soda paste (an old toothbrush will work) and start scrubbing. Wipe clean with a damp cloth when you are finished.

Use Stain-Resistant Paint

As any kid knows, getting dirty is part of what makes life fun. But, as any parent can tell you, cleaning up the dirt isn’t nearly as entertaining. So, head the crayon off at the pass, and next time you paint, give your future self a leg up with stain-resistant walls.