# How do I clean this wall?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-this-wall/626743
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [June 29, 2012, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-this-wall/626743 "2012-06-29T22:38:29Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2012, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-this-wall/626743/1 "2012-06-29T22:38:29Z")
I’ve had a crazy and gross accident. My daughter left a small unopened bottle of chocolate milk on my desk for a couple days inadvertently hidden behind something. The milk went bad and expanded, eventually blowing the lid off and splattering everywhere during the night. Luckily, there’s none in the carpet, and after cleaning a little off the desk and monitor, there doesn’t seem to be any smell.
It was already dried this morning and I didn’t have time to fool with it, but now I’m home and my crappy wall needs cleaning. I have a couple cleaners and sprayed them on a little spot and tried to wipe it off with a rag, but nothing budged. I tried to scrape one small spot off with a plastic scraper, but the paint came off with the milk. So now I have one tiny chip of missing paint. Is there any way to actually clean the rest or should I just scrape and repaint the whole thing? Or should I just torch the place and collect the insurance money?
Photo that looks like someone had explosive diarrhea on my wall:
[http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/2922/img20120629181621.jpg](http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/2922/img20120629181621.jpg)
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### Author:  [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2012, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-this-wall/626743/2 "2012-06-29T23:08:52Z")
Warm soapy water and a sponge? I would think regular dishwashing liquid would work.
Maybe one of those magic eraser thingies.
These are where I would start, anyway. I use just borax and warm water in a bucket for normal wall washing.
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### Author:  [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2012, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-this-wall/626743/3 "2012-06-30T00:13:43Z")
Warm soapy water & a sponge, like seadragontattoo said. But wet down the stained spotw, and let them soak a while. Then try to gently wipe them off. Don’t scrub or scrape! If they don’t come off easily. re-wet them & let them soak some more before trying again.
Note that for some types of water-soluble paint (epoxy), this may loosen the paint and some of it may come off or smear. But that’s still easier to repair, if needed, than scraping off whole patches of paint.
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### Author:  [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2012, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-this-wall/626743/4 "2012-06-30T00:56:47Z")
I didn’t think of soaking them to loosen them up. I’ll try that tonight when I get time. The paint seems fairly soft, maybe because the house is only a year old, or maybe because it’s normal and I don’t go around picking at paint. If it messes it up, it will be a good excuse to paint it something other than white anyway.
In case anyone wonders, it only takes 48 hours for an unopened McDonalds chocolate milk to explode in a 70 degree room.
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### Author:  [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2012, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-this-wall/626743/5 "2012-06-30T01:10:16Z")
Put a frame around it. If there are any questions, “It’s my daughter’s first. We have such hopes, such high hopes.”
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### Author:  [@Kkrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kkrose)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2012, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-this-wall/626743/6 "2012-06-30T01:26:15Z")
I am going to second the magic eraser. This is why they were invented. I have yet to see something glued to a wall that the magic eraser would not remove.
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### Author:  [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2012, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-this-wall/626743/7 "2012-06-30T01:26:44Z")
I’ll try soaking a little spot tonight and see what happens and pick up a magic eraser tomorrow if needed.
> [@don\_t\_ask](#):
>
> Put a frame around it. If there are any questions, “It’s my daughter’s first. We have such hopes, such high hopes.”
Well, it looks like poop so that might raise too many questions.
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### Author:  [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2012, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-this-wall/626743/8 "2012-06-30T01:50:29Z")
TSP would probably solve the problem.
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### Author:  [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)
#### Post date: [July 1, 2012, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-this-wall/626743/9 "2012-07-01T05:13:10Z")
The Magic Erasers REALLY are magic!
That, or somebody sells a soul.
You can clean damn near anything with them.
The eraser gets used up as you clean. There may be crud that accumulates on the eraser, don’t mind it. Just keep scrubbing until it disintegrates in your hand.
Then get another one.
~VOW
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### Author:  [@by-tor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/by-tor)
#### Post date: [July 1, 2012, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-clean-this-wall/626743/10 "2012-07-01T21:30:52Z")
If the Magic Eraser doesn’t work, use “Goo Gone.”