House destroyed by children

[Waitinginthewings]

Can anyone tell me-
How to clean white painted walls? They are covered in finger prints, crayon, paint and unknown marks. They look so grubby. In a few parts the wall is damaged because something has been rammed into it. How can I cover this up?

How do I clean dirty white curtains? Stains same as walls. They feel silky but probably something synthetic.

Best place to buy a new small sofa on a budget?

Many Thanks

I hope this wasn’t all in one day!

For the walls, try a Magic eraser. They are fantastic for getting all sorts off surfaces. You can pick them up in Asda and most supermarkets.

For washable fabrics, I’ve had good success with Vanish stain remover powder. It has a little scoop so you put a bit of powder and water in the scoop, tip it on the stain a bit at a time and scrub with the bottom of the scoop which has nodules. Then pop it in the washing machine. Takes a bit of elbow grease but has worked on everything I’ve tried it on.

As for the sofa, IKEA normally do small sofas at a reasonable price. We had one for years and it was very comfy.

Good luck OP!

Thanks so much. There's no way of cleaning the curtains without taking them down? I have a bad back and they are very big windows. It's only the bottom metre that is so dirty. Thanks.

No you need to take the curtains down and wash them. You can't spot clean curtains very well.

Also have some discipline with the children. Don't let them trash the house so much! It sounds like they have run riot.

I'd touch up the white walls with a pot of white emulsion. That's the best thing about white walls! Or try cream cleaner dabbed on. Test an innocuous patch first.

Can you dye the curtains? The stuff that goes in the washing machine works well, a darker colour would be better with children than white, navy or even a mustard yellow and it'll probably be easier to buy a tin of white emulsion than trying to scrub walls. Get the washable paint if you can for future ease. Also how old are your children?

I use a spray called Elbow Grease. It seems to dissolve most grimey greasey marks on paintwork etc.

Yes, the curtains will have to come down to be washed I’m afraid, and yes pretreat the worst marks.

I wouldn’t use magic eraser in the walls-they’re quite abrasive so you’ll end up taking the paint off the areas you clean which can look worse

Posted too soon! Use washing up liquid in warm water on a sponge as the first resort before you use stronger chemicals

Don’t repaint the walls or the children will get hold of that too😂 wait till they are all about 6 then repaint!

White curtains????
Dye them!
Dylon pods for washing machines are ace I've dyed loads of bedding

Ikea ektorp sofa - with washable covers

Magic erasers for walls

Emulsion for the walls.

Take down curtains and chuck them on wool cycle in the machine.

IKEA do affordable sofas. I have recently bought one. Very comfy and washable covers. Perfect when you have small children.

White isn't a practical colour with children

Pink Stuff is good for crayon on walls.

How old are they?

I wipe mine with a micro fibre cleaning cloth and some diluted fairy liquid. Anything that doesn't come off gets painted over.

Carpets I Hoover. When they are filthy looking they get professionally cleaned.

I have lowered my standards over the years and not sure they were that high to start with. So I generally just ignore bits of crayon or stickers or whatever. Just clean a though they Weren't there.

Don't try and paint over wax crayon milk can remove it

My children are aged 2-4 years. Thanks for all the suggestions.

I'm embarrassed to ask in real life- how do I get rid of mold? There's some on bathroom ceiling, curtains and round rubber bath seal. I wonder if seal needs replacing? Is this easy to do? Thanks

You can buy mould remover spray from homebargins ect I used astonish spray on leave few minutes and scrub. Yes pull out old seal and replace yourself watch a YouTube video if unsure. We have just painted most of our rooms I my house I have small children and don't run riot like some people suggesting but kids get places and do stuff in a second don't worry! There only young once

Do you have a British heart foundation furniture shop nearby? I got a next corner sofa there for £50 and it’s comfy enough. While I don’t encourage the kids to trash it, if something is spilled or feet go on it I can’t really bring myself to care. Might be worth it for now until they are a bit bigger?

Be really strict with the children about washing their hands as someone mom as they have eaten, whenever they come in from outside or have done any form of art or craft. Not having dirty fingers in the first place makes a massive difference.
Otherwise, wet wipes can be quite effective.

You could try a drizzle of bleach along the seal where mold is. I have this prob in round shower tray and i just run the nozzle round it and leave it for a bit. Comes up spotless every time.

I the magic erasers too but as pp said watch out.
I redecorated twins room there and was looking at primer in b&q. Staff member i was talking to advised to go with a paint brand beginning with r but cant mind the name as it was more durable in a house with young children.

Bit of dettol and a cloth always worked well
For me on kid grime, not just walls but handles, light switches, doors etc

WD40 will remove crayon from
Walls and a solution of liquid flash and warm water (or bleach and cold water).

I've got white walls and they were looking grubby so I put the above in a mop bucket and used a mop to clean the walls!! Minimal effort and great result. Holes can be filled with Polyfilla as it dries white. Get the squeezy tube and use a palette knife to smooth it over. If it's a really big home it can be packed out using loo roll or kitchen roll.

Magic erasers ARE abrasive but can be used carefully.

If it's only the bottom of the curtains then try spot cleaning with diluted washing up liquid.

A quick spruce will make it look and feel so much better.

Keep an eye out on Facebook Marketplace for a cheap sofa - I've been amazed by what people are getting rid of! Once they've ordered new ones and need to get rid of the older ones (which are often REALLY good quality) it usually costs about £80-100 for a 'man and van' to take them to the tip, so they're desperate to get rid of them and you can get a bargain.

Amazon sell stretchy chenille sofa covers - they're brilliant as they just stretch over the sofa and tuck in, plus they're washable. If you can afford 2 covers you've always got a clean on!