Magic erasers (aka sponges)

[Bejazzled]

Are these the same thing as ‘dry cleaning sponges”

I’ve got black sooty stuff on emulsioned walls and see these are recommended for cleaning.

I don’t know about them but I am slowly washing my walls with clothes detergent. It is designed to get rid of various forms of dirt, after all. A bit in a bucket, a large sponge and slosh away. And it’s cheap.

Also sugar soap is cheap.

If your sooty stuff is grease based, I would use hot or warm water to help with dissolving it.

The magic eraser things are amazing for specific marks - eg those weird black scratches that appear. You dip them in a bit of water and rub the mark. They sort of dissolve slowly in your hand. They are weird magic. But for more general grubbiness over a wider area I'd say you're better with a cloth/normal sponge and detergent as pp suggested.

Yes, they are brilliant for odd scuff marks etc but you need to take care not to rub too hard in case you wear through the paint and you can end up with a small patch that is sparkingly clean revealing the fact that the rest of the wall is grubby, that's where the sugar soap comes in handy. They are great for getting fingerprints off door frames and around handles, scuff marks off skirting boards etc.