Recommendations for removing smoke stains from walls?

[Dover]

No, I haven't had a fire in my house. Just one too many candlelight baths...lol!
It may be a problem with the type of candles I used. Anyway, what a mess!
At first I just tried rubbing it with a dry cloth and not only did that not make
any difference but the smoke was not sitting on the surface so the cloth was not
even blackened.
I tried using vinegar and water which had no affect at all, which surprised me.
Then I got out the big guns and tried Simple Green...same result. In fact each
attempt seems to have made it worse!

The walls have a high gloss paint on them which was meant to make for easy cleaning in the bathroom and better for moisture issues.
I know there are products like Kilz that can be put on prior to repainting that
prevents smoke stains from bleeding through the new coat of paint. But I really don't want
to repaint until I'm sure that it is the only and/or best solution.

Any thought?

Thanks,
Bubbles

[NMDemDist2]

1. buy thick plastic gloves and TSP

if TSP doesn't do it, you'll have to use a Kilz style primer and repaint!

good luck!

http://alsnetbiz.com/homeimprovement/tsp.html

[Dover]

Thanks so much for that recommendation.

I purchased it this morning and just tried it, and while it certainly did much better than anything else I've tried it didn't get it all. I suppose I could keep adding more TSP to the water to strengthen it even more (I already doubled the stength), but I think it would probably wind up stripping the finish and need repainting anyway. And the work involved to remove every square inch of the soot just won't be worth it. It will take much less time to apply the Kilz and repaint. Of that I am now certain. Plus I just hate working with such strong stuff...constantly afraid some will flick into my eyes or get on my skin or some other unwanted surface. And now I'll need to educate myself about appropriate ways to get rid of half gallon or so mixture. I'm going to guess that tossing it down the sink may not be the best thing.

I did try it out on some stubborn grime areas around the house and it truly is effective. So perhaps I'll find some other use for the left over mixture short of tossing it out.

Oh well, a big lesson learned about candles in the bathroom...or ANYWHERE in the house. I've discovered there are different kinds of wax and should look for petroleum-free, nonparafin varieties for both health reasons (toxic carbons) and to avoid smoke staining/soot. Like these made from soy:
http://www.greenspacecandles.com/soy.htm
I also learned that the wick must be kept short, about 1/4 inch, or it will make black smoke. So will remember to trim them before use. I wonder if this goes for tea candles as well?

For anyone else who might be interested, there's a pretty good discussion about this problem
here: http://www.consumersrevenge.com/reports/candle5.htm

[Kolesar]

8. If you live in the Great Lakes states, please don't dump phosphates down the drain

It causes excessive over fertilization of algae in the lakes. That is why we banned phosphated laundry and automatic dishwasher detergent. I live in the Lake Erie drainage. When I use TSP, I dump it in the lawn. I expect that soil biology can handle the TSP. The scale at which TSP is used to wash walls is tiny compared to the scale at which phosphated detergent used to be used for clothes washing. So a few buckets of TSP water is not a big deal.
thanks for caring! :hi:

[Dover]

3. dupe post...n/t

[politicat]

2. Have you tried a Magic Eraser?

They really aren't gimmicks, just extremely fine abrasives.

[Dover]

4. Hmmm....I'll have to look for that at the store.

I wonder if that's one product that the smoke cleaning tips referred to when they called for
a dry 'chemical sponge'?

Also referred to as a dry sponge or a soot sponge, a chemically treated sponge that absorbs soot and dirt into its pores.

I'm going to guess that while it might be somewhat effective, that it would probably not be more effective than the TSP. But I might pick one up next time I'm at the store just to try it out.

Thanks!

[politicat]

6. Erm... maybe.

They're melamine foam. For three bucks (maybe less) it can't hurt and to be honest, I use them for tons of stuff -- they'll take up dried latex paint, clean burnt on stuff off the stove top... a barely damp one even cleaned up my keyboard and got my spacebar back to not shiny and worn-feeling.

[Dover]

5. By the way, FYI, I've read that TSP is great for removing and thwarting mildew.n/t

[Mist]

7. Thanks for posting the Consumers Revenge site--I hadn't heard of it. About the

candles--I was going to suggest hurricane chimneys around each candle to trap a bit of the smoke, but it's true that generally only parafin candles smoke much, so switching to soy (or even beeswax, to really treat yourself) should solve the smokey walls problem.