Can You Use A Magic Eraser Before Painting Walls, Or Will It Cause Damage?

To clean your walls before painting, stick with a soft rag or sponge with warm water and maybe some dish soap, and skip the Mr. Clean Magic Erasers, as they could cause damage to the existing paint on the wall. The damage caused by the abrasion can affect the finish of the existing paint, therefore changing how the new paint will stick to it and look compared to other sections of the wall.

Cleaning your walls before painting them is a crucial step that a lot of homeowners skip but shouldn't. Cleaning your walls helps the new paint stick better and last longer. Plus, it removes trapped dust and cobwebs, making the surface where you'll paint smooth for a nice finish. And if you have a really dirty wall, that layer of dirt and grime might show through the new paint, making the end result less than desirable. Keep reading to learn why you should use a Magic Eraser to transform your baking sheets and not clean your walls.

It's one of the untold truths about Magic Erasers — there are no chemicals in a Magic Eraser. Rather, it's the composition of the sponge that makes it work like magic to erase stains and tough spots. This sponge is made of melamine foam. Melamine is a type of plastic, and when it's turned into the foam sponge you know and love, the fibers become hard and thin, similar to glass. When you get the Magic Eraser wet, the air bubbles within the fibers harden, and the eraser becomes abrasive, like sandpaper.

Because Magic Erasers are abrasive, you should be careful about using them on painted walls (and avoid using them on wood surfaces or stainless steel). Instead, after dusting any cobwebs off your wall, use a washcloth or soft sponge, along with warm water, to remove any surface-level dirt to prep your walls before painting. If you have a buildup of grease or other residue, you can add a few drops of dish soap to your water, using fresh water and a new sponge to rinse the wall afterwards. This easy way to clean your interior walls should take off nearly any mess without removing the existing paint, making your surface as perfect as possible for the next layer.

If you absolutely must use a Magic Eraser to remove markings from your wall prior to painting because no other method is working (hello, permanent marker mess), there are a few steps to take to minimize damage. Use only where absolutely needed, working in small circles with minimal pressure, and make sure to use only when damp, not soaking wet.