How To Remove Paint Spills The Right Way

Unlike spilled milk, spilling paint on your floors is certainly something you can cry about — or at least fret over. If you've recently painted and found there were spills on your wood flooring, it is normal to worry a little over how you can clean it off without affecting the finish or leaving stains. If you can catch these little (or big) droplets quickly, expert Alexis Rochester, Investigative Chemist and Owner of Chemistry Cachet, says there is one cleaning tool that can help more than any other to remove wet paint before it stains your wood floors. "The best way to remove wet paint from wood floors is to immediately wipe up with a damp microfiber cloth," Rochester explains during an exclusive interview with House Digest. 

One of the easiest ways to clean hardwood floors is to use a clean wipe as soon as a spill happens. "Microfiber cloths are made of extremely fine fibers, much thinner than a human hair," Rochester said. "This creates a higher surface tension versus regular cloth." When paint drops onto your wood floors, reaching for one of these cloths can pull up a lot of the liquid, "including wet paint without it smearing," she added. The fibers also hold on to the liquid, whereas some products may drip back onto floors if there is too much paint. Keep microfiber cloths handy, as it is a household staple that will have your hardwood floors shining and fresh even after a spill.

There are spills that go unnoticed until they are dried onto wood floors, which can be trickier to get out. "If your paint is dried or older, there are a few methods to try for removing it from wood floors," Alexis Rochester exclusively told House Digest. "First, try a warm soap water mixture to gently scrub the area. Dish soap is a surfactant and mixed with warm water it can loosen paint from wood allowing you to easily remove it." Rochester noted that some paint stains can require something a little stronger than dish soap. 

"For more stubborn paint spills, you can try rubbing alcohol. Rubbing alcohol is a polar solvent, meaning it can dissolve certain types of substances, including some components of dried paint," she explained. The last resort is to try a paint thinner, which can remove many types of dried paint on wood. Paint thinner is generally more effective on oil-based paints, which are more resistant to other solvents, but use caution as it might also strip the wood. Unfortunately, some stains may be too tough to eliminate yourself. "If any of these methods don't work to remove the stains, [and] if you have tried more aggressive methods like the paint thinner without success, it might be a sign the stain cannot be removed," Rochester said. "In this situation, consult a wood floor professional who has equipment and knowledge to repair the wood floor if needed."

Alexis Rochester also covered what to do if you leave a spill and have a tricky time getting it out of your wood floors. "Common mistakes people might make with paint spills is waiting too long to wipe up the paint or trying to remove it with a dry towel," Rochester exclusively told House Digest. "Regular dry towels have limited absorption which tends to push the paint around rather than absorbing it." Rochester goes on to explain that dry towels can actually "accelerate the drying process of the paint as well, making the clean up much more difficult." She offers tips on how to protect wood floors from paint, suggesting that readers "make sure to protect them as much as possible with paper or plastic." So, next time you're working on a paint job, Rochester says to always make sure to have this item nearby. "Keep damp microfiber on hand because it is the best and easiest way to clean up paint stains if they occur. The key is to catch it quickly when it is still wet." 

Rochester admits there may be spills that require a professional to remove them. "If the simple methods mentioned above don't work to get the paint up or if you have an antique or porous wood floor, it is a good idea to consult a professional so you don't make the paint spill worse," she explained, adding "Porous wood can absorb paint deeper than you realize." Which is why sometimes you may want to hire someone who knows how to deal with this material. There are precautions to take when cleaning old wood floors, and professionals know how to handle them and avoid cause damage to the material.