Ask Mrs. Clean: House Cleaning, Stain Removal and Organizing Tips

[misty52]

Just moved in a house. The previous owner did a bad painting job and paints are everywhere like on the hardwood floor and bathroom. Read a couple tips online but just asked if there is any better solution. Please advise.

[mrscleannw]

Hello misty52 and welcome to the forum:

First you should know what type of paint was used, maybe there are some paint cans left from the previous owner that will help you figure out if the paint is water based or oil based. If you do find some of those paint cans, look for the clean-up instructions.

Cleaning Old Paint from Hardwood Floors:

Use something dull like a knife, the edge of a credit card, a spatula, anything dull that will scrape up the paint. This should lift the paint fairly easily. Do not use a straight edged razor or anything sharp as you could damage the floor.

For any remaining paint stains, go to your local home improvement store and ask one of the flooring specialists what solvent is best for cleaning the type of hardwood floor you have. Follow the manufacturers instructions.

You don't say what the bathroom floors are, so when you go to the home improvement store you can also ask about that.

Mrs. Clean

[misty52]

Hello Mrs. Clean,
Thank you for your advice. I wish I could find out what kind of paint it is. We talked to them but not much of the helps. It is coming off a little bit when I use a spatula but still white paint is there. Since there are a lots and lots of paint over the floor, scrapping them off seems too much time consuming. Sigh.. I will go to the local home improvement store and ask what to do with it. Thank you for your tips.

[chrisgwelch]

A paint stripper is the best solution for this..