Best practices for maintaining the interior finish of your new home!

Use a wet sponge with dish soap to lightly wash walls.  

• Wait at least 1 month after painting is completed before washing walls to allow the latex film to fully cure.
• Use a wet sponge to wash - cotton rags, cloth diapers, scotch wool, and other types of rags can be too rough and abrade the paint film, and leave shiny spots.
• Plain water and/or dish soap are best for removing dirt and stains without  damaging the paint.
• Some household cleaners, such as Formula 409, Fantastik, Windex, and Pine Sol are formulated with strong solvents that can be destructive to latex paint. If usage of these products is desired, test the cleaners in an inconspicuous area prior to use to ensure compatibility.
• Stain Erasers should be tested in an inconspicuous area prior to use. Although they can be beneficial at removing stains, their use can also result in shiny spots and discoloration.

• For best results, use a roller with a 1/2" fabric nap to touch up walls. Whiz and foam rollers do not transfer as much paint, and may take two coats to cover dark scuffs and achieve the same type of stipple pattern on the wall.
• Brush touch-up is best for trim. Brush touch up may not blend as well as roller touch-up on walls.
• Agitate the paint provided by shaking the can or stirring with a stir stick prior to painting.
• Reducing the paint with water is not recommended.

• Although considered scrubbable, flat paints in general are not as durable as other sheens of paint. For extremely heavy traffic or where washing will be constant. a higher sheen product may be desired. 
• It is not uncommon for darker colors to demonstrate some degree of colorant removal off the wall when washing. This is not indicative of film degradation, but rather superficial removal of colorant that has migrated to the surface of the paint film.
• Flat paints naturally have pigment extending from the surface of the paint. thus flat paints burnish more readily than higher sheen paints like eg-shels and semi-glosses. Consider touching-up to correct severe burnish marks on the walls.