I am moving to a new house and I was wondering do I have to wash the walls if i'm going to paint anyway?

YES, you do have to.





Most people don't wash all of the walls before painting, but washing the walls before painting them is KEY for a beautiful end result.





Washing the walls in the kitchen is for obvious reasons - think of the grease, gunk and junk you'd be painting over! Not pretty.





And as for the bedroom, living room, etc... walls DO get dirty - EVEN if they were never around little kids, pets or smoke. Dust accumulates, and if you paint over the dust, your paint is likely to flake out and/or look ashy! Yikes.





And another tip: In the bathroom, look for waterproof wallpaper or a durable paint that will stand up to the humidity of the shower. Then you won't be left with those shimmering 'drips' and 'runs' on the walls.





I know all this b/c I wanted to know the answer to the very question you just asked, so I did some research.





(And one more thing, once you're done with you're lovely paint job, and your walls get dirty in the future, do the opposite of what you've always done with cleaning. Instead of cleaning top to bottom, clean your walls BOTTOM TO TOP~this prevents the dirty water from running downward, staining your walls further. Wet dirt is more difficult to get off then the dry dirt/dust. (Atleast when it comes to walls.)





Good luck!I am moving to a new house and I was wondering do I have to wash the walls if i'm going to paint anyway?
If they're dirty, you should wash them before you paint them because if you don't, the paint won't look so good. Home Depot sells products for just such a purpose in their paint department.I am moving to a new house and I was wondering do I have to wash the walls if i'm going to paint anyway?
you might want to wash the walls to be on the safe side. If there was a smoker that lived there previously, the nicotene wlll seep through the paint, and youll have more work on your hands.
If it is a new house does that mean it has never been used? If not you might just need to pole sand the walls and ceiling first. You do not have to wash the walls unless the joint compound needs to be either removed or leveled.
After watching the painter do my place, the trick is in the preparation and the painting is the easy part. Washing walls will ensure grease is removed and paint will last longer. Otherwise you're painting over grime and it's still there


:-)
The kitchen walls, definitely.





I would think seriously about washing the others to, because you never know what might be on them...greasy hand prints, candle wax (this one happened to me)....





Good luck with your new place!
kitchen grease on the walls yes other use your own judgment
as a home improvement contractor my advice is to wash all the walls you are going to paint also if you have time giving them a light sanding will help prevent paint flaking
Use a broom and knock down any cobwebs first,then go ahead and paint.Painting will cover any handprints and it kills germs.
I'd say yes, there will be dust and crap on the walls. If there is any greasy, oily areas your paint could possibly peel off.





You also need to check whether oil based or water based paint was used in previous paintjobs, it's best to stick with the same type of paint for new coats.
You should wash all the walls in the new house. I know you're painting anyway, but if you want the paint to stick properly, you'll want to wash them first. I highly suggest you wash them with liquid TSP (which you'll find at any home hardware store). Don't use the powder version: it's toxic, hard to rinse and hard to mix. You won't have to rinse the liquid version and it will remove any grease, grime, dirt, stains, etc. Invest (small investment, don't worry!) in a flat head mop. You can easily wash the walls with this without having to climb a ladder... it makes life much easier with a flat head mop!





If you don't want to wash all of the walls, then at least do the kitchen and bathroom walls. That's a must. Oh..if the people who lived there before smoked, then you'll need to do all the walls, as nicotine will leak thru your new paint.





Also, one last thing: if you aren't sure of the type of paint on the walls now (are they latex or oil based???) then you'll want to prime the walls with an oil based primer. I suggest Bull's Eye 1-2-3. If the paint on the walls is oil based, latex won't stick to it. However, an oil-based primer will stick to anything and anything will stick to oil-based primer (as it is partly made of glue).





Congratulations on the new home!
Yes. There is a special product from the paint store to use for this-inquire with the staff. Clean walls will make the painting better. Especially, if the previous owners were smokers-the water will probably be very dirty after you have finished cleaning the walls!