The kitchen is the heart of the home. It’s where people gather to cook, eat, share and bond with family over a cup of tea or coffee. It’s also often where accidents happen. Whether it’s sloppy cooking, splatters from picking up a burning tray, or a child who loves to draw all over the walls, your walls can take a bit of a beating in the kitchen.
Here are a few tips for caring for your kitchen walls and keeping them in good shape, along with some ideas on how to clean grease marks off the walls. Kitchen walls are beautiful and functional, but can easily become a mess if not cared for. Protecting kitchen walls from grease and spills is important for maintaining your kitchen as well as keeping your home clean.
Table of Contents
Start with a clean slate
We all know that your kitchen walls are prone to grease and grime, and if you don’t clean them regularly, they can look pretty nasty. Grease and grime can be tough to remove from the walls, and if you don’t do it right, you could end up damaging your paint job. Start with a clean slate, your walls will be much easier to clean if they don’t have any dust on them.
Wipe away any dust with a microfiber cloth or brush with a duster designed to get into corners and other hard-to-reach places. Get rid of surface dirt, for this step, use a damp cloth or sponge to wipe off any dirt or cobwebs that might be lingering on the walls. Be gentle use only enough pressure to remove the dirt and try not to scrub too hard because that could cause damage.Check for grease stains, it’s time for the real test: whether there are any grease stains on your walls.
Wash the walls thoroughly
Wash the walls thoroughly. Begin by washing the walls with a solution of 1 cup trisodium phosphate (TSP) and 1-gallon warm water. Wear protective clothing, including rubber gloves and safety goggles when working with TSP. Rinse well with clear water, then dry the walls thoroughly.
Apply the stain-blocking primer. Brush or roll the stain-blocking primer onto all painted surfaces, including the ceiling if you wish to paint that as well.
Apply a coat of high-gloss enamel paint. Use either a brush or roller to apply a coat of high-gloss enamel paint to all surfaces, including your ceiling if you are painting it at this time. Let dry according to manufacturer’s directions, then apply a second coat of paint to all areas if needed for even coverage and good appearance.
Apply primer to the entire surface
Start by cleaning the wall with a grease-cutting cleanser. Scrub the surface with a sponge, then rinse it well and allow it to dry completely. Apply primer to the entire surface. Primer is an oil-based substance that seals wood, brick, concrete and other porous surfaces so paint will adhere better. Paint will not stick well to a wall that has not been primed.
Paint over the entire surface with two coats of oil-based paint. Oil-based paints are more durable than latex paints and resist moisture better. They also provide an impenetrable finish that is resistant to grease stains. Allow each coat of paint to dry thoroughly before applying the next one.
Use semi-gloss paint with a stain-blocking formula
To keep your kitchen looking its best, you need to make sure the walls are properly protected. This is especially important in areas of high use and moisture, such as behind the stove or sink. To protect kitchen walls from grease and moisture, you’ll need to choose a special type of paint. Walls in the kitchen can easily become damaged by grease, food splatters and steam from cooking. To protect your kitchen walls from this kind of damage, you’ll need to choose a paint that has a stain-blocking formula.
These types of paints are designed to block stains from penetrating the surface of the paint so they can easily be wiped away without damaging the underlying layer of paint. The best options for high-traffic areas like kitchens are semi-gloss paints, because they provide a durable finish that can stand up to heavy use and moisture.
Consider tiles behind your cooktop
You can use a variety of materials to cover your kitchen walls, but if you plan to cook with oil or grease, you are likely to find that your walls soon start looking grungy. Grease does not adhere well to most wall surfaces, so it will simply run down the wall instead of remaining on the surface. If you take steps to protect your walls from grease before you begin cooking, however, you can make them much easier to clean.
Consider tiles behind your cooktop. Backsplashes made from glass tile, porcelain tile or ceramic tile are all relatively easy to keep clean. They are also available in a wide variety of colors and styles. You can even find tiles that look like granite or marble for a fairly low price. If you don’t want to tile the entire backsplash area, consider installing strips of tile around the perimeter of the area behind your stove or cooktop.
Conclusion
If you want to know how to protect kitchen walls from grease, try listening to your instincts. If the paint looks like it’s in good condition, but is flaking off, then maybe it’s time for a new layer of paint. Over time, high heat will eat away at the paint and cause it to flake off. If it looks like the paint is peeling off in thick layers, then you may have bigger problems to deal with.
The easiest way to protect kitchen walls is to prevent grease from actually seeping through. The best way to do that is with an inexpensive, ready-made grease barrier. If you can’t find any in a local store, head online, since the web is the best place to find one. Also, don’t forget to wash grease off your walls and cabinets regularly.