Getting pen off a wall...

Lola92

So in true toddler style, my 16month old has decided to celebrate Easter by taking a biro to the walls. Any hints or tips on how best to remove it? I have tried fairy liquid and water on a face cloth which worked fine for the gloss painted door and frame but hasn't made so much as a dent on the 'washable' wall paint I was planning on trying some cif but we are all out!

Any suggestions from veteran toddler parents would be much appreciated!

Ayla

I know that if you mix some bread soda with warm water into a thick paste you can rub crayon off painted walls. Don't know if it works with biro marks but it's worth a try.

cynder

tbh i painted over all the drawings, yes there were a lot in every room on every bit of clean wall they found, scrubing it off helped a little but we would have a faded patch.

Lola92

Thanks Ayla, I will get some bread soda a try that in the next few days.

Grindelwald we are trying to avoid repainting if we can as we only repainted the entire apartment last year and it will be next to impossible to get the same colour again as my OH mixed it himself out of two lots of paint as we bought two different shades mistakenly. It might come to that if we want our deposit back eventually though!

lynski

wd40 might work, try it on an inconspicuous patch. but it worked on the bedroom door foe me.

Grawns

Lidl do an amazing all purpose cleaner In a pink spray bottle. I'm pretty sure this will work!
It's called W5 power cleaner. Amazing product

suite16

Those "magic eraser" sponge blocks are your only man for getting pen marks off surfaces. I think JML do them and possibly Scotchbrite? You'll find them in Dunnes and possibly even in the €2 shop. Cut a piece off, run under the cold tap, squeeze out the water and then scrub the pen off. I've always found it super for the job.
Good luck!

Edit..
Just googled - this is the stuff I mean:
http://www.jmldirect.com/eu/doktor-power/doktor-power-magic-eraser/invt/d03me30100000001/

Grawns

W5 spray is magic eraser in a spray. I used to buy the JML product and they were great but this is even better. Crayon, pen, grime, it cleans it all. I'm not a cleaning junkie - the opposite. So I love a product that does the work for you.

zinzan

We have just used baby wipes in the past for this and it's worked quite well with a bit of rubbing...
it has often worried us how effective baby wipes are at cleaning marks and stains and yet are supposed to be mild enough for little one's skin!

Moonbeam

try wd40
http://www.wd40.com/uses-tips/

fruitcow

Our little one, 20 months, has a similar "artistic" streak. What I would recommend is forget trying to clean up after. Accept the fact that the house as you know it is gone and plan to invest in lot of paint in about 3 years.

Lola92

Thanks to all for the suggestions!

I have gotten the lighter marks off with some baby wipes, Aldi's Mamia ones for anyone interested. I am about a quarter of the way through the tougher ones with them too but it takes a hell of a lot of elbow grease and rubbing, it's even taking some of the paint off the wall! I think I will give the WD40 a go in the morning when I have a bit of proper light to judge the result in case I go stripping all of the paint off.

I would love to try the others (possibly less harsh?) but I don't have the stuff in the house so will try as a last resort if the wd40 doesn't do the trick.

Fruitcow - I would be of the same opinion if it was our place but we are renting this apartment and the landlord is a neighbour, calls around quite regularly so don't want to let on that we are wrecking the place!

Anyway Boards.ie to the rescue, never fails! Thanks again.

caprilicious

Bookmarking this thread for when I have the energy to tackle the biro marks on my couch