Cleaning decorative cornicing??

RainbowLaura

Hi everyone,

I have a question about this cornicing in my house:

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Not to everyone's taste but it does go with our style very nicely. I burn a lot of candles in my living room and when I decorated recently I was shocked at how sooty the walls were. Unfortunately, as you can see, the coving is also looking rather dark and grubby, as the intricate detailing seems to have trapped a lot of dirt. I have no idea how I can clean it without just smearing the dirt and making it worse. I'm not even sure if it would be possible to paint without spoiling the detail - I have no idea what it's made of, but probably polystyrene as the house is not very old. Does anyone have any tips for how I can get it looking lovely and bright again please?

Goath

Try Sugar soap and warm water?


I would recommend the powder form of sugar soap rather then the concentrate

Hoploz

Hoover it first

tacpot12

Yes, try hoovering with a brush nozzle first to get anything that is loose off, then use sugar soap powder dissolved in warm water and use an old paint brush to work the sugar soap into the detailed area. Use a microfibre cloth to clean up, but check that the cloth is not damaging the surface before using it extensively.

RainbowLaura

Thanks all. I had a go with the hoover and then sugar soap tonight in a less conspicuous area, and I do feel like I've just made it worse by smearing around the dirt
I am rubbish with stuff like this. Tempted to just paint over it, and if some of the detail is lost then so be it... I have never been very good at cleaning

Doozergirl

If it is made of polystyrene then I don't think conservation officers will be weeping into their cornflakes when you paint it.

RainbowLaura

Thanks Doozergirl, it's more that I rather like it and don't want to spoil it for my own enjoyment.

Rexxel

Have you tried one of those magic sponges? They've helped me in the past to get dark marks off painted walls and glossed skirting so could be worth a try?

RainbowLaura

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to update as I am so impressed with the product I ended up using on my cornicing (which turned out to be made of plaster, not polystyrene). It was a chemical sponge, specially made for cleaning up smoke damage.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chemical-Sponge-Dry-Cleaning-Remover/dp/B00SHJ5N9E

The difference is quite astonishing:



Am horrified at how bad it was before!! We are not smokers - this is just from excessive candle use. Have now bought some lovely LED candles from Laura Ashley (surprisingly realistic) and will be sticking to those in future.

Anyway, if anyone else needs to clean up sooty marks then I really can't recommend these sponges enough!