Residents have many questions in their mind when they are about to start house painting in Pleasant Hill. Some homeowners who plan to hire professional painters want to know if the contractor is legitimate, licensed, and will work within their budget. However, those who may want to do the project themselves want to know not only about the paints that they should use but also the painting techniques and what cleaning products are needed. One of the products they want to know is TSP.
You may not know what TSP is. It is trisodium phosphate, a chemical which is used as an additive to clean most kinds of painted surfaces before adding new paint. It is also considered safe, as it is also found in most laundry soaps and as a food ingredient. When cleaning a painted surface before applying paint, you can make a cleaning solution consisting of just TSP and water.
TSP is used for cleaning walls especially if they have been used over time. For instance, your walls have stubborn dirt, grease, grime, soot and smoke stains, or stains from water leaks, mostly resulting in residue stuck on the walls. You know that any residue on the surface makes it difficult for the topcoat to adhere. If you want to get rid of these ugly stains from your walls and update their look with a fresh coat of paint, then a cleaning solution with TSP is ideal.
TSP acts as an excellent degreaser and is perfect to use especially on kitchen walls. Splattered grease, food, and oil on the walls will lead to poor adhesion for the paint. If you try to add paint without cleaning, it will take more time and effort to address the issue when it could have easily been prevented by cleaning the kitchen walls before painting.
TSP is an excellent cleaner, and can get rid of more dirt than it meets the eye. A seemingly unblemished wall may actually have high levels of dirt. To ensure the walls are completely clean and ready for new paint, cleaning with TSP cleaning solution is recommended.
TSP also acts a de-glossing agent on walls coated with paint of all kinds of glossy finishes: satin, eggshell, semi-gloss, and glossy. Using the TSP can help remove the sheen on the surface and enable the new topcoat to adhere. If you’re tired of your current glossy paint and want an eggshell instead, or you’d like to replace your eggshell paint with a new semi-gloss one, use TSP to help dull your old glossy paint.
One of the usual problems you encounter when painting inside a bathroom is mildew. Many professional painters use a solution of TSP and bleach when removing mildew both on interior and exterior surfaces. This combination will help in getting rid of existing mildew but it is not ideal for permanently removing mold. It is important that you do not use TSP when you’re merely doing general cleaning. It may damage the plaster used on tiles and can leave a stain on metal fixtures.
As implied before, TSP is considered safe. Despite that, it is still important to wear protective gear such as hand gloves, long-sleeved clothing, long pants, and goggles. TSP should be kept away from children, pets, and plants for added safety. You may also decide it’s better to hire a professional contractor because they know the proper and safe way of using TSP when doing house painting in Pleasant Hill.