Removing drywall dust from walls before you paint, is up there with the west jobs EVER. Its labor intensive, frustrating, and dirty. But I’ve got a trick that is going to blow your mind. It’s crazy, but it works.
When we were getting ready to paint, I reached out to my friend Josh (you might remember him if you’re a lifer, he’s the one that helped me paint the exterior of the Nugget). Josh is a professional painter and works for the most sought after company in southern Utah. So I called him and I was like “hey, any tips for removing drywall dust? Cause this stuff is a nightmare.”
He responded with THE CRAZIEST THING I”VE EVER HEARD.
If you look online, which I did, there are 2 methods to removing drywall dust. 1. Brushing it off the wall and vacuuming (repeated 3x) or 2. Use a barely damp rag to wipe it down. Lets just imagine what that actually looks like, thoroughly wiping down EVERY.SPOT.OF.DRYWALL…INCLUDING.CEILINGS. I mean, just sign me up for the 7th circle of hell, cause that would probably be better.
So do you want to know what Josh’s trick is? Its crazy. But we did it and it totally worked.
You run water through your paint sprayer and spray the walls.
Yes, with water.
Yes, on your walls.
You spray it enough that the walls get wet, but don’t oversaturate them. The drywall compound absorbs the water within minutes and its dry. We did it all over the entire Merc and it worked like a charm!
Full disclosure: The spots that I sprayed down with a heavier spray were completely dust free. I shot a video, and of course it was the wall that didn’t get sprayed down enough (I was worried for the life of my camera) so there is a little bit of dust on my glove, but obviously nothing like it was before. So the results in the below picturesĀ aren’tĀ showing it as awesome as it really is. I hate it when that happens!!
After our lengthy drywall discussions, I can say with full confidence that this method works wonders on walls like mine that are covered in joint compound. I don’t know how it would work on walls that are just taped and have most of the actual drywall paper showing.
I love learning hacks like this one that save time and energy! So what do you think? Crazy? Would you try it?
If you have any questions about it, leave them below and I’ll answer them!
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I was told that that for drywall/taped walls one should not attempt to remove the dust. One should just paint it in — helps with cohesion and all that. So, that’s easy. š
Hmmm.. First, came in via Pinterest.
Since I’m rebuilding my house after a fire, alone, I’m learning a lot about the dos and don’ts of drywall. Wet sanding is always an option, but ew I hate water dripping down my arm. Kinda like washing a ceiling.
I don’t have a paint sprayer, but I’m eyeing a spray bottle. Lots of squirting, but I’m sure gonna give it a try!
I appreciate yours and Josh’s tip! Thanks.
We are finishing the family room in our unfinished basement. We are DIYers. We hung the drywall but had someone tape mud and sand it. I was so excited when I remembered that you said you had a trick for getting rid of drywall dust. Because just like you the idea of wiping down the walls and ceiling is like the death of me! Now that I read your post Iām a little discouraged. We went for smooth walls so they have a lot of drywall paper showing. HELP what do I do? Does Josh have any tips you have miraculously found out after writing this post? If not I just might die!
Use a garden sprayer if you don’t have a paint gun! They are about $10 from Home Depot and work great. š
You got me Mandi, as a pro myself I’ve never thought of the water spray – genius. Thank you for sharing!
I have 30 yrs experience and to this day I have not found an effective way to efficiently remove drywall dust on new construction projects until I read that! My jaw dropped as I know that will work. I mean it totally makes sense! I am starting one in a week which is why I was searching. Soon as I read that it was like the lightbulb clicked on over my head! Thank you!