Marks and stains on walls can be hard to get rid of but one woman has shown the ‘magic’ tool she uses. There are plenty of ways to try to clean walls that have been stained or marked by things like pens, crayons, dirt or accidental oil spills. Solutions include warm soapy water, baking soda and white vinegar.
Some methods involve more time and steps than others, such as when cleaning tough, stubborn stains. Lese Mmolotsi is a home and cleaning content creator who regularly shares hacks, tips and product recommendations. In a recent Instagram reel she demonstrated the surprising cleaning power of the Elbow Grease Magic Eraser. This product uses melamine foam which cleans stains effectively with just water.
The short video shows Lese running the Magic Eraser under a tap and then squeezing it before rubbing it over scuff marks on a white wall in circular motions. As she rubs the marks they seem to disappear and she is left with a mark-free wall.
Lese also used it to erase some unidentifiable purple stains on another wall but this time she focused on applying it to each stain carefully to target these areas. In the caption of her Instagram post she wrote: “My landlord would never know. Scuff marks, fingerprints, mystery stains on your walls?
“The magic eraser sponge ACTUALLY WORKS. No chemicals. No damage. Just clean.” According to How Stuff Works, Magic Erasers act like very fine sandpaper because of their hard microstructure and melamine foam’s open-cell design allows it to absorb and hold dirt in its cavities, making it an effective cleaning tool that works without the need for chemicals.
The education website explains that melamine foam can “dig in and destroy stains that other products can’t touch.” However, it cautions that although Magic Erasers are powerful for removing stains, they wear out quickly, like pencil erasers, because of their abrasive texture and the physical scrubbing action involved in the cleaning process.
How Stuff Works further highlights that melamine foam erasers “might work a little too well” on surfaces that are painted, polished or easily scratched so it’s recommended to test the eraser on a small, unnoticeable area of whatever you’re wanting to clean before you get into it.
There are different brands of Magic Erasers found in the cleaning aisles of supermarkets and the Elbow Grease product that Lese used in her Instagram video can be bought as a three pack from B&M for £1.49.
Viewers who saw the clip shared how impressed they were with the Magic Eraser as they left comments, including “actual magic”, “brilliant”, “amazing” and “wow great tip.”
As Lese referenced her landlord in the caption of the post, this cleaning product could be useful for renters trying to keep their home in good condition to get their deposit back at the end of their tenancy.