If you've recently jumped on the home decor bandwagon and recently installed a gorgeous wall mural, hooray! You've just created the most stunning showpiece in your home or workspace, and you better believe that your guests or clients are going to be talking about it. Wall murals can transform any room from a standard entry space into the Sistine Chapel or a serene mountainscape. What's even better is that with Limitless Walls, you can print one of your very own photographs and have it installed in your home or gallery. But with installation, there also comes questions, like how to protect a wall mural from falling off? Is that adhesive or paste really sticky enough to keep that panel of art falling down onto your guests? Here are a few great tips you can enact to help your wall mural last and from falling down.
How to Protect a Wall Mural
Keeping a wall decal from falling off begins with proper wall prep. With many reusable murals or decals, you are receiving an already sticky product, with adhesive on the back. This means you've cut out the step with paste, but like tape, this also means that anything could stick to the back of the mural causing it not to adhere as well as it possibly could. One of the best things you can do to avoid the accumulation of debris is to really wipe down and clean the wall before you install the mural.
Pick the Best
When it comes down to it, picking the best in quality is going to be your number one option. There are many choices out there for mural printing companies or wall decal adhesives, but not all of them are made with top-notch resources like those at Limitless Walls. Start by buying high-quality removable wallpaper before all else.
Clean
First, remove any fixtures like switch plates, nails, etc. Fill any cracks or holes with spackling and be extra careful when sanding down those areas so that the section will be smooth and ready for the wall mural. Try even running your hand across each part of the wall to check for any bumpy spots that might need a little sanding down. Once you've done this, you will need to clean and wipe down the wall. If you're covering an older section of a house, be sure to check for mold or moisture, especially if it's in a bathroom and eradicate it completely. Otherwise, it will get into your wall mural material, causing the mold to spread fully. You can do this by using white vinegar or ammonia rather than plain soap. Make sure that when it comes time to wipe down your wall that you are using a fresh, clean rag and not one that could already have fuzz or dirt on it. Make sure the wall is completely dry before installing the mural.
Use a Protective Coat
By far, the smartest option, if you want to prevent your mural from falling (and keep it reusable), is to protect it with a liquid laminate top coat. It's also one of the best resources for protecting a wall mural in a highly trafficked area. There are some spots in our homes that everyone seems to bump up against, others where water is almost constantly spraying on. Bathrooms, kitchens, and front entryways see a lot of hands and feet, shoes, elbows, backpacks, and briefcase knocking up against them. It almost feels like destiny that sooner or later, the wall mural is going to tear, fade, or just give up altogether and fall to the floor. Together with a liquid laminate protective topcoat, you can extend the life of your wall mural and keep it looking as pristine as the day you first installed it.
Ventilate
If you're installing a wall mural or wallpaper in the bathroom where there's a lot of steam or humidity, be sure to ventilate. Take extra measures to keep doors and windows open after or during baths or showers. You can even leave the fan on in the bathroom if you don't' want to leave the door open. Just be sure to let it air out afterward. If the room doesn't have great ventilation, use a squeegee or towel to wipe down the walls to keep moisture from sinking in.
Add Craft Glue
If you want to be able to easily reuse your wallpaper later, you will probably need a non-permanent option to protect a wall mural. In that case, using a little extra adhesive like craft glue or a dab of wallpaper paste can help seal corners for an added measure of security.
Use Caulk
This might be considered a bit more permanent option, but if you want to keep your wall mural from falling off, especially if it's in a high humidity room like the bathroom, you can install your mural and then seal the top where it meets the ceiling with standard caulking. You can also apply caulk along the bottoms where the mural meets the trim. Just be sure that the caulking you pick out is transparent and not white.
Apply Adhesive
If you're also using a wall mural or wallpaper that is going to stay permanently, you can gently peel back a section such as a corner that might be getting moisture behind it, apply a little white glue or border adhesive to it and then smooth the material back into place. Similar to craft glue, this kind of adhesive might give a firmer stick to your wallpaper, but it will eventually be able to be removed in case you move or change your mind about the room's theme.