How to Clean Vomit Off a Wall

Jalyn asked, “How do you clean barf off a wall?”

Table of Contents:

Removing the Vomit
Additional Tips and Advice
Sources

It is no fun when you are caring for someone who is sick. No matter how hard you to try to think of everything, like keeping that bucket near the bed for when they throw up, it never fails that something odd happens. Someone throwing up on a wall is not that uncommon and can be cleaned up in a flash following the suggestions below.

Removing the Vomit

You Will Need:

Rubber gloves
Large spoon, dustpan or something similar to scrape the wall
Bucket
Towels
Sponges
Water
Enzyme digester, such as Biz Stain Fighter

Steps to Remove the Vomit:

Always use rubber gloves when cleaning bodily fluids and thoroughly wash your hands when finished.¹
Scrape the vomit off the wall and into the bucket with a spoon or dustpan.¹
Use the towels to wipe up any remaining liquid.¹
Sponge wash the wall with a mixture of water and enzyme digester, such as Biz Stain Fighter.² Always test a cleaning solution on a small hidden area of the wall first to look for any adverse reaction.
Rinse well with clear water and dry with towels.

Additional Tips and Advice

Do not use detergents or other cleaning solutions before the enzyme digester as they can mask the odor and set it, making it nearly impossible to remove.²
If you are sensitive to smells, there are a couple old college anatomy tricks you can try while cleaning up; put a small amount of Vicks VapoRub under your nose or chew a piece of spearmint gum.
When cleaning walls, always start at the bottom and work your way up. This will help prevent the drip lines you often see when the dirty water runs down the wall.³
When the mess has been cleaned, you can follow the steps found here to give the wall a general cleaning.