How to sand walls without dust going everywhere

You cannot sand a wall without making any dust, but you can cut it down a lot and stop it spreading. Seal off the room, use hand sandpaper or a sanding sponge, keep a vacuum cleaner nearby and clean everything at the end. Filler dust is very fine and gets everywhere, so the preparation matters as much as the sanding.

Before you start: seal off the room

Dust goes wherever the air carries it. So control the air.

Wear a dust mask and safety glasses. Dust from filler and old paint is bad for your lungs and eyes. If your home is old and the paint has many layers, take extra care and do not sand blindly.

Choose the right sandpaper

Sandpaper has a number. The lower the number, the coarser the paper. For walls, a fine or medium grade is normally used. Very coarse sandpaper scratches the wall and is harder to put right.

For small areas, sandpaper on a block gives you more control and raises less dust. For large walls, there are sanders that connect to a vacuum cleaner and catch most of the dust as it is produced. They can be hired from many DIY shops.

Techniques to raise less dust

  1. Sand with light pressure. Let the sandpaper do the work; there is no need to press hard.
  2. Use gentle circular movements, without stopping in one spot.
  3. If possible, ask someone to hold the vacuum nozzle next to the area you are sanding.
  4. Clean the sandpaper from time to time. Sandpaper clogged with dust does not cut and just spreads it around.
  5. Change the sandpaper when it is worn.

Sanding with a damp sponge

On small areas and on filler, you can use a slightly wet sanding sponge. It produces a paste instead of dust, and almost all of it stays on the sponge. Do not soak the wall: a very wet wall takes a long time to dry and can ruin the filler. This technique is for touch-ups, not for a whole wall.

Cleaning up at the end

When you finish, do not dry sweep, because that raises the dust again. Do it like this:

  1. Vacuum the floor, walls and skirting boards, from top to bottom.
  2. Wipe the walls with a damp, well wrung-out cloth.
  3. Clean the floor with a damp cloth.
  4. Wait for everything to dry before painting.

If you leave dust on the wall, the paint will have a rough surface with tiny grains in it. This is a very common mistake.

Not every wall needs sanding

If the wall is in good condition, a light sanding is enough to remove the shine and small imperfections. There is no need to wear down the whole wall. Sand thoroughly only the repaired areas and the places with loose paint. Less sanding means less dust and less work.

Tip: Vacuum first, wipe afterwards. A vacuum cleaner with a good filter picks up fine dust. One with a poor filter can blow it back into the air. If your vacuum cleaner is old, clean the filter before you start.

See also