Ten minutes protecting a room saves an hour scrubbing paint off the floor. Here is how the trade does it.
Nobody enjoys the setting-up, but every decorator knows that time spent protecting a room is repaid many times over in time not spent cleaning up. A splash of emulsion on a carpet is a very expensive way to save five minutes.
Choose the right sheeting
- Cotton twill dust sheets soak up spills and splashes and stay put underfoot — the choice for floors you care about, especially with a waterproof backing.
- Lightweight polythene is cheap and quick for draping over furniture and fittings, but it slides on floors and holds a puddle rather than absorbing it.
- A combination — cotton where you walk, polythene over the untouched furniture — covers most jobs well.
Cover it properly
Move what you can out of the room and group the rest in the middle. Cover it fully, tuck sheets right to the skirting so nothing is exposed at the edges, and mask off anything you are not painting. Lift and tape carpet edges away from the skirting if you can.
We stock cotton twill and polythene dust sheets, plus tape and sheeting to mask off the rest — everything to protect a room before the first tin is opened.
