Hiring painters for the interior of your home is an investment that saves you time. Painters can often do the job more thoroughly and much more quickly than you can because they have both the experience and the right tools. Most commercial painters charge by the job after determining the amount of time, effort, and materials a job will take. You can lower this price by performing some of the prep work yourself before the painters come in. The following are a few things you can do.

Pull any nails

Nails, hooks, and other protruding items can catch brushes, rollers, and even hands as the painter works. Walk through the room and pull all nails and other protuberances from the wall. If you have adhesive left on the wall from tape or stick-on hooks, use a small amount of rubbing alcohol to remove the sticky residue.

After the nails are removed, patch the holes with a drywall putty. Smear a small amount over the hole and then scrape off the excess with a putty knife.

Clean the walls

In most rooms, dusting is mainly all that is necessary before painting. Dust with a damp rag, since the dampness will capture the dust so it doesn't float and resettle on the walls. The damp will also remove any other dirt stuck to the walls. You will need to rinse the rag often so it doesn't get dirty.

If you are preparing the kitchen or bathroom walls for painting, then place a few squirts of liquid handwashing dish soap in a bucket of warm water. Use this to wipe down the walls. The dish soap will remove any grease, soap scum, or hairspray residue on the walls so the paint will adhere better.

Remove switch plates and covers

Not having to carefully edge around removable covers or take the time to remove the covers can save your painter a lot of time. Walk through the room and remove all the switch plates and outlet covers. You may also want to remove any wall-mounted register covers if you don't have small pets or children that could climb inside the ducts.

Label the back of the covers with where they belong, using a grease pencil so replacing them is easy. Keep the covers and screws in a shoebox or large ziptop bag so you don't lose anything.

For more tips and advice, contact a commercial painter such as Decorators Service Co., Inc. in your area.