Tea stains on interior painted wall

[mb]

I had a bizarre little accident in the kitchen the other day where I slipped while attempting to deposit hot steeped tea bags in the trash can resulting on very noticeable tea stains on the wall. The wall is off white interior latex paint. I wiped it off quickly, but the damage was done. Since then I've used the Mr. Clean Magic Clean pads with only moderate success. You can still see the stains. I'm afraid to use harsh chemicals for fear of removing the paint. Any recommendations short of repainting the wall, which I'd rather not do? Thanks.

mb

[MaryL]

My guess is that you *will* need to repaint. If it is a matte finish instead of gloss, you may be able to get away with repainting just that section. However, I think you will need to take precautions to prevent the tea stain from leaching through the new paint. Kilz does a good job. I have even use cheap hair spray for a very small stain -- spray it on, let it dry, then paint over it. The Kilz or hair spray provides some sort of protective finish that prevents the stain from bleeding. (A contractor originally told me about the hair spray trick -- I never would have thought of something like that on my own, but it did work.)

MaryL

[whit3rd]

Probably bleach will take it out. If the paint is flat, you'll want to blot, not scrub.