Apartment Wear and Tear: How to Fill Small Holes in the Wall

Wear and tear is inevitable in any residence, but fortunately is fixable. The most common type of damage in most apartments occurs on the walls from the paintings and other decorations hung with small nails or hooks. Knowing how to fix the holes created by hanging items can save you from losing money on your deposit or being charged a fee for the maintenance team to fix them. Below are tips on how to fix small holes in your apartment wall before vacating the space.

Spackling

Spackle is a thin putty-type material created and intended to be use to fill small holes in the wall. Most spackle is white in color. Using spackle is extremely easy even for the least home-repair inclined individual. Ask the professionals at your local home repair or hardware store which spackle will work best for your needs, particularly if you are uncertain as to which brand to purchase. Instructions for using the item should be included on the container, but in the event that they are not, you will need a spackle knife.

Prior to using the spackle, stir it with your spackle knife until smooth. This is particularly important if the spackle is old and has been previously used. Stirring the spackle will ensure that there are no bumps from dried clumps of spackle or dirt that will show when applied. Next, using a piece of sand paper, sand the area of the wall you intend to spackle so that the wallboard lies flat and smooth. With your spackle knife place multiple layers of small amounts of spackle over the hole, making sure to scrape away excess with each swipe and pushing the spackle into the hole. Your goal is to fill the hole, not merely cover it over.

Painting

Unfortunately, while spackle is the best and an easy way to fill small holes, it also requires you to paint over it after dried. Permit at least 48 hours for the spackle to dry prior to painting. The difficulty in painting is making sure that the paint you choose will match current wall color and sheen. If your landlord has not left information about the type of paint used or paint cans with excess paint behind, you should ask what type of paint was used so that you will be able to purchase the exact match. Different paints will be obvious and require the landlord to repaint the wall, making your efforts worthless.

Use Toothpaste

A much less expensive and effective means of filling small holes in your apartment walls is to use white toothpaste to fill them in. Make sure that the toothpaste you use is a white paste with no granules for whitening teeth or other purpose in the paste. Using a cotton swab or your finger, swipe toothpaste over the hole, pushing some inside so that the hole is filled as much as possible. You can use a spackle knife if you have one available, but it is not necessary. Depending on the match of the paint and toothpaste color and the size of the holes, you may or may not need to paint the walls after filling holes.