Improving or upgrading your home is an ongoing process that can be very enjoyable when you do the job yourself. You feel a real sense of satisfaction when you’ve finished repainting a wall in your dining room or refurbished a piece of outdoor furniture. You have the added benefit of saving yourself some money. However, it’s nearly inevitable that some mishaps will occur. One of the most common do-it-yourself painting mishaps is dropping, dripping or spilling paint in an area where you don’t want it.

Painting or varnishing outdoor furniture is a good way to quickly get the job done, but sometimes it seems that you’ve made so much mess that it isn’t worth the effort to start. For example, you may want to give your entry door a quick touch-up. If you aren’t careful, though, drips can run onto the brick or cement steps or porch, ruining the overall effect of the refurbishing job.

Likewise, repainting window trim on a house can result in spills that mar the appearance of brick or cement surfaces. Some paint might easily get on the window itself, requiring special cleaning. If you’ve stenciled a design on a planter, table or even a concrete step outside your home, you may find that there’s paint in areas you didn’t intend to paint. Paint and varnish almost inevitably will drip or run, which means that you need a product that can quickly and effectively remove it before it becomes a permanent stain. If you’re working on outdoor projects on a windy day, or even if your hand slips while you’re applying paint or varnish, you’re then faced with the problem of getting it off your skin without using harsh solvents.

Whether it’s done outdoors or indoors, a craft or hobby project can often result in more time spent cleaning up than it did in completing the project itself. It’s possible that you might forget to put down a protective cloth or paper to cover the area on which you’re working, you inadvertently spill some of the acrylic paint or model paint you’re using, or you become so exuberant in creating the project that paints and other materials splatter onto floors or walls. Your child might draw on walls or put stickers in unwanted areas that just don’t seem to want to come off easily. It’s in these situations that it’s best to have products on hand that will quickly and easily remove unwanted spills and drips.

Any surface can become the unintended victim of a do-it-yourself paint spill. If you’re working outside, it’s most likely that the concrete patio or driveway on which you’ve placed the item you’re painting will be the victim of the spills, drips and splatters. A wooden deck is another place that will likely need clean-up, whether you’re refinishing the deck itself or using it as a base for a different project. Concrete, brick, wood, tile and carpet are just of a few of the surfaces that be damaged when paint spills on them.

A product that quickly cleans up latex, acrylic, oil-based and even water-based stain products is worth having on hand when you’re ready to start your do-it-yourself projects. Even older latex paint stains that have been around for some time can be cleaned up with the right product. Wood varnishes, water-based stains products, sealants and linseed oils are just some of the different types of products that will need clean-up at some point.

Finding the right kind of product to easily and quickly remove spills, stains and drips isn’t too hard if you do a bit of research before you start looking. A product that claims it can remove every kind of spill or stain on the first attempt might not work as it promises, or it could be so strong that it damages the surface it’s cleaning.

Environmentally friendly products are the best kind to choose. A water-based product that is formulated to clean specific kinds of stains rather than to work on certain types of surfaces will be friendlier to the environment. Many eco-friendly products today, such as Motsenbocker’s Lift-Off line, are designed to be safe for the environment, the surface on which they’re used and the person using them. Thanks to a water-based formula featuring low VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and biodegradable properties, Lift-Off products can clean up spills, drips and splatters as well as or often even better than other products that aren’t as safe for the environment.

Many paint-remover products claim that only one special formula used in their products is necessary to clean every kind of paint or varnish from a variety of surfaces. Different Motsenbocker products, on the other hand, are formulated to specifically work with different types of stains and surfaces.

The Latex Paint Remover formula, for example, can clean new paint spills as well as those that have been on a surface for some time. The PVR Paint and Varnish Remover is a gel that quickly breaks down the molecular bonds of the spills and stains rather than using more caustic solvents. Caulk and Foam Sealant Remover takes care of spills and drips from latex foams that are either wet-based or dry-based, silicones, adhesives used in construction and many other similar products. All of these products are safe to use on the surfaces that have paint spilled on them, tools that are used and even on the hands.

Completing a project yourself for your home gives you a real sense of satisfaction. Dealing with the inevitable accidents that occur when you do a project, whether it’s noticeable or not, shouldn’t take as much time as doing the project itself. Motsenbocker products will help you clean up any kind of surface, whether it’s wood, brick, and fiberglass or even your skin with as minimal a fuss as possible. It’s worth it to have Motsenbocker Lift Off products on hand whenever you’re ready to paint, varnish and finish anything around your house.