I came on to post this same thing a few days ago, but then I tried my Mr. Clean magic eraser and it helped a lot. I don't know what kind of paint you have, but it worked on my bathroom wall in the apartment... very flat white paint. Not glossy at all. I have candles on the back of the toilet and on sink counter. The ones on the toilet tank always leave a black mark, but I think it's because the wicks are supposed to be trimmed shorter. You know what they say about an ounce of prevention. The first time it happened, I took care of it immediately... this last time I was *lazy* and let it sit a few days. It was much tougher to get off. I don't know what to to on a textured ceiling... I've heard of a product called Instagone for water spots on ceilings... you might try that. Good luck!

I used to burn candles and stopped because of the soot problem. The soot got on the walls of every room in the house even thought the candles were only burned in one room. You didn't notice the soot until you moved a picture on the wall or something like that. My white lampshades got dingy. My curtains got soot in the folds. Even the rubber seals on my refigerator and micro got sooty and black.

Burning soy candles prevents most of this. Also don't buy candles with a wire in the wick. It's not good to breath the fumes of burning aluminum.

Now I was lazy to. It took a while actually before I noticed. It was thick. I used liquid blue Mr. Clean, but Windex worked better. I forgot about the eraser. Great idea. I've wanted one anyways. About these soy candles, I don't know anything about. How can I find more info.?

Hi - There's a thing called a "dry sponge" that we used to use around our fireplace. Worked pretty well on the rough-textured brick and stone. Anyplace that has janitorial supplies should have one--maybe Lowes or Home Depot?

If walls and ceilings are smooth, try using your mop. Bigger surface means faster cleaning. Windex is usually good for soot, but like any surface, should be wiped dry.

I'm sure that this is probably just candle soot but I just wanted to say that Carbon Monoxide can also be the cause of a sooty film on the walls and ceilings. It's just something I saw on the news and I was not aware of.

embersmomma, just google 'soy candles' and you will get hundreds of places that sell them. You can also find them sold in health food stores and specialty shops and craft fairs.

I don't have a favorite brand to recommend, I buy what ever strikes my fancy when I see them.

Here is what Wikipedia.org says about soy candles:

Soy wax made from the soybean plant has become an alternative to paraffin wax. Soy candles burn clean producing 90-95% less soot than paraffin candles and burn cooler resulting in faster scent dispersion. Soy wax is also water soluble making wax spills easier to clean up by using hot soapy water. Highly scented soy candles can be purchased in many places including online through many sites offering natural alternatives to petroleum based paraffin.

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arkansa_girl, do you happen to have a link to the news on carbon monixide? Often times news shows have the stuff in text on their website. I don't know if you are talking about a local news show in your area or a national network news show. Nothing comes up in a Google for me.

bud wi~I was watching local news...someone died from CM Poisoning at the beginning of winter so they were telling people about detectors and also mentioned that soot on walls is a tell tale sign of CM build-up in the home. Personally I had never heard this either but I don't have any reason to doubt it.

I am not doubting it. I'd just like to learn more about this.

I had this problem on another forum. If I ask for more info and links, some people think I am trying to be arguementive and contrary.

Maybe my writing style comes across as too blunt. Sorry.

OH no, I didn't take it like that at all! I'm just saying that I assume it's true since it was the news. Maybe you could contact your local fire department for some more information about CM.