A canvas print is one of the least demanding things you can own. It has no glass to smear, no frame to polish and no moving parts. Hang it and leave it, and it will look good for many years.
It is not indestructible, though. A few things will shorten its life or spoil its surface, and they are easy to avoid once you know them. This guide is for Kiyo Arts canvases, which are printed with UV-resistant archival inks on a matte cotton-polyester fabric and stretched over a 1.25-inch pine frame. Most of it applies to any printed canvas.
Routine care: dusting
Dust is the only thing most canvases ever need dealing with.
- Use a soft, dry, clean cloth. Microfibre is ideal. A soft, clean, dry paintbrush or a feather duster works too.
- Wipe lightly, in one direction, without pressing.
- Do the top edge, where dust settles.
- Every month or two is plenty.
Don't use a vacuum cleaner directly on the surface, or anything rough.
Cleaning a mark
For a fingerprint, a splash or a small mark:
- Dampen a soft white cloth with plain water. Wring it out thoroughly. It should be barely damp.
- Dab the mark gently. Don't rub or scrub.
- Dab with a dry part of the cloth.
- Let it air dry.
Test on a corner or the side edge first.
Never use: household cleaning sprays, glass cleaner, bleach, alcohol, solvents, furniture polish or abrasive pads. They can strip or discolour the print. Don't soak the canvas, and don't use soap unless plain water has failed, and then only the tiniest amount of mild soap, well diluted.
If a mark won't shift with a damp cloth, it is usually better to leave it than to risk a bigger patch of damage.
Sunlight
Light fades all printed colour over time. UV-resistant inks slow that a great deal, and they don't stop it altogether.
- Avoid direct sun. A wall that gets strong sunlight for hours every day is the hardest place for any artwork.
- Bright, indirect daylight is fine.
- A wall beside a window is better than one opposite it.
- Blinds or sheer curtains in the sunniest hours help.
- Artificial light from ordinary LED bulbs is not a concern.
If one wall in your home is in full sun all afternoon, hang something you don't mind replacing there, and put the piece you care about elsewhere.
Humidity and bathrooms
Canvas is fabric, and the frame behind it is wood. Both respond to moisture.
- High humidity can make the canvas slacken and the wood swell or warp. Over a long time, damp encourages mould.
- A steamy bathroom with a shower is a poor place for a canvas. A well-ventilated bathroom, a cloakroom or a powder room with no shower is usually fine.
- Kitchens: keep canvas away from the hob and the sink. Grease in the air settles on fabric and is hard to remove.
- Basements and conservatories can be damp or swing between hot and cold. Check before hanging anything you value.
For a humid room, a framed poster behind a protective cover is the better format.
Heat
- Don't hang canvas directly above a radiator, a heater or a working fireplace. Rising heat dries the wood and can warp the frame. Soot from a fire will mark the fabric.
- Keep it clear of heating and cooling vents.
- Avoid big temperature swings, such as an unheated room that is occasionally heated hard.
Dents and pressure marks
A canvas is a taut sheet of fabric with nothing behind the middle. Press on it and it dents.
- Handle it by the frame, at the sides. Never push on the front or the back of the fabric.
- Don't lean things against it, and don't lean it against a corner or a door handle.
- Keep it out of the path of doors, chair backs and children's toys.
A small, shallow dent sometimes eases on its own in a warm room. If it doesn't, lightly misting the back of the canvas with clean water over the dent, and letting it dry naturally, can help the fabric tighten. Use very little water, only on the back, and don't do this to the printed side.
Sagging
A canvas that has gone slightly loose has usually been somewhere humid. Move it to a drier room and it often recovers by itself. If not, the light mist on the back described above may tighten it. A framer can re-tension a canvas that stays slack.
Hanging it properly
- Use a fixing rated for the weight. Large canvases should go on a screw or hook in a stud or a proper wall anchor.
- Use two fixings for a wide canvas, so it stays level.
- Leave the rubber bumpers on. Our canvases come with them fitted. They hold the piece slightly off the wall, which lets air circulate behind and stops it marking the paint.
See ready-to-hang, explained and how high to hang wall art.
Moving and storing
- Wrap it in clean cotton sheeting or acid-free paper, then bubble wrap. Don't put bubble wrap straight onto the print for long periods: it can leave a pattern.
- Protect the corners with cardboard.
- Store and carry it upright, on its edge. Don't lay it flat with anything on top.
- Keep it somewhere dry with a steady temperature. Not a loft, a garage or a damp cellar.
- Don't stack canvases face to face without something soft between them.
What not to worry about
- Normal room light.
- Ordinary household humidity.
- The slight texture of the fabric. That is the weave, and it is part of the look.
- Small differences from the screen image. A screen is lit from behind and a print is not. See matte vs glossy prints.
Quick reference
- Dust: soft dry cloth, monthly.
- Clean: barely damp cloth, dab, plain water.
- Never: sprays, solvents, scrubbing, soaking.
- Avoid: direct sun, steam, heat sources, pressure on the surface.
- Handle: by the frame.
For more on the materials, see what archival means on a canvas. If a piece arrives damaged, see what happens if my order arrives damaged. Browse the canvas art collection.