How to Get Rid of Popcorn Ceiling

There was a time when popcorn ceiling was considered a natural form of home styling. People viewed their ripply ceilings as a way to give their homes a classic theme. Stylish as these ceilings are, they can be hazardous to your health. The popcorn effect is caused by the insertion of dust through tiny paint cracks, which creates pockets. Gradually, the pockets increase in size as more dust enters the tiny crevices on your ceiling's surface. When the dust pockets form popcorn-like projections on your ceiling, they can fall at any given moment and mix with your home's breathable air or worse, your meals.

Dust is composed of various particles and most of those particles carry germs. Inhaling or consuming a good amount of dust can spring up various diseases. Clearly, you must get rid of the dust formations on your ceiling before they start causing health problems to you and your family.

Weather Dust with Feathers

The feather duster comes as your basic way of dealing with popcorn ceiling. You can use the feather-based brush to dislodge all of the dust bulges from your ceiling. Since the feather duster is readily available in most homes, the duster is your cheapest dust-cleaning option. The drawback is that using the feather duster is a bit messy and time consuming. You can go for the feather duster if you want to save up on cash for the price of more labor.

Materials Used:

• feather duster
• ladder
• gloves
• goggles
• particle mask
• bundles of newspaper
• Collect Materials

Getting a feater duster is easy since it is available in most home improvement stores and hardware centers. It will only cost you $9 or less for a good feather duster. As for the rest of the materials, they are either readily available or you can borrow them from your neighbors.

Wear Safety Equipment

Wearing gloves, safety goggles and a particle mask are prerequisites when cleaning popcorn ceiling. These items will keep you from taking in harmful dust particles and help you avoid dust-related diseases. The gloves will keep your hands dust-free, while the mask will prevent you from inhaling dust. As for the goggles, they will prevent you from getting eye irritation whenever you dislodge dust popcorn.

Wash Away Dust from Your Body

Lightly brush the dust formations on your ceiling with your feather duster. Be careful with your strokes so that you will remove only the dust and not your ceiling's paint job. Continue brushing until you have removed all the popcorn-like projections from your ceiling.

On a Side Note

Even if you wear a complete set of safety equipment, there is still a remote chance that dust can seep inside your safety gear. Remember that some dust particles are quite small and can fit inside openings that the naked eye cannot see. To make sure that you are safe from dust particles, you can take a nice cool shower right after cleaning your ceiling.

Pave Dust Off Your Ceiling

The feather duster's application process is similar to all of the other options'. You can simply refer to this process for all the succeeding popcorn ceiling remedies.

The Dust Suction Method

The drywall knife is a tiny paving tool built to straighten wall paint jobs and remove popcorn ceiling. Although its application is identical to the feather duster, the drywall knife is more efficient in wiping off dust formations. You can easily dislodge dust bulges on your ceiling with a few precise strokes, which makes the specialized knife a swifter worker than the duster.

You can purchase a drywall knife in any hardware store. It is slightly more expensive than the feather duster but you probably would not mind shelling out a few more dollars to reduce the amount of cleaning time. To get the best models of drywall knives on the market, you can check out the comparison sites and online forums found on the internet. You will see on those websites the lowdown on each brand and model of drywall knives available.

Paint Over Popcorn

The vacuum cleaner appears as a good option when cleaning popcorn ceiling. Through the device's suction nozzle, the vacuum cleaner can suck in significant amounts of dust in a short amount of time. It is easier to use than both the feather duster and the drywall knife since all you have to do is point the nozzle to the dust formations until your entire ceiling is free from dust. Also, the vacuum cleaner is your healthiest option since it prevents dust from scattering to the air and to various portions of your home.

The main drawback wen using a vacuum cleaner is its price. If you do not have a vacuum cleaner, be prepared to shell out about $200 - $500 for a well running unit. Of course, you can borrow a vacuum cleaner from your neighbors but such a large device can be hard to carry around. Lifting the vacuum cleaner when removing dust bulges from high ceilings can also be a problem. You might as well try the other options first if you do not own a vacuum cleaner.

The Verdict

Among the dust removal methods presented, the paint roller provides a rather different angle in dealing with popcorn ceiling. The paint roller covers all the affected areas with a coat of paint instead of rubbing off dust away from your ceiling. This method may be a bit pricey but it is effective in both the prevention and removal of dust particles.

Since dust popcorn is formed through the tiny paint cracks and chips on your ceiling's surface, the paint roller prevents the appearance of dust popcorn by providing a new coat of durable paint. The roller also flattens and empties out dust popcorn through its rolling applicator.

Tags : Home And Garden

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