Removing Popcorn Finish from Ceiling

By

PICO

It's as easy as everyone says with water. Just a tip though get a small pail and cut a hole in the bottom of it just big enough for the scrapper handle. Insert the handle into the pail from the inside. When you scrape the ceiling most of the stuff will fall into the pail. Just keep dumping it when full.

By

K9cats

Hello,
It is easy to remove. Please cover all carpet/furniture and fill a Hudson sprayer with water. Let it stand for a few minutes and then scrape it off with a broad knife.

PLEASE have your "popcorn" tested for asbestos if it was installed before 1970. It it contains asbestos, you must have it professionally removed. Good luck

By

micksgirl

It just scrapes off, or if you dont mind the mess a pressure hose will take it off fast.

By

Cyinda

You have to cover the whole room in a big sheet of plastic. Then use a cheap $12 garden pump-sprayer filled with water to saturate` the whole ceiling & let sit overnight, then come back & saturate the area you are going to work on again & let that sit for half an hour or so. Then using a large, flat paint-scraper & start scraping the wet popcorn off the ceiling. You should be wearing one of those white paper cover-suites & a dust mask. Put the white cover-suit into a plastic bag before leaving the room. It also helps if you add a squirt of dish soap to the water you are using to wet the ceiling. A sponge soaked with the wetting-solution can also be used to wet small areas.

More Info & Alternative Ideas:
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/paintpopcornceiling

Additional Recipes for Wetting Popcorn:
1) Add 1 part of Vinegar to 10 parts water.
More Info:
http://www.popcornforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=38
2) 1 cup Ammonia, 1 cup of fabric softener to 1 gallon of water.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2083919_remove-textured-ceiling.html

Warning:
At least 50% of popcorn ceilings have asbestos in them. After a house fire, we had to pay the haz-mat guys to come in their white suits & respirators to remove ours. It's safest to first have some of it tested before you subject yourself & your family to the possibly of danger! I would call your local county Health Department & ask them for more info about testing.

* If you decide to go ahead without pre-testing for asbestos, remember that you need to keep the area soaking wet, because once it dries & turns to dust, it can easily be inhaled. Make sure children & pets stay out of this room until the whole room is completely cleaned (ceiling to floor) & there is no possibility of dust! Also, use caution when cleaning out your vacuum cleaner!

By

Deeli

There are many helpful answers in the ThriftyFun archives below :-)

Can you scrape off popcorn from a ceiling?

Can anyone tell me an easy, or at least fairly easy, way to "un-popcorn" my ceiling? I want to take all the popcorn stuff down and paint it.