This was a frustrating solution to figure out. I'm sharing it in hopes it will help someone. About a year ago we bought an older home that had popcorn ceilings throughout. I didn't notice until after moving in that there was dust stuck to every one of those stupid ridges; dust and years of what appeared to be cobwebs.
I first tried a regular duster. I didn't get much off there but I did get a mouthful of popcorn and a heck of a mess on the floor I do not recommend trying that method.
Second, I used duct tape to secure a swifter duster to a broom stick, again big mess in the floor, little (if any) dust removed from ceiling and little pieces of swifter duster stuck to the ridges in addition to the dust.
Ok, so this was beginning to drive me crazy. Over several months, I tried loads of different methods, failing each time until I decided I'd try one last thing before breaking down and scraping it smooth and painting.
So the solution is: Duct tape wrapped around a paint roller (wrong side out obviously). This worked like a charm!
It's easy, cheap and effective. I highly recommend trying it. You'll be happy knowing you finally cleaned the ceiling.
By Dana from Katy, Texas
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This was exactly the kind of info I was looking for! I made a mess in my kitchen on the ceiling with a broom trying to get a cobweb down out of one corner with my broom. What a mess! Thank you so much for this great idea! ;-) Thumbs up!
Word of caution when cleaning popcorn ceilings wear protective glasses. We lived in a house for 25 years with popcorn ceilings. When first cleaning them I ended up at the doctor's with a speck of "popcorn" in my eye.
Really good idea, Dana! As another poster mentioned please wear goggles/glasses and also keep in mind that asbestos (can cause lung cancer) is in all popcorn ceilings prior to 1978 and many, many, many that were installed prior to 1990 so be sure to wear a mask too!
Great idea- gonna try it. By the way, I'm from Sealy, TX.
The method I have used is to put the duster tool on my vacuum cleaner wand and run it over the ceiling, vacuuming any dust, webs and bits that come loose. The roller method sounds better. After we bought our own home last year, though, we did away with the popcorn and had a knock back finish done. Love it.
I am contracted to clean sound barriers above office cubicles and we tried everything ... except for this! I will give this a whirl on Sunday.
That tape and paint roller trick worked like a charm. Thank you
Just recently bought a older home, popcorn (stuko) throughout, even in kitchen, greasy cob webs, made a bigger mess with all I've tried! Thank you for this great idea. Will let you know how it turns out! Thanks again
Wow grest idea I'm going to try it .
Thanks D.
Great idea, I'm going to try this!
Thank you!
Thanks
Anyone have thoughts about using a paint roller dipped and rung out well with a mild cleaner? We have a two story home with vault ceilings and the popcorn ceiling in the dining room and living room need to be cleaned.
Hi Dana, Thanks for the tip. I've tried it. The problem is, after rolling the roller a couple of times over an area of five feet long, the tape becomes full of scattered small grains, and I need to replace the tape again. I repeated the action many times in the same area, but never managed to do a "clean run" in the end. Did a small area for a whole afternoon, but dust and flakes are still falling every day. Perhaps I wasn't patient enough. Wondering if you and those who succeeded also needed to do many runs in the same area? Thanks, Robin
goodness, thank you for going through all those failed attemps so I didn't have to! Lol. I absolutely hate my ceilings. I have been looking at the dust hanging form every little spike for so long now, and it is driving me crazy! I just had no idea how to clean it without all of the "popcorn" coming off.
I used a leaf blower on my popcorn ceiling and it worked beautifully.
Test the wind strength first and adjust to a reasonable amount of wind.
It removed all the dust and cobwebs.
You will have to vacuum up afterwards but it wasn't too bad at all.
For a more thorough clean I would recommend professional cleaners.
I do this every 5 years.
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