How Do I Clean a Ceiling With a Popcorn Finish?
Spray-on popcorn texturing is so delicate that it’s notorious for falling off ceilings on its own at unexpected, inconvenient moments. While the texturing is attractive--as long as it stays where it belongs--the downside of its delicacy is that you simply cannot scrub a popcorn ceiling without removing the popcorn coating itself. This makes cleaning a popcorn ceiling an exercise in prevention, quick action to hit stains or soil immediately when they’re still easiest to remove, and finesse. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Vacuum with wand attachment
- Soft-bristled nylon brush
- Gentle all-purpose cleaner
- Sponge
- Dry cloth
- Touch-up paint
Instructions
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Disconnect the vacuum hose from the brush roller and attach a wand extension. Turn the vacuum on.
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Pass the wand extension carefully over the surface of the popcorn ceiling, just barely avoiding actual contact with the delicate texturing. If you have a relatively soft (long-bristled) upholstery brush attachment you can add this to the end of the wand and use it to very lightly brush any surface debris loose from the texturing as you vacuum. If you don’t have a brush attachment, use a soft-bristled nylon brush to delicately whisk the ceiling after vacuuming with the wand, then vacuum once more.
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Spray any remaining stains lightly with a gentle all-purpose cleaner and daub delicately with a sponge. Follow up, still daubing very carefully, with a dry cloth.
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Apply touch-up paint to cover any remaining stains. Since the popcorn texturing is so very delicate and scrubbing is not an option, this is the only way to conceal anything that cannot be daubed off.
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