Cleaning Your Ceiling

Dirty ceilings often harbor cobwebs, dead bugs, and other debris that not only make for a distasteful appearance but often result in general home decay and danger to the health of your eyes. There are two main tactics for cleaning your ceiling, both are rather simple but one takes fewer supplies.

For a quick, no-hassle job your best bet is the simpler tactic. For this tactic you will need a bucket, a mop, plastic garbage bags, goggles, hot clean water, and hot soapy water. Cut open large garbage bags and tape the edges together to create a protective covering for your carpet, linoleum, or hardwood floor that lies beneath the ceiling you intend on cleaning. Put on your goggles and if you would like, a baseball cap. Fill the bucket with hot soapy water (liquid dish soap is acceptable) and dip in your mop. Squeeze your mop to remove excess water and begin cleaning your ceiling.

If your ceiling is low enough you will not need a stepstool or ladder, but if you have vaulted ceilings you may need to acquire one. If you use a ladder, be sure to perform this task with a trusted friend at the base of the ladder for safety's sake. Choose the direction in which you will clean so that you avoid missing spots. When cleaning, press rather firmly against the ceiling to ensure that you are effectively cleaning the area. Once you have finished a small portion of the ceiling, rinse the mop in clean, hot water and wipe off the soap. Follow these steps for the remainder of the ceiling and let dry.

The more extensive method of cleaning your ceiling requires that you have a vacuum, broom, old shirts or soft rags, buckets, liquid bleach, sponges, and trisodium phosphate. All the items required for this method can be found at your local grocery store. Your first step is to use the tube attachments of the vacuum and move along the surface of your ceiling sucking away debris, dust, dead bugs, and cobwebs.

Once you have vacuumed your ceiling it is time to prepare your dusting device. Use your old shirts or soft rags and a broom to create your duster; when creating your duster, you will simply wrap the shirts around the broomstick with a rubber band or string. Dust along the edges and in the center of your ceiling to remove all dust fragments left behind from the vacuum. Now it is time to attach the sponge to the end of your broomstick. Sponge trisodium phosphate or bleach solution on the ceiling and allow drying. You will probably want to wear goggles and protect your floors with plastic or towels.