How to wash whitewash from the ceiling

Have you decided to repair your home? Then you should start by removing the old ceiling and wall finishes. Previously, chalk and limestone were used as ceiling finishes. In the article we will explain how to wash the whitewash from the ceiling quickly and without dirt.

Much depends on how you intend to trim the ceiling. For example, if you need to paint the ceiling with paint or paste it with wallpaper, then the layer of lime or chalk must first be removed. Why? The fact is that in this way you can increase the strength of adhesion of the new finishing material to the ceiling surface.

Neither paint nor wallpaper will last for long on chalk or lime. In addition, stains may form on the whitewashed ceiling over time. If we are talking about the kitchen ceiling, then there may be fat and soot on it. Rusty stains may appear in the bathroom, due to the fact that the neighbors on the floor above are leaking sewage. And here masking does not help, because sooner or later the spots will again be felt.

You will also need to wash off the whitewash if mold has formed on the ceiling. It is difficult to get rid of it, often in order to achieve success in this matter, the surface should be cleaned to the ground and treated with special antifungal agents.

Note! Regardless of how you decided to make the ceiling - stretch or suspended, the mold should be eliminated. Otherwise, it will spread to the walls and will have to do repeated repairs!

Preparation for work

You can not start cleaning the ceiling without armed with all the necessary equipment and clothing. So, you will need:

• Water sprayer. So, you can speed up the process of moistening the ceiling.
• Construction glasses protect your eyes from dust and dirt.
• Putty knife. With it, you can remove from the ceiling wet and exfoliated whitewash.
• Respirator protect respiratory organs from dust.
• Scarf or cap protect hair from dust, dirt and chemical compounds.
• Rubber gloves protect hands from chemical compounds.
• Work clothes with long sleeves.
• Rags and sponge help soak whitewash.
• Polyethylene film protects the floor and furniture from debris.
• Ladder.

Before you start washing the whitewash you need to carry out the preparatory work. First, it is necessary to take out all the furniture and other household items in order to protect them from pollution. Secondly, the rest of the furniture, which cannot be removed, must be covered with foil or newspapers, which can be interconnected with ordinary scotch tape.

At the threshold of the room lay a damp rag. So, leaving the repaired premises, you can quickly clean shoes, which will prevent contamination of the entire house or apartment.

Note! You can buy an improved scraper with a container at the hardware store. So, the scraped-off whitewash will immediately fall into the container, which will prevent it from getting into the eyes or on the floor. Such a scraper speeds up the process of cleaning the ceiling from whitewashing.

Whitewash

For quick removal of whitewash from the ceiling, you can use ready-made solutions. For example, hard-to-remove oily stains can be removed with an alkaline solution. To do this, you need to dilute three tablespoons of soda ash in a bucket of warm water. So, you can wash off whitewash without dirt. In this case, apply the solution with a sponge. At 1 m² You will need to spend 1.5 liters of alkaline solution.

If your ceiling has a large amount of mold or rust, the surface should be treated with copper sulfate solution. Recently, antiseptics have been used more and more to improve processing results: this can be the usual “Whiteness” based on bleach. The tool penetrates deep into the coating and exfoliates the old layers of whitewash. After applying the bleach solution to the ceiling, you should wash it off with a weak acidic solution. And here 3% hydrochloric acid solution will work well. Wait a little so that the whitewash is soaked in solutions and swollen. Then remove it with a spatula or a metal brush.

Perhaps it is not necessary to moisten the entire ceiling with a solution at once, but rather to clean it gradually, in small sections. In order not to spread construction dirt around the house or apartment, you can use pallets that should be placed under the surface to be cleaned, a regular newspaper will help.

Note! If the old whitewash spreads on the spatula, then you too moistened the ceiling, and now it is better to wait for the moisture to be absorbed into the chalk. And on the contrary, if the old whitewash is dusty, then the ceiling needs additional moistening.

If you notice cracks when washing the ceiling, then widen them with a spatula so that you can later repair the ceiling with high quality. It is also worth noting that while you scrape the old whitewash at one site, the whitewash at another site during this time will just have time to soak. So, you can provide yourself with continuous work that will only speed up the process. Before you start repairing the ceiling, check the quality of the whitewash removal, for this, swipe your fingers on the ceiling surface with clean fingers. If there are no traces left on them, then the work has been carried out qualitatively. If there are any traces, then you need to wipe the ceiling with a damp sponge or cloth.

Innovative approach

In order to remove the whitewash from the ceiling, it is not necessary to use water. You can clean the surface without dirt. To do this, you need to smear the newspaper with glue, glue it to the ceiling and leave one edge unstuck. After waiting a little, tear the newspaper. The ceiling will be clean without excess dust and dirt! So, you can quickly get rid of the old whitewash! It is worth noting that the price of ordinary glue is quite acceptable. After that, it remains only to wash off the remnants of glue with a rag or sponge.

In the building stores sold special wash. She needs to process the ceiling, it can be done with a sprayer or spray gun. Whitewashing will turn into a crust. After it dries, you will need to clean it with a spatula, it will save you from dust. If you do not fully understand how to flush the ceiling, then you can view the video tutorial.

Maybe you know other ways, how to successfully and quickly cope with this task? Write us your comments!

Video

This is how the whitewash is washed off in the old-fashioned way: