How To Remove Popcorn Ceiling

If you’ve grown tired of your spray-on ceiling, then maybe it’s time for you to learn how to remove popcorn ceiling texture. It’s a technique that requires care, so you must read carefully before beginning. Otherwise, you may end up with damage that will require professional assistance. But if you are careful, you can learn how to remove popcorn ceiling yourself.

Before starting, you should find out if your ceiling texture contains the carcinogen asbestos. If it does, removing it yourself could be very dangerous, as you might inadvertently release this toxin into your home. Not to mention, there are many legal barriers when it comes to how you handle the substance. You could not only end up with a health hazard on your hands, you could end up in legal trouble to boot.

It’s impossible to know if you’ve got asbestos in your popcorn ceiling texture without a lab test, but if your ceiling was made before 1970, there is a chance the carcinogen is present. A lab test won’t be that expensive, and it’s definitely worth the cost. Just look online or in the Yellow Pages for a lab that can do the test for you.

If you discover asbestos is in your ceiling, it’s strongly recommended to have a professional come in and remove it for you. They will know how to contain it and ensure it won’t spread during the removal process.

If you are ready to proceed with the removal job, follow the instructions below:

    What You’ll Need:

  • 6 -mil polyethylene sheets (enough to cover the floor)
  • 3-mil polyethylene sheets (enough to cover the walls)
  • Tank sprayer (2 or 3 gallons)
  • Liquid washing detergent
  • Putty knife
  • Spray bottle
  • Clean rags


1.Remove all furniture from the room you’ll be working in. Cover the floor with the 6-mil polyethylene sheets, and hang the 3-mil sheets from the wall. The sheets hanging from the wall should be about an inch below the ceiling, and attached very lightly with duct tape.

2.Perform a “wetness” test on the popcorn ceiling. Fill a spray bottle with water, and put in a tablespoon of detergent. Spray a few square inches of the ceiling with the spray bottle, and wait for 20 minutes. Reapply water a few times during the 20 minutes, and then scrape off this material using the putty knife. Examine the popcorn material for wetness. If it is not thoroughly wet, try repeating the spraying process. If after several more attempts, you are not able to get it wet enough, then don’t continue with this project, as it will require professional help.

3.If all went well with the wetness test, fill your water sprayer with water, and an appropriate amount of detergent (it should be about an equal ratio to what you used in your water bottle). Wet the entire ceiling using the water sprayer. As before, apply several times, wait 20 minutes, and test for wetness. If the texture is wet, continue with these steps to learn how to remove popcorn ceiling.

4.Scrape the popcorn ceiling texture off with the putty knife, allowing it to fall onto the protective sheets. If any residue remains, remove it by wiping with the clean rags.

5.Wipe down the exposed part of the wall (the one inch not covered by the plastic sheets) with a clean rag. Gather up the plastic sheets, and throw away.

Now that you know how to remove popcorn ceiling, you have the freedom to add tiles, panels, or whatever you’d like. Once again, these instructions are not meant to be used if you have asbestos in your ceiling. Before undertaking the job, have your ceiling tested, and call a professional if it tests positive for asbestos.