Dangerous Mistakes To Avoid When Cleaning A Vaulted Ceiling

Vaulted ceilings are among the most beautiful features of home construction out there. They're what gives you that larger-than-life feeling and what makes a home feel spacious and breathable. However, while these painfully-high ceilings are majestic in every way, they can be an absolute terror to clean. No one on earth has "extendo-arms" long enough to swipe at the pesky cobwebs formed on the ceiling corners or to clean the dust on the wooden beams. In a bid to tidy up their vaulted ceilings, people make all sorts of dangerous mistakes such as not wearing protective gear and using ladders.

Because vaulted ceilings are way out of our arms' and eyes' reach, it's difficult to tell what may come down at us if we start poking around. You must have protective goggles that cover your eyes, because the last thing you want is to bring down a shower of particles that end up in your eye, causing irritation and inflammation. People with dust allergies should also secure face masks over their noses and mouths to filter out any falling debris as well. Furthermore, while ladders are great for other home-maintenance tasks, they're not efficient for cleaning vaulted ceilings. You would have to move the ladder around a million times to clean the entire surface of the ceiling and may also end up falling and hurting yourself.

To safely clean a vaulted ceiling, normal cleaning tools and ladders won't be useful. You'll need specialized instruments that will enable you to dust before vacuuming your ceiling while your feet are planted firmly on the floor. This means that you'll have to get to work putting together a DIY cleaning contraption. Because these ceilings can reach up to two dozen feet tall, you need something that can reach up there comfortably. Before you start to clean, make sure you have on all of your protective gear. Also turn off the ceiling fan if you have one to prevent it from obstructing your path during the cleaning process and blowing dust everywhere.

Once ready, you're going to need a lengthy PVC pipe, an extra-long vacuum hose, an extendable duster, duct tape, and a measuring tape. The latter will be used to measure how high your ceiling is if you don't already know. That information is going to come in handy when you go to purchase the PVC pipe, because it needs to be long enough to reach all the nooks and crannies in your vaulted ceiling. The extendable duster is perfect for loosening built-up dust along the ceiling's fixtures. Then, connect the vacuum hose to your vacuum and attach the hose to one end of the extra-long PVC pipe with duct tape. Next, easily track the ceiling and suck up all that dust. Finally, vacuum any fallen dust off of your floors.