Monday, January 19, 2009

Greasy Kitchen Ceiling

I have a pretty tough eye when it comes to houses. I've seen a lot of disgusting stuff in my day, and I like to think that I'm able to look past it. Indeed, I can tour at a home with caved ceilings, dead animals, frozen puke and yanked pipes, and STILL squeal with glee at a buffet or stained-glass transom... you see, I am an optimist.

And I like to transform things.

However, I am here to tell you that new house 1.0 (aka the next-door house) was NASTY... even to me.

NASTY. NASTY. NASTY.

I'll spare you photographic documentation of the worst. It's really too gross for mass consumption. (Let's just say it involves excrement.)

However, I will show you the ceiling which I had to wash this afternoon, prior to painting:



(Unlike your average slumlord, I DO wash before I paint. That way my paint will actually stick!)

But never fear, this too shall be rectified.

And this house will become sweet even if I have to carry a barf bag along as I work on it.

7 comments:

Margaret said...

Tell us O Ranty, what do you use to clean such a disgusting greasy ceiling? Ammonia? Bleach? Some secret potion? Kitchen ceilings and cabinets do get an amazing amount of grease on them. When my neighbor ripped out his old cabinets (circa 1950s) He built a bonfire in the back yard with them. Big mistake. With all that embedded grease, they smoked and shot flames 20 feet in the air!

Ranty said...

Well bleach would be best for sure, but here's the thing - I haven't perfected my ceiling-scrubbing style yet such that I can avoid drips in the eye. Bleach in the eye is no fun.

As such, I start with super-hot water, and then transition to a spray cleaner (which I avoid spraying directly above my head, where possible!) and today that cleaner was Formula 409. It worked fine, as I'm sure others would too. I just buy what's on sale. :-)

LOL @ the bonfire - that is HILARIOUS!

Johnny Northside said...

FOR GOODNESS SAKES!!! Wear your SAFETY GOOGLES AT ALL TIMES!!!!

For example, check out the pictures I took of Kip Browne at the contentious JACC press conference. What do you notice? Yes, his glasses appear to be small, stylish SAFETY GOOGLES.

There's really no time or place which isn't right for APPROVED, CERTIFIED EYE PROTECTION.

Anonymous said...

Ranty, you are a brave woman! I'll come help you clean asome time....

Anonymous said...

For future reference, a strong solution of vinegar and hot water works well. Spray on, wipe off.

Christopher Busta-Peck said...

Ugh. I am truly sympathetic. This ranks among the top five most disgusting housblogs posts I've ever read. I say this having just moved out of an apartment where the exhaust fan was so caked with grease inside that it would drip grease down onto the stove.

kitchen ceiling said...

Kitchen ceilings are often the trickiest part of a house to repaint. It's not so much that they are a little clunky to access, but that they are often covered with a thin layer of oily grime that will prevent new paint from adhering. Before slapping a coat of paint over that dingy gray ceiling in the kitchen, it will need to be properly cleaned and prepped. This is just one of the tough things I've learned about kitchen ceiling that we need to consider if we are to clean those greasy sticking filth of our kitchen ceiling. I'm glad to learn something new regarding this related topic through your blogs.More power.