How do you remove ceiling grease?

Removing built up ceiling grease can be a really tough job. Often, soap and water just doesn't do the trick and can even cause a bigger mess.

Here's an article related to removing ceiling grease.

Your situation: You are in charge of building maintenance and want to remove the grease from the ceiling of a hospital, restaurant or school kitchen. You would rather not replace the ceiling.

You may be forced to repaint the ceiling (See Clean or Replace? for more info.) to make it look nice but don't do it until you remove the grease. The greasy spots will show through after repainting. It's possible that you may not need to repaint though. If you do wind up repainting you may want to use a primer/sealer like Sherwin Williams for kitchens and baths.

If the grease on your ceiling is not too bad you may get away with using something that you may already have handy. You could try (in no particular order):

Orange Glo
Denatured alcohol from Home Depot
Awesome Degreaser
Castrol Purple Degreaser
Mean Green
Krud Kutter
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser
Soilax
Sugar Soap

For the really tough jobs you need something special. If there are layers of grease on your ceiling try using oven cleaner. You might think this is a little harsh, but in this case you need a strong cleaner. Don't leave it on too long! It's not necessary and could even be bad for the ceiling.

Tri-Sodium Phosphate (TSP) is another possibility for removing layered ceiling grease. It's also strong so be sure to use gloves.

Use eye protection and gloves for any of the products mentioned here, especially for the oven cleaner and TSP.

Removing built up ceiling grease can be a really tough job. If you are in charge of a building that includes a hospital, restaurant or school kitchen you may just want to consult with a ceiling cleaning service. Often the best solution is to hire someone who specializes in ceiling cleaning. Ceiling cleaners are starting to carve out their own little niche in the cleaning services field.

If you need help with your ceilings we are located in the Philadelphia area (New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware) but you can contact us from anywhere. We will either do it ourselves or recommend someone who can be trusted to do a good job.