# Silica in Popcorn Ceiling? - please help me be safe!



## Haus (Aug 22, 2017)

I am in the process of tearing down popcorn ceilings in a 1985 house (no asbestos according to every contractor I talked to). I am wearing a disposable N95 3M dust mask.

Today was the second day working, and I noticed my hands had tiny "sparkle" fragments on them. Once I focused my (slightly terrible) eyesight, I could see the little sparkly particles and wipe them off. I hosed myself down and took a shower to get rid of the "sparkles".

Were these "sparkle" fragments likely silica from the popcorn, sheetrock, or both? I am wetting the popcorn down but there is still a good amount of dust from scraping the sheetrock clean.

I am concerned to read about silicosis after I have already worked for about 12 hours. Did my N95 mask help at all? Should I be concerned at all?


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## ChuckTin (Nov 17, 2014)

Yes and no. Firstly you can get better masks. Secondly the water will keep the dust down at least somewhat. Finally unless you are unduly sensitive you'd have to wallow in the stuff, breath it and swallow it to have a concrete concern. By all means use care and shower throughly after, and avoid wearing dusty clothes as much as you can.

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## Haus (Aug 22, 2017)

ChuckTin said:


> Yes and no. Firstly you can get better masks. Secondly the water will keep the dust down at least somewhat. Finally unless you are unduly sensitive you'd have to wallow in the stuff, breath it and swallow it to have a concrete concern. By all means use care and shower throughly after, and avoid wearing dusty clothes as much as you can.
> 
> Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


Thanks. I guess I have developed a "dust anxiety". I have been spending hours researching my risks of being exposed to this dust from the popcorn ceiling. Granted I have only been working for 12 hours, and have about 12 more left until painting time, I am still concerned that the amount of dust I will be exposed to is going to harm me. 

A few last questions to help calm my nerves:

1. Was that sparkling dust silica? Or is there another material I should worry about?

2. Are the disposable 3m N95 masks blocking out anything harmful? I read people saying "they do nothing for silica particles", but logic tells me they must provide SOME protection. 

3. Everyone said there is no chance of Asbestos in a 1985 home, but I found rare occasions online where homes in the 80s did have asbestos. Should I be concerned since mine is 1985? And if it did, would 12-24 hours using the disposable mask put me at risk?

Thanks and sorry for the questions.


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## ChuckTin (Nov 17, 2014)

Asbestos is a worry some thing as is Silica. For a short time exposure, that you are discribing, it's doubtful you'll need more than a _good_ dust mask well sealed to your face. If you have a beard ... And asbestos is worry some if it's ground up and free floating. Neither fits your situation I'd say.
How many of us grew up in houses with lead paint (me), and asbestos (ditto), and popcorn ceiling (also), be safe and clean up after yourself. Chances are anxiety will shorten your life first.

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## Daniel Holzman (Mar 10, 2009)

Since you seem to be concerned about asbestos, I suggest you get the ceiling tested. There is absolutely no way a contractor, or anyone else, can state based on visual observation only whether a given product has asbestos in it, only microscopic analysis at a qualified laboratory can tell you for certain.


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

If I remember correctly asbestos was banned from residential use in the late 70's although existing stock was allowed to be used up. That makes it very unlikely that a late 80's house would have asbestos.

Generally asbestos [or silica] health problems are attributed to long term exposure.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

I never knew the sparkles were considered bad. I guess when I decide to take mine down, I'd better use a respirator and wet it down really well, using a 12" sheetrock knife, like I always do.


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## Haus (Aug 22, 2017)

Daniel Holzman said:


> Since you seem to be concerned about asbestos, I suggest you get the ceiling tested. There is absolutely no way a contractor, or anyone else, can state based on visual observation only whether a given product has asbestos in it, only microscopic analysis at a qualified laboratory can tell you for certain.


I agree. Unfortunately I'm almost done, all the popcorn is down after 16 hours of work, and I'm starting to prime and paint. So what is done is done. 

I did cover my entire place with plastic and sealed it up like a garbage bag, I am tearing down all of the plastic now to get rid of the dust and popcorn inside the plastic. I will be laying down new plastic before I paint to help catch any dust in the air during the painting time. I also plan to wet mop and dust EVERYTHING TWICE.

Assuming the rare chance my 1985 house did have asbestos, what is my risk from 16 hours of exposure wearing a disposable N95 mask?

Also, anyone know if that little sparkly stuff all over is indeed silica?

*I did get a respirator for work moving forward, but the first sixteen hours were done with the cheap disposable mask on.


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

For most folks a one time exposure causes no harm. There are a few people that are overly susceptible, I think the media plays to those fears. I wouldn't think twice about your previous exposure, especially if you take precautions if doing this type of work in the future.

I don't know a lot about silica other than it's in a lot of building products and again IMO is probably over hyped.


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## Sir MixAlot (Apr 4, 2008)

Haus said:


> Also, anyone know if that little sparkly stuff all over is indeed silica?


I think the sparkles you are seeing is gypsum. It's the same thing drywall and joint compound are made out of.:thumbsup:

I've been removing popcorn professionally for over 20 years and I'm fine. :smile:

The good thing is you were wearing a mask. Most people don't.:no:


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## Sir MixAlot (Apr 4, 2008)

chandler48 said:


> I never knew the sparkles were considered bad. I guess when I decide to take mine down, I'd better use a respirator and wet it down really well, using a 12" sheetrock knife, like I always do.


Not those kind of sparkles. :laughing:


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

Well, what the heck kind of sparkles are you talking about?


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## Haus (Aug 22, 2017)

Sir MixAlot said:


> I think the sparkles you are seeing is gypsum. It's the same thing drywall and joint compound are made out of.:thumbsup:
> 
> I've been removing popcorn professionally for over 20 years and I'm fine. :smile:
> 
> The good thing is you were wearing a mask. Most people don't.:no:


Thanks. I am overly anxious about "the unknown". Do you think the cheap disposable mask offered any protection during the first two days I worked?

If there was asbestos in a 1985 house, would it be as dangerous as the older homes?


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

The key is keeping it moist, or wet as you remove it. Otherwise, using a good mask is prudent. Don't eat it and don't dry it out and snort it. You should be OK.


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## Sir MixAlot (Apr 4, 2008)

Haus said:


> Thanks. I am overly anxious about "the unknown". Do you think the cheap disposable mask offered any protection during the first two days I worked?
> 
> If there was asbestos in a 1985 house, would it be as dangerous as the older homes?


You're fine. I don't wear a respirator when removing popcorn. I wear a 3M double strap sanding/particle mask.

No asbestos is in a 1985 home. You're good to go. :thumbup1:


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## Haus (Aug 22, 2017)

chandler48 said:


> The key is keeping it moist, or wet as you remove it. Otherwise, using a good mask is prudent. Don't eat it and don't dry it out and snort it. You should be OK.


No matter how moist you get it there will still be dust. The front side of the popcorn will fall wet, but you will need to scrape the dust and particles that are stuck to the sheetrock. I used my scraper to go over we area once or twice, which gave it a light sand and removed most of the dust from the sheetrock but sent dust flying all over the plastic in the room.

You will also get dust from the popcorn that didn't make it into your bag/trash and fell to the ground. It will crumble into dust as you step on it when it's dry. It's impossible to do this dustless, but by hanging up plastic you can contain some of the dust. 

I scraped into a dust pan and from there dumped it into a big tub. Once a room is complete, I sweep up the popcorn that fell on the floor, vac it up with a shop vac, and move on to the next room. Even after these steps you can still see the fine dust stuck to the plastic which will go up in the air if you disturb the plastic. Before I roll up my plastic to remove it all, I plan to spray water on the plastic to keep the dust down.

I'm sure I could have done this better but this is my first and last time ever doing this. I am happy to say that today I finished it all! Now for the back breaking vaulted ceiling painting.


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## Sir MixAlot (Apr 4, 2008)

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## Haus (Aug 22, 2017)

Great video. That's the mask I used for the first two days, now I'm wearing a respirator for the skim coat sanding process.


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## woodco (Jun 11, 2017)

Yeah. If theres dust coming down, you didnt soak it good enough. Sir Mixalots video is how to do it. I do it the same way, ( I use a much bigger tip though) and there is ZERO actual 'dust.' Its a mess, but its dust free. I use two layers of plastic on the floor. Scrape it off, roll up the first layer, and the second layer catches the stuff on your feet/ladder, whatever.

If you dont have a paint sprayer, and its a large room, I would bring in a garden hose, with an adjustable spray nozzle, so you can mist it good.

Side note, though: If the popcorn has been painted with semigloss, this wont work, and it will be dusty, and really hard to scrape.


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## Haus (Aug 22, 2017)

woodco said:


> Yeah. If theres dust coming down, you didnt soak it good enough. Sir Mixalots video is how to do it. I do it the same way, ( I use a much bigger tip though) and there is ZERO actual 'dust.' Its a mess, but its dust free. I use two layers of plastic on the floor. Scrape it off, roll up the first layer, and the second layer catches the stuff on your feet/ladder, whatever.
> 
> If you dont have a paint sprayer, and its a large room, I would bring in a garden hose, with an adjustable spray nozzle, so you can mist it good.
> 
> Side note, though: If the popcorn has been painted with semigloss, this wont work, and it will be dusty, and really hard to scrape.


I see. Mine wasn't painted, but I suppose I could have put more water on it. The biggest cause of dust was when the pieces fell to the floor and dried, then I stepped on them while skim coating. 

Today I will be spraying a light mist on the plastic floor to keep the dust down before I roll up all the plastic. I'm then going wet mop the floors and walls to get rid do any dust that made it outside of the plastic bubble. After I clean, I will re-lay all new plastic to get ready for whole house painting. 

Hopefully the way I did it wasn't the worst way (dust wise), but now I know to spray more water if I ever do this type of work again. I will say that I used probably half the water in that video, and my place was VERY HUMID. I don't know if I would have felt comfortable really soaking the ceiling anymore, as it could have caused moisture issues in my environment.


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## woodco (Jun 11, 2017)

A day or two of drywall dust isnt gonna hurt you. Its not good for you, by any means, but pro drywallers probably inhale more dust than that each and every week.


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

> If you dont have a paint sprayer, and its a large room, I would bring in a garden hose, with an adjustable spray nozzle, so you can mist it good


Personally I wouldn't use a garden hose - too easy to introduce too much water and cause damage. I generally use a pump up garden sprayer to wet the texture.


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## woodco (Jun 11, 2017)

Just gotta be careful...


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