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How To {Easily} Clean Dropped Ceiling Lighting Cover Panels

How to easily clean dropped ceiling lighting cover panels.
My post today is a tip for an easier way of cleaning, which I discovered while scouring my house to get it ready for showings (it has been on the housing market and needs to look sparkling clean). 
 
In the past, I have really disliked this style of light fixture, because they seem to get really really dirty (especially in the kitchen where there is always grease even though I hardly ever cook with it) and there is rarely a time that there aren’t dead bugs just chillin’ on the panels…I know,gross! 
 
I had deemed them too hard to clean, so I usually just vacuumed off the dead bugs and did my best to clean them by spraying them and wiping them down.  But, here’s what I did this time around and it turned out to be the best way (and had the best results) so far.

*Hey there, thanks for stopping by my website. This article is super old, so it has been archived as I no longer update it…so proceed if you wish…but it is definitely not my best work. Please stop by my home page, here, and see some of my better content. Thanks! ~Sarah*

*I’ve got more life-changing cleaning tips for you down at the bottom, so keep on reading!*
 
 
  1. Gently take out all of the panels and place them in your bathtub to soak. The panels can be stacked on top of each other just make sure that the water can get in between them. 
  2. Fill the bathtub with warm water until it is completely covering them and then add a generous amount of Original Dawn Dish Soap or Dr Bronners Sal SudsI recommend these two products because they really cut grease.
  3. Let it soak for a minimum of 5-10 minutes.
  4. Take a scrub brush to each individual panel.
  5. The Dawn/Sal Suds should have loosened enough gunk that it makes it pretty simple to gently scrub down each side and everything should pretty much just fall right off.
  6. Rinse and towel dry them and enjoy your finally clean light covers! 

The actual cleaning part of this really only takes about a minute or so per panel. Letting the soap loosen up all the crud on them really makes it easy!

Which means…that I don’t hate cleaning them anymore, Yay! Please make sure to share this post with anyone that could use the info. Thank You!~Sarah

 
*The main picture is an after shot from my old camera so I’m sorry it’s not the best I can do, but it’s the best I could back then. We haven’t lived in a house with this style of lighting in over three years or else I would re-shoot it and add some pictures of the process. I may have someone lined up that will let me clean theirs for them next week, so fingers crossed and then I will make this post look even better. Oh, and this post got a little make-over today, 08/12/16.
 
 
 Some of my other cleaning posts that you may also like (the pictures are links):
 
How to make your slow cooker clean itself! Never spend more than thirty seconds scrubbing your slow cooker ever again! Plus, it removes any funky lingering tastes or smells.

CopyCat "Lemi Shine" Dishwasher Cleaner Recipe. Save lots of money by making this knock off recipe at home.

 
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Or you can check out my entire cleaning section, found here.

* Please note that this post was originally shared to this website on June 15th 2013, and has since been updated to improve user experience and remain relevant.