how can I safely attic insulation from kitchen counter
Most people are going to grab bags/boxes and just clean it up and throw it away. Is that the right approach, no.

First - what year was your house built? What kind(s) of debris is on the counter?

Second - By and alone itself, "a storm" shouldn't be enough to cause a ceiling to fall in. This implies you have a bad roof, or a window open, or other issues in the home where water is likely getting to places it does not belong. Not to mention, once you clean up the mess, if you have not repaired the hole in the ceiling, the "things" that fell from the ceiling that are concerning you are still present in the ceiling area and as air moves in the home, it is "taking flight" in the air. So ideally you need to cleanup and patch or seal off the hole.

So with this said, you should call a contractor and get them in there, as unless you are going to repair the ceiling, you need one anyways, and one to inspect what caused the damage.

Standard disclaimer as I do not know if you have asbestos in the home, and it is one of the reasons I ask the questions above and you decide you still want to address the issue without professional quote:


Wear gloves, and long sleeve shirt with sleeves tucked into the gloves, and long pants, everything tucked in.
Wear a face mask, Sure painter masks are better than nothing but a respirator is the right apparatus
Use thick plastic bag like a contractor bag and take care to not toss nails or sharp object in the bag tearing it
Take your time, to avoid creating more dust, place the items in the bag, to avoid creating more dust. Once all major debris and debris you picked up with your hands is taken care of, you can spray a paper towel with water/windex lightly, and begin wiping down surfaces, throwing the paper towels into the bag every few wipes. You're doing this to get fibers and smaller particles picked up.


I'm assuming you have fiberglass or cellulose based insulation, these aren't going to cause any significant issues from a one time exposure aside from skin irritation, yet you still do not want to breathe it in.

Definitely get a contractor in to inspect the cause of the damage and repair it. If you are at all concerned, I would close off the kitchen area until it is repaired.