diff --git a/openmc/geometry.py b/openmc/geometry.py
index 379a2bb4e0..3b69333625 100644
--- a/openmc/geometry.py
+++ b/openmc/geometry.py
@@ -37,7 +37,6 @@ class Geometry:
     def __init__(self, root=None):
         self._root_universe = None
         self._offsets = {}
-        self._redundant_surface_map = None
         self.merge_surfaces = False
         self.surface_precision = 10
         if root is not None:
@@ -430,38 +429,6 @@ class Geometry:
                 surfaces = cell.region.get_surfaces(surfaces)
         return surfaces
 
-    def get_redundant_surfaces(self):
-        """Return all of the topologically redundant surface IDs.
-
-        Uses surface_precision attribute of Geometry instance for rounding and
-        comparing surface coefficients.
-
-        .. versionadded:: 0.12
-
-        Returns
-        -------
-        dict
-            Dictionary whose keys are the ID of a redundant surface and whose
-            values are the topologically equivalent :class:`openmc.Surface`
-            that should replace it.
-
-        """
-        # check if redundant surfaces have not been calculated yet
-        if self._redundant_surface_map is None:
-            redundancies = defaultdict(list)
-            for surf in self.get_all_surfaces().values():
-                coeffs = tuple(round(surf._coefficients[k],
-                                     self.surface_precision)
-                               for k in surf._coeff_keys)
-                key = (surf._type,) + coeffs
-                redundancies[key].append(surf)
-
-            self._redundant_surface_map = {replace.id: keep
-                                           for keep, *redundant in redundancies.values()
-                                           for replace in redundant}
-
-        return self._redundant_surface_map
-
     def _get_domains_by_name(self, name, case_sensitive, matching, domain_type):
         if not case_sensitive:
             name = name.lower()
@@ -609,10 +576,33 @@ class Geometry:
         return self._get_domains_by_name(name, case_sensitive, matching, 'lattice')
 
     def remove_redundant_surfaces(self):
-        """Remove redundant surfaces from the geometry."""
+        """Remove and return all of the redundant surfaces.
 
+        Uses surface_precision attribute of Geometry instance for rounding and
+        comparing surface coefficients.
+
+        .. versionadded:: 0.12
+
+        Returns
+        -------
+        redundant_surfaces
+            Dictionary whose keys are the ID of a redundant surface and whose
+            values are the topologically equivalent :class:`openmc.Surface`
+            that should replace it.
+
+        """
         # Get redundant surfaces
-        redundant_surfaces = self.get_redundant_surfaces()
+        redundancies = defaultdict(list)
+        for surf in self.get_all_surfaces().values():
+            coeffs = tuple(round(surf._coefficients[k],
+                                 self.surface_precision)
+                           for k in surf._coeff_keys)
+            key = (surf._type,) + coeffs
+            redundancies[key].append(surf)
+
+        redundant_surfaces = {replace.id: keep
+                              for keep, *redundant in redundancies.values()
+                              for replace in redundant}
 
         if redundant_surfaces:
             # Iterate through all cells contained in the geometry
@@ -621,7 +611,7 @@ class Geometry:
                 if cell.region:
                     cell.region.remove_redundant_surfaces(redundant_surfaces)
 
-        self._redundant_surface_map = None
+        return redundant_surfaces
 
     def determine_paths(self, instances_only=False):
         """Determine paths through CSG tree for cells and materials.
diff --git a/openmc/model/model.py b/openmc/model/model.py
index 7126987cbf..98136b2d59 100644
--- a/openmc/model/model.py
+++ b/openmc/model/model.py
@@ -422,6 +422,9 @@ class Model:
             warnings.warn("remove_surfs kwarg will be deprecated soon, please "
                           "set the Geometry.merge_surfaces attribute instead.")
             self.geometry.merge_surfaces = True
+            # Can be used to modify tallies in case any surfaces are redundant
+            redundant_surfaces = self.geometry.remove_redundant_surfaces()
+
         self.geometry.export_to_xml(d)
 
         # If a materials collection was specified, export it. Otherwise, look
diff --git a/tests/unit_tests/test_geometry.py b/tests/unit_tests/test_geometry.py
index 6a092126ed..9db112fd29 100644
--- a/tests/unit_tests/test_geometry.py
+++ b/tests/unit_tests/test_geometry.py
@@ -302,7 +302,7 @@ def test_rotation_matrix():
     assert geom.find((0.0, -0.5, 0.0))[-1] == c1
     assert geom.find((0.0, -1.5, 0.0))[-1] == c2
 
-def test_remove_redundant_surfaces(run_in_tmpdir):
+def test_remove_redundant_surfaces():
     """Test ability to remove redundant surfaces"""
 
     m1 = openmc.Material()
@@ -344,11 +344,8 @@ def test_remove_redundant_surfaces(run_in_tmpdir):
                                materials=openmc.Materials([m1, m2, m3]))
 
     # There should be 6 redundant surfaces in this geometry
-    n_redundant_surfs = len(geom.get_redundant_surfaces().keys())
+    n_redundant_surfs = len(geom.remove_redundant_surfaces().keys())
     assert n_redundant_surfs == 6
-    # Remove redundant surfaces on export
-    model.export_to_xml()
-    geom = openmc.Geometry.from_xml()
     # There should be 0 remaining redundant surfaces
-    n_redundant_surfs = len(geom.get_redundant_surfaces().keys())
+    n_redundant_surfs = len(geom.remove_redundant_surfaces().keys())
     assert n_redundant_surfs == 0