Wallpaper Removal

[DIAMOND*QUEST]

Anybody ever taken off wallpaper? What did you use?

 

[dani13]

My mother, who used to hang wallpaper years ago (and I helped her quite a bit)

used to use a mix of fabric softener and water in a spray bottle, spray it on paper, let it sit for 15 mins, then use a scraper to scrape it off...it should come off easily.

You can also go to your local paint store and buy some kind of stripper...

 

[DIAMOND*QUEST]

Thanks Dani. I was hoping for some easy spray stuff and it would just fall off on it''s own. lol We have a major project ahead. Anybody else have any tricks?

 

[dani13]

Oh, yes, wallpaper removal is such a lovely thing. I have vivid memories of spraying that concoction on the walls and my arm getting so tired from all the scraping my mom made me do!!! Slave labor, I tell you !!!!!!!

 

[Christa]

You can rent a steamer if you have a big/tough job, or just go to Home Depot and buy the stuff in the spray bottle and the little tool that goes with it. It's a rotary cutter thing that scores the paper so that the solution can get underneath. That worked fine for me the only time I had to do it.

 

[monarch64]

I definitely agree that using the scorer tool and the spray will be a big help. When we moved into our house, I had to take down a wide border in the second bedroom (it was a nursery--big ol'' bunny rabbits--cute, but we don''t have kids yet), and I used the spray stuff and the scorer. The toughest part of the job was scraping off all the gluey stuff. I used some sort of plastic scraping device for that, along with my fingernails (uh, I don''t recommend that, though, if you have a nice manicure

). If you have a whole room of wallpaper you might want to look into paying someone else to do it for you...it''s quite time-consuming!

 

[Lorelei]

Rent a steamer or buy one! We have our own steamer and we live in an old house which has had layers of ancient paper piled up on the walls, the steamer made it''s removal relatively easy.

 

[Efe]

I hear that just regular fabric softener in a spray bottle combined with the scorer tool also works.

 

[Patsmom]

Wallpaper.....yuk!. I have stripped my fair share of wallpaper in my present vacation house and I told my husband that I would not buy another house that had wallpaper, LOL.

There are numerous ways to approach this depending on how the wallpaper was originally put up ie was it sized, was additional paste used, are there layers. I have used everything from a steamer, which I did purchase from Home Depot and it a lifesaver, although this method is the messiest, to the liquid in the bottle, also purchased at Home Depot called DIF. You can buy the mix or the spray bottle. You score the wall (be very careful because I actually scored too hard and scored the plasterboard below being too aggressive) and then spray the DIF on the wall and wait 10 minutes or so and then start scraping. It should come off easily, if not spray more and wait again. It is really not worth getting small pieces at a time when patience will get you bigger pieces. You will most likely only get the decorative layer of the paper and will still need to be the paper backing, which is very easy. For this I have a squirt bottle with just hot water, wet the paper, and wait a minute or two and it will literally peel off. That part is easy.

I would try the DIF first because the steamer does make a bit of a mess, espeically if you have rugs below. The steams creates a lot of water from the steam and everything gets soaked. I am currently stripping a wall now in my full time home and because we put the wallpaper up years ago and it was properly installed, I am using only hot water in a bottle and it is coming right off. It basically all has to do with the amount of layers, if there are any, and how the originally installation was done.

I hope this helps.......when I am done, I am done forever....I never want to see wallpaper again!

 

[DIAMOND*QUEST]

Thanks everybody. I knew I was in for it, but I can no longer take the fruit on my kitchen walls. lol I also have 3 bathrooms to do as well. Thank goodness my hubby has offered to do it, but we will see how long he lasts. I have also heard that you can paint kilz over the wallpaper and then paint, but I plan to sell this house in a couple of years and want to do it the right way.

 

[diane5006]

Hi you have a fun task ahead

...

I have found that the score, spray (read get really wet) with either DIF of fabric softener, then scrape...for the bathrooms you can score (they make a tool for it called Tiger claw or something) crank up the hot shower close the door then scrape...

Actually the easiest way to do it is to hire someone

...you might want to think about at least getting some estimates for painting and WP removal...then think about how much time it will really take you to do it yourself...

I have done it both ways...and having someone else do it...ends up being cheaper in the long run

Best of Luck