Removing wallpaper...

[maxwill129]

Hi. I'm trying to remove wallpaper from 3 of my rooms. I've been using a vinager/hot water mix, spraying it on the wallpaper, letting it sit, spraying again, then taking a putty knife and scraping it off. It's messy (which is no big deal) but extremely time consuming. I'm only getting little bits off at a time, plus you can see the sheetrock underneath because I'm scraping the heck out of the spackling. Any suggestions?

Oh, and I just read that the glue used to hold up wallpaper has pesticides in it! Do you think it's safe to do this with my kids home?

Shannon

[hubris]

Using a steamer might help.

Are you perforating the paper before spraying it down? I bought a little gadget that you roll over the wallpaper and it cuts tiny holes all over it. It was well worth it, it made the job go much faster. Instead of spraying the paper, I used a sponge and saturated it. Most of the time I was able to soak the glue underneath enough that I didn't have to scrape.

[julesinottawa]

I've done it exactly as you described (with just hot water, no vinegar) but never had any difficulty. Is your water hot enough and is the paper really wet? I used a sponge and really wet the stuff and with the scraper it would just peel off in huge chunks. Actually, now that I think about it, I think I usually try to peel off the top paper part just with my fingers and then use the hot wet sponge on the underlying paper which goes directly to the glue. Anyway, I think the key is really getting the glue really wet.

[Kiltie Girl]

Try using a liquid fabric softner mixed with warm water. High concentration of fabric softner. We did this and sprayed it on the wall, let it sit for about 2-4 minutes and the wallpaper just fell off. And this was on 50 year old wallpaper.

[weebitty2]

ita w/ the fabric softener .. or steam. i think home depot will rent you a steamer for like $20 (although they're only like $30 if you buy it outright - and they're useful for other things too), although those carpet steamers work too - it makes the job SO much faster!

[maxwill129]

Thanks everyone! I'm going to try the steam thing or the fabric softener thing. Plus, I don't think my water was hot enough or I was getting the paper soaking wet. I actually haven't touched the wallpaper since I posted, so I think I'll give it another go tomorrow!

Shannon

[JLav]

I just finished removing wallpaper...so glad to be done. My husband peeled off the top paper layer...thinking that was all that needed to be done. To get the backing off and the glue I just used really hot water and a sponge. The hotter the water the better it worked...I wore rubber gloves and used a big sponge to wet the paper, let it sit for 10 minutes and then used a scraper to peel it off. It came down pretty easily but was still pretty tedious. I don't envy you having to do three rooms.
As for the safety of the glue...I wore gloves so my hands weren't touching it, but I don't really know that much about it. I kept everyone out of the room while I was doing it and and I made sure all traces of glue were washed off the walls.
I hope that you find something that works for you and this project goes by quickly!! Good luck!

[Bookworm]

I've removed tons of wallpaper of varying degrees of stickiness and different types, and I think the key is just to get it really, really, REALLY wet. I just use water.

[maxwill129]

Okay, I'm an idiot. I guess I wasn't using enough water or getting it hot enough, because once I did that the paper came off easily.

Thanks for the info. If I would have kept doing it my way it would take me months to get this done! Hopefully if I can just put a few hours the next couple of weekends I can get it done (and get rid of my very pink, floral wallpaper in my house!!!).

S.

[tilly2321]

Gadget wallpaper remover

Funshine,
can you tell us more about the gadget you bought that cuts holes in the paper? What is it called? Where did you buy it? Is it specifically for removing wallpaper?
Thanks,
Elle

[CJNeeley]

The ceiling in our bathroom had wallpaper, uggg. Steam, extremely hot water, and fabric softener all work really well. Fabric softener was too much trouble for me (even though it worked best and was most effortless) because it was the ceiling so the steamer really worked out better for me that so no fabric softener or water was dripping back down. Fabric softener has to sit for a few min (like 2-5) to really loosen the glue so that it comes off effortlessly, but even if you don't let it sit it help some. With the steamer you just steam and scrape/peel as you go, not hard either.

tilly2321>> I'm obviously not funshine, but the gadget you are looking for is usually just called a scoring tool--PaperTiger, Wallwik, and Sabre Tooth are some namebrands/makers but there are cheaper off label ones too--and any home improvement store should have one so it ought to be easy enough to find. But if you can get at a corner and just peel off the top paper it's easier (IMO), cheaper, and exposes the whole surface instead of just allowing access through millions of tiny holes so it actually works even better. But if you can't get the top layer off they are pretty useful, otherwise it's just a matter of personal preference (ie. would you rather peel the top paper or rub the walls with a palm full of plastic, both are quick and easy processes).

[maxwill129]

Originally Posted by CJNeeley

The ceiling in our bathroom had wallpaper, uggg.

The ceiling?! Okay, I'm done stripping wallpaper for the night, but when I start up again tomorrow I will remember what a pain in the a@# the ceiling must have been for you and peel my paper off with a smile (because I have NOTHING to complain about- at least my paper's on the walls!).

S.

[its_our_family]

I used vinegar/water too. However, the BEST thing I have ever used to scrape wallpaper was a cd. I found on ethat we didn't want (a bad copied one) and used it. The cd flexes a decent amount, but can still break, and it glides along dryway or whatever else you are scraping.

My mom used the same process in their house and it worked great as well

[CJNeeley]

Originally Posted by maxwill129

The ceiling?! Okay, I'm done stripping wallpaper for the night, but when I start up again tomorrow I will remember what a pain in the a@# the ceiling must have been for you and peel my paper off with a smile (because I have NOTHING to complain about- at least my paper's on the walls!).

S.

Yes, it being the ceiling was bad enough but since it was the bathroom the sink/toliet and such were in the way so it was hard to get at. And I put it off for a long time because everyone kept saying things like 'you might be afraid to see what's underneath, she may have wallpapered the ceiling to hide something' but it turned out the ceiling was fine and she just decided the wallpaper would look better on the ceiling than the walls for some reason (as they had none!). But the good news is it really worked great with the steamer so effortless the only thing I had to watch for was if I held the nozzle to close to the ceiling the force would literally blow flakes of the paper off which meant they'd sprinkle down on me. But it really was easy peasy, and will be even easier for you.

its_our_family>> I LOVE the cd idea (we have tons of useless aol ones that come in the mail) scrapers have a flat edge which means two corners and the cd is curved so you can't inadvertantly gouge the way if you lack coordination!

[alsoSarah]

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[maxwill129]

Two months later...

I am *still* peeling wallpaper off! :LOL

Shannon