A safe wallpaper remover?

[streuselmama]

We need to remove some OLD wallpaper, and I'm not sure how to do it without using that chemical solvent available at places like home depot. I'm not sure how old the paper is, but it certainly doesn't just strip off - it's really stuck on there. Any suggestions? Thanks very much!

[oldgirl,newtricks]

I grew up in lots of old houses. If the paper has a vinyl coating, you'll have to pull that off, but it sounds like it's the old traditional paper. If so, you don't need any solvent. I've never used solvent except for this really new glue stuff. I always sprayed with warm water and once it was soaked well, scraped off with a wide putty knife. You can add some vinegar to the water to help cut the wallpaper paste. I prefer not to score the paper, so that it will scrape up in bigger pieces, but the secret is to get it soaked. Some places rent steamers for this purpose. Basically works like an iron only it covers a larger surface. See if you know what type of wall you have. If it's drywall, you want it soaked long enough to get the paper up, but not to soak into the drywall. If it's plaster, it can take more moisture. Once the paper is off, you still may have to do quite a bit of wall washing if a produce called sizing was used. That helped the wallpaper grip the wall. Feels kinds of grainy.

Good luck and lots of elbow grease.

[Wild Flowers]

I know it is still chemicals, but fabric softner works really well also, like downy It has something to do with the surface tension of water or something like that. My dh would give you the technical reason it works, all I know is that it does work. Be careful about soaking the wall though. It really depends on where you are and the condition of the walls. We were in Southeast GA and our drywall wanted to fall apart if you looked at it. So work slowly and see what your drywall can handle. After trying a wall in our bathroom, with extra humidity, we decied to prime and paint the wallpaper because the walls were just falling apart...

[Kerlowyn]

I just bought a house with old wallpaper. I rented an industrial steam wallpaper remover, it was worth it! The paper came off effortlessly, just melted off the walls.

I tried every, I mean everything Home Depot had to offer. It was a waste of money. The steamer was the way to go.

I borrowed my SIL Wagner steamer, to see if it works as good as the rented one. I'll let you know as soon as I begin the dining room, later this month!