How to Make Wallpaper Paste From Starch

Long before commercial wallpaper paste was available, homeowners mixed up their own concoction to paste wallpaper on their living room walls. While some of those amateur interior decorators used a simple mixture of flour and water, others found that a recipe using starch worked well. Low-cost starch is a natural adhesive. The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture says adhesives based on starch comprise about 60 percent of the natural adhesives available. Use it to whip up your next batch of wallpaper paste.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Starch
• Water
• Large Bowl
• Large Spoon
• Glycerin
• Cover for bowl
• Large paint brush

1. Buy the cheapest starch you can find. Either the liquid or the suspended kind is fine. Be prepared, however, for your local grocery store to have only one kind and brand of starch. Most people today use the spray variety for ironing rather than mixing their starch for each use.

2. Mix one part of the starch with one part tap water in a large bowl. This mixture of starch and water is called a slurry. Use a large spoon to thoroughly mix the slurry.

3. Measure four parts tap water into a large saucepan. Turn the burner on high, and bring the water to a boil. Once you have a high boil, turn off the heat and remove the water from the stove.

4. Pour the starch slurry into the hot water. You should do this immediately, while the water is still very hot. Stir the mixture continuously for about a minute. Stir in a dash of glycerin, a colorless liquid often found in pharmaceutical products. Continue stirring to incorporate the glycerin. This will keep your new wallpaper paste flexible as it is drying.

5. Cover the mixture, and let it cool completely before using.

6. Apply the starch mixture to the back of your wallpaper with a wide paintbrush and hang immediately.

Tips & Warnings

• Look for glycerin at drugstores and some superstores. You can store your homemade wallpaper paste overnight. It may solidify, but you can bring it back to a paste-like mixture by adding tiny amounts of hot water and stirring.
• Many insects, such as silverfish and firebrats, love to eat starch. Starch is found in commercial as well as homemade wallpaper paste, so be on the lookout for these tiny creatures if you have a pest problem in your home.

References

• Cornell University
• State of Alaska, Division of Environmental Health