How to Remove Wall Paper Glue From the Wall
Removing wallpaper can be a dreadful task. It is often quite tricky to get it off the walls. Once you have finally removed the actual wallpaper from the walls, you are usually left with some of the wallpaper glue still stuck on. Removing wallpaper glue is important in providing a clean surface for painting or re-wallpapering. Although it may seem impossible to remove leftover glue from wallpaper, but it can be done by following the proper steps. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Drop cloths
- Duct tape
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Fabric softener or detergent (optional)
- Warm water
- Garden hose hand sprayer
- Putty knife
- Grill cleaner brush
- Sponge
Instructions
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1
Place a drop cloth down on the floor of the area you are working in. Cover outlet covers with duct tape to keep water from seeping in. Cover furniture or other items in the room with a plastic cover to protect them from water.
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2
Mix 1 heaping tablespoon of baking soda into a garden hose hand sprayer filled the remainder of the way with warm water. You can substitute the baking soda for 4 tablespoons of liquid fabric softener or detergent if you prefer.
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3
Adjust the spray flow on the hand sprayer so that it disperses a feathered spray. If you use a coarse spray, an abundance of water will drip down the wall onto the floor. Pump up the hand sprayer to pressurize the cleaning solution inside
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4
Hold the sprayer about 6 inches from the wall and spray it onto an area with wallpaper glue. Begin working at the top of the wall so that you do not go over the same area more than once.
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5
Allow the cleaning mixture to saturate the wall for three to five minutes. In the meantime, spray another area of the wall to allow the cleaning solution to begin working.
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6
Use a putty knife to scrape the wallpaper glue from the wall. Do this carefully so as not to nick or scratch the wall.
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7
Reapply the cleaning solution if there is still glue left on the area. Again, allow it to soak into the wall before you remove it with the putty knife.
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8
Continue this process over the entire surface area where there is wallpaper glue. Repeat the process as necessary until all of the glue is removed.
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9
Scrub troublesome areas of the wall with a grill cleaner brush. Spray the area with the cleaning solution and scrub briskly. Use this tool carefully so that you do not damage the wall.
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10
Spray the walls a final time with the cleaning mixture once the vast majority of the glue is removed. Scrub the walls thoroughly with a sponge to remove any residual glue from the walls.
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Tips & Warnings
For an alternative cleaning solution, mix 1/2 cup of tri-sodium phosphate (TSP) with 2 gallons of warm water. Apply this to the glue on the walls just as you would with the other cleaning solutions mentioned above.
