Homemade Wallpaper Paste Dissolver

Once the paste backing is dissolved, you can peel wallpaper off the wall

Whether you've recently moved into a home covered floor to ceiling in hideous wallpaper or are merely opting for a change of scenery in your current home, removing wallpaper is tricky. The key to removing wallpaper is to soften the adhesive backing. You can do this with steam or an adhesive softener. Although commercial products are available that dissolve wallpaper paste, homemade varieties are less expensive and often just as effective.

Things You'll Need

• 1 qt. distilled white vinegar 1 qt. warm water Rubber gloves Large bowl or bucket Sponge Fan

Instructions

1. Pour 1 quart of warm water into a bucket or a large bowl. Add 1 quart of undiluted distilled white vinegar to the warm water.

2. Submerge your sponge into the vinegar-and-water mixture. Shake the sponge lightly to keep it from dripping water.

3. Use the sponge to apply the vinegar-and-water mixture generously to the wallpaper. Open windows and turn on a small fan to ventilate the room.

4. Wait for the vinegar and water to soak through the wallpaper, which should detach from the wall so you can peel it away. Reapply the vinegar-and-water mixture as needed.

Tips & Warnings

• You can make alternative wallpaper glue removers with 1 cup of warm water mixed with 1 tsp. of baking soda, or 4 tsps. of fabric softener mixed with 1 cup of water. Pour either mixture into a spray bottle and spray it on the wallpaper.

References

• Eartheasy: Non-Toxic Home Cleaning
• House-Painting-Info: How to Remove Wallpaper Glue