DIY Wallpaper Paste
Wallpapering is an inexpensive way to change the look and feel of a room. Many types of wallpaper in today's market are self-adhesive, which means the wallpaper has been pretreated with glue. For wallpaper that is not self-adhesive, you must first apply wallpaper paste to the underside of the paper. Wallpaper paste is what adheres the wallpaper to walls. Without it, the wallpaper would slide and fall off the wall. You can find wallpaper paste at local home improvement stores. Alternatively, you can create a homemade wallpaper paste that works just as well as the commercial paste without the use of harsh chemicals. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Flour--wheat, rice or corn
- Alum
- Double boiler
- Wooden spoon
- Clove oil
- Glass container with lid
Instructions
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1
Mix 1 cup of flour--wheat, corn or rice flour--and 3 tsp. of alum in a double boiler. If you do not have access to a double boiler, you can make your own. To make your own double boiler get two pots of similar size. Make sure one pot is slightly smaller than the other. Add water to the larger pot. Make sure the water comes to just the bottom of the smaller pot when you place the smaller pot inside the larger pot. The smaller pot will not fit perfectly on top of the larger pot and will lean to one side, which is normal. Place the larger pot on the stove and bring the water to a boil. Remove the larger pot from the heat and immediately place the smaller pot that contains the flour mixture on top of the larger pot.
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2
Add enough water to the flour and alum so you have a mixture with the consistency of heavy cream. Stir the contents together until thoroughly blended.
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3
Place the double boiler on your stove and cook on low heat, stirring constantly. Continue stirring over heat until you have a paste with the consistency of gravy.
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4
Remove the mixture from the heat and add 10 drops of clove oil. Clove oil is a natural preservative that will allow you to keep the homemade wallpaper paste refrigerated for two weeks.
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5
Store the wallpaper paste in a glass container that has a lid.
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References
- Photo Credit wallpaper image by Wendy Lea Morgan from Fotolia.com
