Comments on: How to Remove Wallpaper

on 3/29/2008 i've been successful removing wallpaper by using a mixture of water and liquid fabric softener. mostly fabric softener, put in a squirt bottle. but first score the wallpaper with a scoring tool,one of those things that makes holes in the wallpaper so that the softener will soak in.it's just a little round item with plastic teeth that fits in the palm of your hand and you just swirl it around and around on the wallpaper. sorry that i didn't know the name of it, but it can be purchased at any store that carries wallpaper. also you can hold a wet warm cloth in a seam of the wallpaper, if the paper seam has loosened up or worked loose, that means its the kind you paint over, if you wish. it won't wrinkle, bubble or shrink with paint. good luck. hopes this helps. terriemae

on 2/28/2008 Wow, he made that much harder than it had to be. Just spray water on wallpaper (a LOT of water), wait 10 minutes, peel off.

on 2/28/2008 Wow, he made that much harder than necessary. Spray some water on it== a LOT of water== wait 10 minutes, peel it off.

on 2/15/2008 Hi dont bother with all that expensive stuff they sell at the store to remove wall paper its a bunch of crock. All you need do is get a bucket of warm water pour about half a bottle of white vinegar in stir and wipe across your wallpaper. Dont go crazy and saturate the wall now just wet it enough to get the vinegar to penetrate the wall paper. Then let it sit then go in and peel off that wall paper like your peeling a banana thats how easy it will come off. If some is still trying to stay do the process over again it does work and you wont be taking off half the wall along with your paper or inhaling chemicals either. Good luck and pass it along to friends and family.

on 10/28/2007 USE A STEAMER!!!! I tried everything to remove wallpaper - hot water, hot water with vinegar, dap, fabric softener etc. and all were a disaster leaving tons of glue that I then had to spend hours scrubbing off. I then purchased a wallpaper steamer unit for 60.00 - the BEST 60 I have spent in a long time- took the wallpaper off smoothly and cleanly with no gluey residue left and took just a couple of hours to finish rather than the days it was taking with other techniques! Also, rather than scoring the wallpaper, I found that the top layer pulled readily away so I pulled that off and then steamed the backing of the wallpaper and it came off easily and saved the hassle of scoring the wallpaper and the potential damage to the drywall - so forget all of the solutions - just use a steamer! http://www.wagnerspraytech.com/portal/wagner_705_spray,43321,747.html is a link to the one I used

on 6/17/2007 For everyone's info...I am a paperhanger/remover/painter
concerning what the person posted: by Tammy Hooper on 11/22/2005
Sizing - Go to your local paint store and ask for sizing before putting up the new paper. It will make the job of removing it much easier when it too become outdated in a few years. It simply goes on like paint

Sizing is ok IF the walls have been properly primed/sealed with a GOOD product like Zinsser 123 or an oil based primer/sealer like Kilz or Cover Stain made by Zinnser, just sizing the walls will NOT protect from damaging it will only help in wallpapering adhering to surface better...all sizing is, is a water down glue which gives the wall what we call a "tooth" something for paper to grab to.

on 6/17/2007 For everyone's info...I am a paperhanger/remover/painter
concerning what the person posted:by Tammy Hooper on 11/22/2005
Sizing - Go to your local paint store and ask for sizing before putting up the new paper. It will make the job of removing it much easier when it too become outdated in a few years. It simply goes on like paint

Sizing is ok IF the walls have been properly primed/sealed with a GOOD product like Zinsser 123 or an oil based primer/sealer like Kilz or Cover Stain made by Zinnser, just sizing the walls will NOT protect from damaging it will only help in wallpering adhering to surface better...all sizing is is a water down glue which gives the wall what we call a "tooth" something for paper to grab to.

on 4/12/2008 Size it first PLEASE! When I first put a wallpaper border up, I sized the wall (as mentioned above) at the insistence of my mother. It was on a painted wall, semi-gloss, lath & plaster wall. When I went to take it down, I grabbed a corner, stepped down off the bed, stood in the middle of the room and pulled it all down in one fell swoop! Then I used the same border to put up in my next baby's room! At my new home I have removed 3 borders off of this lath & plaster walls, NONE of which have been sized and all of which is a pain stakingly teadious nightmare. I will never NOT SIZE! Feel your pain and spread the word!!!

on 4/12/2008 We've found that foaming bathroom cleaners (similar to Scrubbing Bubbles) works on stubborn wallpaper. It doesn't run off as quickly as a liquid solution, so it soaks in better. Spray it on, let it soak in for a few minutes, then scrape with a putty knife. *Sharpening the edge of your putty knife helps a lot. Be careful not to gouge the walls.

If it's really stubborn, spray again and wait a while longer. This is more expensive than other methods (vinegar, fabric softener, soap, etc.), so you may want to try those first or in combination with this method. Also, your room should be well vented due to the fumes these cleaners usually give off.

on 4/12/2008 The best method I've ever used is to pull the surface pattern paper away (the strippable portion), then make a solution of one part fabric softener to two parts warm water. I work from a mixing bowl with a handle. Apply the solution in about 2 x 2 or 3 x 3 sections using a sponge. The glue-paper comes off in a cinch. Watch for running streaks and don't let them interfere with existing area that is not papered. Downey works the best for some reason.

on 4/12/2008 Get a spray bottle
put several tablespoons of liquid dishwashing soap in it - enough to cover the bottom.
Add hot tap water. Spray on wallpaper (works best after you've punched holes) If it doesn't come right off, wait a few minutes and try again.

on 4/12/2008 After reading a lot of the tips posted, I decided to try the dishwashing soap and hot hot water. But instead of a standard spray bottle I used a pump sprayer. I am not sure of the exact name, but it is one of those canister bottles that you use for either weed killer or pest control. You pump up the canister and it sprays out the handheld nozzle. I boiled water and then added the dishwashing soap. I sprayed the wall and let it set for about 10-15 minutes. Then right before we started stripping the paper, I gave it one more quick spray. The paper came off easily. It took us about 2 hours to do a large dining room. Just keep in mind that even after I sprayed the wall and let them set, I would re-spray right before we were ready to strip the paper. I really think that using boiling hot water and adding a good amount of dish soap did the trick. It seemed like the boiled water soaked into the paper better. Also, by using the pump bottle it made it easier to spray the boiling hot water.

on 8/8/2006 I found a product called EZ-OFF Plus, and it works great. No scraping and all that other stuff. Just spray on and pull off the wall paper. It is that 'EZ'.

on 8/8/2006 I used a solution of vinegar and warm water in a spray bottle and a scraper on the old glue (some of the border had already been removed before) which was still hanging around. The scraper didn't remove all, so I used a nylon pot scrubber. WOW! You have to scrub a little, but the nylon is gentle and now the wall is nice and clean. I previously used DIF and a steamer and I gave up. Hope this works as well for others! Don't forget to wear gloves!

on 8/8/2006 I almost burned my face when I tried to steam the top of the wall with the wallpaper steamer. I got a small spray bottle and with a little soap and water, I removed the wallpaper. I went to Home Depot and bought a large spray bottle. It took me less time to do three walls with the soap and water than it took to do one wall with the steamer.