How do I remove wallpaper that was directly applied to dry wall?

Cindy Rubin
by Cindy Rubin

Without damaging the drywall so I can paint

  7 answers
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    • Holly Lengner - Lost Mom Holly Lengner - Lost Mom on Jan 26, 2019

      I hear you! I've found myself in situations many times after starting a project where I think "what did I just do?" haha! Sometimes my husband is nice and just takes over. I've seen a lot of people just paint over their wallpaper so they don't have to deal with it.

  • Kelly Denoyer Russell Kelly Denoyer Russell on Jan 25, 2019

    Oh boy....not sure it’s possible. I had original owners do textured paint in my home on unprimed ceilings. Started to peel. Painter said it would always be a mess we couldn’t correct so we covered it with wood. You might be able to mud, sand and paint over top or re-wallpaper over it. Removing what is there will probably be impossible. So best to find ways to make it look good by going over top of it.

  • Kathy Gunter Law Kathy Gunter Law on Jan 25, 2019

    Peel as much as possible. Mix fabric softener & warm water 50/50 in a spray bottle or garden sprayer. Saturate the wall paper just enough to penetrate so that it will "melt" the adhesive. Test regularly after 3 minutes until it starts to separate. Using a plastic scraper, remove the paper.

    I used this method in my dining room which was finished dry wall painted above the wallpaper but not behind it. The wallpaper was half way up at chair rail height.

    Do not use a steamer as it will wrinkle the sheet rock underneath.

    • Cindy Rubin Cindy Rubin on Jan 26, 2019

      I'm sorry for my ignorance. What is 'finished' dry wall? How do I know if I have it or 'unfinished'?

  • Karen Karen on Jan 26, 2019

    Steam

  • Darlene Darlene on Jan 26, 2019

    I just removed a whole stairwell wall of wallpaper before Thanksgiving. I followed a YouTube Video and all I did was put hot water in a spray bottle, sprayed small sections of wall at a time. Let it set 3 - 5 minutes and using a putty knife scraped it off. First the paper comes off and once I removed all the paper I did the same process again to remove the glue from the dry wall. I had both textured and untextured dry wall underneath and this process worked on both. I then had a professional drywall person retexture the whole wall so I could paint. The glue was a messy job but it saved a ton of $ from having the drywaller do it.

  • Sandy Sandy on Jan 26, 2019

    Of course pre-pasted paper is much easier to remove than the un-pasted kind. However, you can apply warm water mixed with white vinegar (about half & half) in a spray bottle, leave on a few minutes, then start removing it keeping in mind not to disturb the drywall. The drywall should never get wet. This is one project that requires time & patience, but I've done it several times over the years.

  • Agnes Chrzanowska Agnes Chrzanowska on Mar 31, 2022

    There is a chemical that can remove it or use warm water