How do I remove wallpaper borders?
by
Allison
+5
We bought a home that has wallpaper borders ( on top of wall ). These ,for some reason, are almost impossible to remove - with lots of effort the pieces come off in less than 1 inch strips- I have purchased the spray that helps removal but it did not help with this...I keep thinking there has to be an easier way —would love to hear tips or tricks.
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Allison: Maybe this will help
https://www.hgtv.com/design/decorating/design-101/how-to-remove-wallpaper
I've tried steamers and just about every other way you can imagine. The thing that worked best for me was Downy and water mixed in a spray bottle. I poured about 1 cup in a spray bottle, shook, and sprayed. It's time consuming and messy so put a towel on the floor to catch the run off. I used a spatula to scrape it off the walls. It's like the glue melts.
Unfortunately when wallpaper borders were hugely popular, many that were sold were inferior quality and did not stay stuck. Folks then often resorted to 'gluing' the borders with glues that were not originally designed to be used for adhering wallpapers. Of course, no thought was given to the fact that removing the border will likely cause some damage to the drywall behind it.
There is no one definitive recipe for removing. It takes patience and time.
My daughter had put up a border using all kinds of glue. Nothing worked except a wallpaper steamer.
Allison...Did you use a Paper Tiger to score the border before spraying the remover? The Tiger will make holes in the border so the spray can penetrate through the holes to the glue. You can usually take a scraper and it removed pretty easy then. After removing it take a warm damp cloth and wash the rest of the glue off if you intend to repaint. The warm water will help to smooth the wall for the paint. Good luck!
This is the Paper Tiger scoring tool.
took it down in my laundry room with the Downy solution like Kathy Gunter suggested
Here's the easiest way to remove wallpaper.