Tip: What to do when removing wallpaper gives you a hard time?
by
Camilled2012
+4
I have tried ALL the above suggestions to remove wallpaper; they are a miserable way to do this job. I have had wonderful success by using a steamer I purchased at Macy's. It's a Rowenta and not very big. Just fill up the container, let the steam build up and using the handheld attachment go over the wallpaper until it begins to loosen. It will pull off in sheets. Then steam the backing of the paper and use a large putty knife & literally "scoop" off the backing. Use a wet cloth ( I use very warm water) and wipe down the walls. Job done and oh so easy. I put painters plastic down to catch the wallpaper and the just roll it up & toss in the trash! - Camille
Suggested Project Book
Thank you/
This is great to know, thanks for sharing!!!
So helpful, thank you!
Thank you for your hint! If you have an entire house to do (my parents bought a house that had MANY, MANY MULTIPLE LAYERS of wallpaper in every room! We rented a steamer from one of those construction equipment rentals. It made removing up to 15 layers a breeze (I think the former owners repapered some areas every 6 months for 20 years!! The entry way we worked on for 3 days alone (using 2 steamers w/glue remover in the water) After the 3 days, my dad said "enough" & went to the hardware store to pick up wood grain imprint white paneling. To this day, 40 years a few coats of paint later, we still joke about "what lies beneath"!
In order for the steamer to work effectively, you need to get past the first layer and you can do that with a scoring tool. These are sold at Lowes or HomeDepot for around $7. Once you score the wallpaper, the steam will penetrate thru the holes.
Don't waste your time scoring! It causes the paper to come off in tiny pieces, but by just steaming, going over the surface several times, it loosens the top layer and will come off in large pieces or strips. Home Depot advised me to score then use Dif in warm water; doesn't work. I was trying to remove a border and it was so bad I had to put up a plain border & paint over it. I was trying to remove it by scoring. I was getting such tiny pieces off, with difficulty, that I quit. Wasn't worth it. The steaming worked wonders, and that's all I did to remove the top layer and the backing. Did my toilet closet and another border in 1/3 of the time!
If you don't have a steamer a vaporizer works also, just plain water init