I don’t HATE the stripes, but the paper is tearing in places where the previous owner had water damage. I’d like to be able to take it down and paint instead.
Use a 1:1 ratio of fabric softener and hot water in a spray bottle. Mix in small batches so your water stays as hot a possible, Saturate one area at a time and then peel or scrap off. Good Luck
Hi Katie, I removed the wallpaper throughout our finished basement. My method was to fill a spray bottle with half water and half white distilled vinegar, spray down a section of wall and rub it in with a cloth until it was saturated and then let it set for a few minutes to really soak in and activate the glue. Then we peeled. Some sections came off in nice large sections, and others we just used a scraper or our fingers to work it off, but it all came off fairly easily.
Just stir 1 cap-full liquid softener into 1 liter of water (1 quart) and sponge the mixture onto the wallpaper. Let it soak in for about 20 minutes or so, then peel or scrape the paper from the wall. If the wallpaper has a water-resistant coating, score it with a wire-bristle brush before putting the mixture on the wall so it can penetrate through the wall paper
Many wallpapers can be removed in 2 stages. Very Important: put down towels or drop cloths, no plastic tarps.
First, pull/peel off the top paper layer. If you score it to let the liquid mixture "soak into" the paper, it will come off in little pieces. I did that a couple times. Never again! I pull it off while it is dry, no scoring.
Once the pattern layer is off, the glue/paper layer is exposed. Wet that layer. Scored or not, apply the liquid remover solution. Wait until the paper looks saturated and bubbles. Use a plastic scraper and remove.
The final stage is very important: you need to wipe off all the residual glue from the wall. With a cloth, wipe the wall with the vinegar/water mix. Rinse the cloth often and mix up new solutions when the water gets milky looking.
All this liquid and paper pieces will now be easier to clean up with those towels/drop cloths you put down.
Without a doubt use hot water and fabric softener in a spray bottle. The hot water helps the fabric softener to break down the paper. When we moved into this house there were about 12 layers of wallpaper on the kitchen and this method worked best for me. Once dampened the wallpaper came off in sheets. Just be sure to put down towels or something absorbent to catch the run off. You can launder the items afterwards as they are only damp with water. Happy Renovations!
Old time test way is old pieces of towels dipped in hot vinegar water or a spray bottle filled with hot vinegar water Used to wet/dampen the paper. It dissolves the paste and you can peel and scrape it off.
Before you make any investment (renting a steamer, etc.), try this. You need a spray bottle filled with hot water. Spray about 3 panels of the wallpaper very liberally, walk away for 30 minutes, come back and spray again two more times (spray and walk away for 30 minutes x 2). FROM THE BOTTOM UP, start tearing the paper up very slowly, jerking as you go. If the paper tears, just scrape it up with your fingernail and continue jerking the paper up. Continue on in the room the same way doing 3 panels at time. To remove the glue left on the walls, you’ll need a bucket of warm water and an old broom. Wet the broom in the hot water and start washing the wall with the broom which will break up the remaining glue. Then wipe the walls down with a soft cloth dipped in warm water. The broom will be shot when you’re done so you’ll have to pitch it. This worked for me and I removed 3 rooms of wallpaper that were 25-30 years old. Good luck and let me know how it turns out!
Hi Katie, you can buy a really inexpensive tool at the home improvement stores called a wallpaper shark. Its a handheld disk that has rolling cutters in it. Scrape the wall paper with the shark and spray on cheap window cleaner. The stuff you buy for cars. Wait a few minutes. It should easily peel off once it is soaked into the paper.
Remove the top layer of wall paper finding a seam and start peeling. Once you are left with the backing water and a scraper take it off nicely. Use any spray bottle. The key is getting the backing paper wet. The top layer of wall paper won't soak up water. Let the water soak in for a couple of minutes. So small areas at a time or it will dry out too quickly. Use a drop cloth.
https://www.lowes.com/projects/paint-stain-and-wallpaper/remove-old-wallpaper/project
Use a 1:1 ratio of fabric softener and hot water in a spray bottle. Mix in small batches so your water stays as hot a possible, Saturate one area at a time and then peel or scrap off. Good Luck
Hi Katie, I removed the wallpaper throughout our finished basement. My method was to fill a spray bottle with half water and half white distilled vinegar, spray down a section of wall and rub it in with a cloth until it was saturated and then let it set for a few minutes to really soak in and activate the glue. Then we peeled. Some sections came off in nice large sections, and others we just used a scraper or our fingers to work it off, but it all came off fairly easily.
I found the best way was to steam if off with a steamer. You can buy or rent one from Home Depot if you don't have one.
Just stir 1 cap-full liquid softener into 1 liter of water (1 quart) and sponge the mixture onto the wallpaper. Let it soak in for about 20 minutes or so, then peel or scrape the paper from the wall. If the wallpaper has a water-resistant coating, score it with a wire-bristle brush before putting the mixture on the wall so it can penetrate through the wall paper
Many wallpapers can be removed in 2 stages. Very Important: put down towels or drop cloths, no plastic tarps.
First, pull/peel off the top paper layer. If you score it to let the liquid mixture "soak into" the paper, it will come off in little pieces. I did that a couple times. Never again! I pull it off while it is dry, no scoring.
Once the pattern layer is off, the glue/paper layer is exposed. Wet that layer. Scored or not, apply the liquid remover solution. Wait until the paper looks saturated and bubbles. Use a plastic scraper and remove.
The final stage is very important: you need to wipe off all the residual glue from the wall. With a cloth, wipe the wall with the vinegar/water mix. Rinse the cloth often and mix up new solutions when the water gets milky looking.
All this liquid and paper pieces will now be easier to clean up with those towels/drop cloths you put down.
Good luck and have fun.
Without a doubt use hot water and fabric softener in a spray bottle. The hot water helps the fabric softener to break down the paper. When we moved into this house there were about 12 layers of wallpaper on the kitchen and this method worked best for me. Once dampened the wallpaper came off in sheets. Just be sure to put down towels or something absorbent to catch the run off. You can launder the items afterwards as they are only damp with water. Happy Renovations!
Old time test way is old pieces of towels dipped in hot vinegar water or a spray bottle filled with hot vinegar water Used to wet/dampen the paper. It dissolves the paste and you can peel and scrape it off.
Before you make any investment (renting a steamer, etc.), try this. You need a spray bottle filled with hot water. Spray about 3 panels of the wallpaper very liberally, walk away for 30 minutes, come back and spray again two more times (spray and walk away for 30 minutes x 2). FROM THE BOTTOM UP, start tearing the paper up very slowly, jerking as you go. If the paper tears, just scrape it up with your fingernail and continue jerking the paper up. Continue on in the room the same way doing 3 panels at time. To remove the glue left on the walls, you’ll need a bucket of warm water and an old broom. Wet the broom in the hot water and start washing the wall with the broom which will break up the remaining glue. Then wipe the walls down with a soft cloth dipped in warm water. The broom will be shot when you’re done so you’ll have to pitch it. This worked for me and I removed 3 rooms of wallpaper that were 25-30 years old. Good luck and let me know how it turns out!
I used Windex in the spray bottle. Worked great!
Same thing, wait a while, Peel peel peel!!!
Hi Katie, you can buy a really inexpensive tool at the home improvement stores called a wallpaper shark. Its a handheld disk that has rolling cutters in it. Scrape the wall paper with the shark and spray on cheap window cleaner. The stuff you buy for cars. Wait a few minutes. It should easily peel off once it is soaked into the paper.
Remove the top layer of wall paper finding a seam and start peeling. Once you are left with the backing water and a scraper take it off nicely. Use any spray bottle. The key is getting the backing paper wet. The top layer of wall paper won't soak up water. Let the water soak in for a couple of minutes. So small areas at a time or it will dry out too quickly. Use a drop cloth.
I add 2-3 drops of dish soap to the hot water spray bottle method.
Up at the ceiling, I use an old sponge.