Any tips on wallpaper removal?
 

Our new house has some wall paper borders that will need to come down. I know there are products to do it & I know that fabric softner & water sprayed on it is also supposed to work. Any other suggestions? Any professional wallpaper removers out there?

Just thinking about these small borders make me shiver to think that we looked at a house that was about 75% wallpaper vs. paint. *shudder*.

Re: Any tips on wallpaper removal?
 

I'm not a professional by any stretch of the imagination because I only have very limited experience but we used a scraper to scrape paper off by first using a sponge to soak the wallpaper with warm water and then tons of elbow grease, patience and perseverance.

Our house has many rooms with wallpaper so I'm hoping someone with much more experience will come along and let us know an easier way. I'd love to remove a bunch more wallpaper but I don't have it in me to do it the painstaking way I mentioned above. :snooty

Re: Any tips on wallpaper removal?
 

Unless I get better ideas, this fabric softener solution is going to be the way I try first. For us, it's not a lot, just 3 rooms with a border running around the walls. 1 room is a full size attic but the other is a tiny powder room so really not a lot just daunting with everything else we have to do.

Re: Any tips on wallpaper removal?
 

Burn the house down?

I'm just kidding. I absolutely DESPISE wallpaper.

I found that it will depend on what is beneath the wallpaper. In my last house, I took it out of my kitchen. It was rather difficult as they had three layers of different wallpapers up and it was all over wood paneling. In my new place, it was all over paint or primer, so it came up rather easily.

All the wallpaper I've taken down has two layers. The paper backing and a top layer that is rather water resistant. I was mostly able to peel the top layer off in great sheets. Then I would use a spray bottle to soak it with plain water, wait a few moments and scrape it off easily with a wide putty knife. The problems I encountered was when it was applied over naked spackle. It would not come off so I ended up sanding it off.

Re: Any tips on wallpaper removal?
 

I always pulled the top layer off and then used wet cloths pressed against the remaining paper to soak it. If you get it 'just right' the cloth will 'stick' to the wall and you can do several at a time and then it should pull off much easier. Patience though, it's still a long process. I highly recommend a good audio book for sanity saving.:shifty

Re: Any tips on wallpaper removal?
 

I think it's original to the house. I think we're only the second owners. I think it's over paint or primer.

---------- Post added at 11:06 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:05 AM ----------

Definitely need some tunes or an audiobook. I want to download one from the library this week if I can figure it out.

Re: Any tips on wallpaper removal?
 

Just try a piece and see what happens. I did my mom's kitchen way back when. There was a corner starting to lift off so I gave it a tug and the entire piece came right down - backing and all. I had the whole kitchen stripped in less than 10 minutes. I did my kitchen not too long ago and it took three days. It's all dependent on what it was put on top of.

Re: Any tips on wallpaper removal?
 

We used a steamer.

Re: Any tips on wallpaper removal?
 

my husband did mention this & I do have a shark steamer. I need to break it out & see what happens with it.