Removing Wallpaper???

I absolutely positively HATE wallpaper!!!

We've lived here since November, and I've redone every room in the house except the bathroom. It has some nasty looking green wallpaper that is absolutely driving me crazy!! I stripped the wallpaper from the kitchen walls when we first moved in, and used a steamer. I won't try that again. It was such a mess and didn't really work all that well. I had a stress-headache for three days over that one. LOL

I've been told to use fabric softener and hot water, vinegar and hot water, just hot water, hot water and dawn...I just wondered if any of these actually work?? I cannot use commercial strippers, as things like that tend to make me sick, plus I don't want the fumes in the house. I would rather not use vinager either because of the smell and I wondered if any of these other home concoctions really work??

I've got a real hankering to get that paper down! LOL I thought about starting in on it tonight, but wanted to see what you guys thought about these solutions first. Thanks!

The fabric softener trick works well for me. Also try to do it on a dry day. It will help when you don't have so much extra water in the air.

I also agree with you on wall paper. Who ever invented it should be lashed 1000 times with the orange, blue, silver striped monstrosity that adorned my bath room as a child. It warped me.

Straight vinegar, heated up not to a boiling, then sprayed on the wallpaper, wait 20 minutes the stuff peels right off

Citra-Solv concentrate would do the trick.

I was going to suggest vinegar and water as well......it worked great for us when we had to do some remodeling.

I've done my fair share of stripping - wallpaper that is!

I peel off the top layer and just wet the backing paper very very well, let it sit a minute, then take my metal egg flipper and presto - off it comes.

Having said that - in our current house, there was a small hallway with really ugly wallpaper. It took me 1 whole week (evenings) to get that paper off. I swear they put the wallpaper up with crazy glue.

I also am a wall paper hater. When you used the steamer did you use the little tool that puts preferatoins in the paper? HTat really lets the steam get under the paper and at the glue.

Wall paper ought to be outlawed!!

One of those little tools that perforates the paper is a must. Just don't press so hard that you're punching holes in the drywall.
Zinsser Diff works great, but the chemicals sound like they'd bother you.
I've heard fabric softener recommended many times. be liberal with the spraying, and don't let it dry out.
Elbow grease is the most useful product when stripping wallpaper! Preferably someone else's!
Have fun with that, I don't evny you. I've got to strip off the border in most of our apartment, and I find that a big enough chore.

Well, I removed the paper last night--and I think whoever crazy-glued Yosemite's hallway, got my bathroom too!

I tried the fabric softener, and it worked pretty well, but there was SO much adhesive behind the paper that it was taking forever. So I broke down and used the steamer again. Oh well...at least the ugly wallpaper finally went out with the garbage this morning!!

Apparently whoever put the wallpaper up, did so to cover some nasty holes in the wall, so I've spent all morning patching and spackling.
Me and my bright Ideas!

Now the spackle's dry and sanded and the edges are all taped off and I'm ready to paint!!

Maybe I'll post pictures tonight when I get it all done!

Thanks so much for all the advice!

Last February when I removed the wallpaper (that I orginally hung) in the family room the bottom stuff came off great-the top stuff no tso lucky. I had to do a faux drywall joint compound technique in the entire room (23 x 24) to cover the damage from removing the wallpaper!!! The end results with another faux painting techinique did turn out well though.

Originally Posted by maddensmom

Well, I removed the paper last night--and I think whoever crazy-glued Yosemite's hallway, got my bathroom too!

I tried the fabric softener, and it worked pretty well, but there was SO much adhesive behind the paper that it was taking forever. So I broke down and used the steamer again.

Oh well...at least the ugly wallpaper finally went out with the garbage this morning!!

Apparently whoever put the wallpaper up, did so to cover some nasty holes in the wall, so I've spent all morning patching and spackling.

Me and my bright Ideas!

Now the spackle's dry and sanded and the edges are all taped off and I'm ready to paint!!

Maybe I'll post pictures tonight when I get it all done!

Thanks so much for all the advice!

Click to expand...

Watch the cat doesn't run through the paint - been there, cleaned up the mess.

Originally Posted by GailC

Last February when I removed the wallpaper (that I orginally hung) in the family room the bottom stuff came off great-the top stuff no tso lucky. I had to do a faux drywall joint compound technique in the entire room (23 x 24) to cover the damage from removing the wallpaper!!! The end results with another faux painting techinique did turn out well though.

Click to expand...

Our bathroom walls were not so smooth when we got the paper off either. After spackling and sanding, spackling and sanding, etc, etc., (my husband is a perfectionist), we ended up putting up anaglypta paper in a nice pattern on the bottom and a stucco look on the top and painted it white. It actually looks super. (BTW anaglypta paper is used a lot in europe and is made to be painted. If you paint one colour with a thick roller and then a lighter or darker shade with a smooth roller it makes a beautiful shadowy look.) The other nice thing about anaglypta paper is that you roll the glue on the wall and just put the dry paper on the glue - no stretching of paper from being wet.

Originally Posted by Yosemite

Watch the cat doesn't run through the paint - been there, cleaned up the mess.

Click to expand...

Sorry...just taking a break and that cracked me up!!

I'm sure it wasn't funny when it happened though!

omg imagine my surprise when I logged in and did a search for "spraying" and found this post LOL!
I happen to know that the woman who previously owned our home ran a decorators business out of it and Id like to know how she thinks she has any business in that business at all! LOL
She wallpapered almost every room in this house with some sort of permanent wallpaper from hades ahhhhhh!
In the kitchen it was only done half way up with a border so we decided wainscoting could cover that, but the bathrooms ahhhhh FULL WALL TO WALL YELLOW AND BLUE MICRO FLOWERS THAT WONT COME OFF!
I've tried the steamer AND the little perforating tool and it wont come off.
Anyone here really had luck with vinegar or fabric softener? White or apple cider vinegar?
I think I saw that anaglypta paper at Lowes, it wasn't hard to put on? I wonder if it is suitable for a bathroom? And the fact that you can paint it is just so awesome.
Obviously they were trying to hide SOMETHING to do with the walls in this house because what wasnt wallpapered was textured,rooms and rooms of textured walls, my elbow hurts just thinking about it.
I wonder if there are professional wallpaper removal people? Im not sure my arthirits is up to this job, anyone know if there are and how much they charge? LOL
Thanks!
Tami
Now back to my "spraying" post search

Glad you've joined us on your quest for spraying info! Yes, we discuss just about everything here!