Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
How do I remove 15 year old wallpaper border? I tried the commercial presoak gel, but it is brutally slow to peel off. I tried scoring the paper with a sharp knife as recommended, but it doesn't help much.
By Pat M
Try fabric softener thinned with a little warm water in a spray bottle or in a bucket and use a car washing sponge. Saturate the paper let it set 30 minutes? Scrape off with a putty knife. You may have to do it more than once.
Try steam. I have a steam shark and it takes away grime that has been around stove areas for a long time; maybe it will take away the glue on the wallpaper. Hope it helps ya!
How do you remove wallpaper border?
By CORKY WOLF
It depends on the type of wallpaper, the kind of wallpaper with the glue already on it can be removed easily by wetting it down well. It will slide right off.
If it is the kind that has paste applied, then you might need to use a steamer. You can buy a small gadget that you roll over the paper and it puts small slits in it, then all you have to do is steam it and it will come off easily with a dull scraper.
After removing the paper, be sure to wash the wall well with hot soapy water, rinse, and dry before you paint or put up different paper.
I swear by DIF. It's available at Lowe's for about $5 a bottle and it makes life so much easier. I spray it on and use my fingers to rub it onto the entire surface. Within, 15 minutes the paper comes off in one piece. Sometimes a little glue will remain and I use a plastic putty knife but another dose of DIF will take it right off.
I attempted to remove a wallpaper border that was applied to drywall that only had a thin coat of paint on it. The drywall was peeling off with the border in small pieces so I ended up bordering over that border and now 5 years later I really want it off.
I now have to remove two borders and I am not looking forward to it! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I tried all of the home remedies, steamer, and store bought products when trying to remove the first border, so maybe I should just leave it and cover it with some sort of wood trim that I can paint. Cost is a major issue so crown molding is not an option as it's a very large kitchen. Any suggestions? Thanks.
By Chris from Ontario
I had good luck, using a hairdryer. Wet the border with hot water, using a spray bottle. Let the wet border set for a while, then take the hairdryer and direct it on the border. Scrape and pull on the border. It should start to come off in strips!
On one of the home re modeling shows I watch they used a solution of warm water and fabric softener.
How do I strip plastic wallpaper?
By vincent from Dublin, Ireland
If you click on some of the links on this page, you will find some great tips on removing wallpaper. But I want to add that with plastic (or vinyl) wallpaper, sometimes the wallpaper comes off but a coating of glue or plastic remains.
The trickiest part if getting that thin paper stuff off the back, but keep working on it. I've used DIF and it works fine as long as you let it sit on the paper for 15 minutes or so, but not too long or it dries.
The previous owners wallpapered over the vinyl walls and then ripped some off, down to the gypsum board underneath the vinyl without removal products. Should I use wallpaper removal products? How do I make the ripped area even? Right now it's only in a smaller bathroom, but they wallpapered the kitchen too.
It is peeling, but I have been reluctant to begin removal without asking questions. I have successfully painted over vinyl walls that had not been papered and am satisfied with results.You can skim the uneven areas with drywall compound. And if or when you remove.mix 4 oz of fabric softener in spray bottle with water spray let stand for at least ten- 15 min.
How do I remove 5 layers of old wall paper from walls, without using a steamer?
Try fabric softener thinned with a little water and a spray bottle or mix in a bucket and use car washing sponge to saturate the paper. let it set until it begins to scrape off with a putty knife. I would suggest a little half and half to start. Patience and diligence!
I have striped the wall paper off 3 of 4 walls, but one entire wall has proven to be stubborn. I can't seem to remove any of the wallpaper (at all) from this one wall. I have tried D.I.F, vinegar, and dish soap, but nothing I try seems to work. Can anyone help?
By Jim
Oh wow, if Diff hasn't worked, about the only thing left to try is steaming. There are machines especially for steaming off wallpaper, you can rent or buy one and try it-make sure the material your wall is made of can handle steam. If your walls are a thin membrane of sheet rock, 1/4", for example, they might melt.
I think if I were doing this job I'd have quit after the Diff didn't work.
You can 'feather and fill' the patches of wallpaper that won't strip, and simply paint over the top of it. I've done that a couple of times and have been pleased with the results.
How much Dawn do you put in the spray bottle?
By M. Gross
You really don't need to use Dawn or any other cleaner. My husband used to do painting/papering & all they used was hot water in a spray bottle. Let it soak a bit & peel. Then we just took a sponge with clean water & washed it down.
I tried to use a steamer, it just makes a sticky mess and I have to wait a very long time for it to soften the wallpaper. Is there a quicker way of getting this done? I have only done this once before, in the living room and it was much easier! I am really tired of looking at my horrible bathroom walls, help! Thank you.
By Issy
The border is vinyl and it sticks to your fingers in small pieces and you cannot get off your fingers.
By R Pearsall
This is a page about repairing drywall after wallpaper removal. After removing wallpaper, the walls will need cleaning and perhaps some repair, prior to painting or whatever your next wall treatment will be.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
I have wallpaper in a bedroom that is very hard to remove. I have tried scraping, wetting it with water but only manage to remove 1 inch at a time.
How much Downy to how much water do I use for wallpaper removal?
You have requests on how to remove painted wallpaper. We have found that steaming the walls, once you have a start at removal with a tool, does a good job. It is possible to rent a portable steamer.
We're trying to remove 15 year-old wallpaper with water and a scraper. Very difficult to do. Any suggestions on how to make this job easier?
When using fabric softener for stripping wallpaper, what are the portions?
How do we easily remove wallpaper? After removing some wallpaper, part of the sheet rock came off with the paper. We don't want this to happen again. Do you have any suggestions for repairing the sheet rock that was damaged?
For easy removal of wallpaper, score the paper first and then use fabric softener on it.
