How to remove old wallpaper?

Answer 1

Get a spray bottle, fill it with water, add a teaspoon-ish of fabric softener. You read right - fabric softener. Spray the wallpaper until it's quite wet (line the floor with towels etc). Wait a bit for it to soak through. Should come off fairly easily.

I've removed lots of very old wallpaper this way. Works like a charm.

Answer 2

There are several methods to remove wallpaper. Older paper rather than the newer vinyl papers are easier to remove. The most effective way would be to rent a wallpaper steamer. If you want to save some money, you can use warm water with a little ammonia mixed in a spray bottle. You could also apply the water with a sponge. It is better to perforate the wallpaper using a utility knife or Zinnser sells a wall paper perforator. Perforating the paper allows the water to penetrate the paper and dissolve the glue. I've found spraying the paper in say a 2' square area then leaving it for 10 to 15 minutes then trying to scrape it off. I've found a 6" drywall knife to be the best tool for scraping off the old paper. Good luck!

Answer 3

Hot water and fabric softener. If it is a vinyl wallpaper then score it. Take a sponge and apply the water to the wallpaper, let it set for a minute and peel it off. I have also began by peeling off the vinyl part and then applying the mixture to the paper - it generally comes right off with a scraper. I found this better than a steamer - and faster.

Answer 4

I don't know the name of the stuff to take off wallpaper, but you can find it at Walmart or a paint store. It is sooo simple to use. You just mix it with water and spray it on, wait about 15 minutes then scrape off the paper.
You may have to wash the wall down with warm soapy water to get the rest of the glue off.
My walls came out great using this method.
I used to use a steamer and the above method is so much easier.

Answer 5

What you want to do is get a garden sprayer,one like a bug sprayer and a gallon bottle of DIF.DIF is a brand name paste eradicater-Use DIF and dont screw around with fabric softener or vinagar.Use DIF and nothing else.

You dump about a quart of DIF to a gallon of WARM water(not to hot as diff is alive,lol,its an enzyme and to hot kills it.) into your sprayer.

You wet the wallpaper using the sprayer and wait about 20 minutes and it will scrape off-the key is to wait for it to work and keep it wet as you move along,being carefull not to saturate the floors

Some newer papers are stipable but what that means is that they come off in 2 parts-the top peels off bu simply getting a grip at the edge of a seam and pulling it off.A paper backing will be left.Simply spray it wet,let it soak and it will scrape right off with a broad knife-the key again is to let the DIF work

Solid vinyle will usualy pull right of a properly prepaired wall.

Paper backed Vinyle might require scoring-a do it yourselfer might want to use a scoring tool like a paper tiger-I just lightly score it with the point of a broad knife sorta checkerdoard style taking care not to cut into the wall board ir thats the substraight

On plaster walls a wallpaper scraper with a changeable blade works well but again if you let the diff work it comes off easy-with multible layers you just repeat the proccess untill bare walls are there

Steamers are a pain and require fuel and hydrate the walls more than spraying them,believe it or not.

Answer 6

Score the wallpaper with a utility knife. Rent a steamer. Remove carefully.

Answer 7

Get a wet sponge and a paint scraper. Use the sponge to saturate the wall paper one section at a time, give the water a few minutes to reactivate the glue, and scrape very gently. Its going to take some time, but it will come off!! :) Good luck!!

Answer 8

Depending on how old it is...steaming it off is messy, but if it's in pretty good shape with no air pockets or tears, seal the edges and prime over it then paint as normal.

Answer 9

pull it off

Answer 10

fairly easily.....
.......as long as it is not woodchip.!!!!!

AAARRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!