How do I remove REALLY old wallpaper?

Question

Our "new" house has wallpaper in the livingroom and bedrooms and it is about 40 years old. Its not peeling at all, but I would like to re-wallpaper and paint .. how can I remove this or go over it?

Answer 1

spray the walls with a mix of warm water and amonia.....make slits, in the wallpaper anywhere possible without cutting through the drywall. Let that soak for a few minutes and a corner should start to peel right off!

Answer 2

If you can find a place in your area that sells the Walwik brand removal system you should look them up. The corporate site is www.wallwikcompany.com. I have been in this business for 40+ years and most people have said what the earlier person said about pains in the posterior and wallpaper removal. We have sold this system for about 3 years now and I have NEVER had one returned even though they have refund if it doesn't work policy. It uses a perforator like the PaperTiger and a wetting solution but it uses a fabric to hold the solution on the wall a lot long than without the fabric and that make a HUGE difference in how ot works. Going over the old paper could come back to bite you in the same place that you may already have a pain. Good Luck!

Answer 3

Look in the Yellow pages for stores the rent equipment; ask if they have a wallpaper steamer. With several rooms to do this will save you much time. The steamer heats water and infuses it into the paper, which softens the glue. Start at the top of a panel and move the steamer back and forth on the panel. The weight of the paper, water and glue is pulled by gravity, so the wallpaper almost peels itself. A second person is useful to pull the paper to the side to keep it out of the way of the steamer operator.

Answer 4

Last year I had 3 paint professionals give estimates for removing wallpaper and texturing wall for painting in 2 baths and kitchen. All 3 professionals said the paper had been professionally installed and would damage the sheetrock if removed. They each recommended sealing the paper & texturing over it. I did have it done that way by a professional. A year later, it looks great and I see no indications of problems.

Answer 5

Save your money and use a spray bottle and spray the area that you are in only, scraping really good with water and a scraper. It will come off. The wallpaper might peal and you'll have the glue left, do the same thing with that. If you use the right amount of water I promise you it will work! Have fun! lol ;)

Answer 6

I am taking down wallpaper right now myself. It is definetly a pain in the you know what! I am using a mixture of hot water/vinager/and laundry detergent. I am spraying it on an letting it soak a bit before scraping. It works decent, but it is still tough. Good Luck!

Answer 7

When I had wallpaper to take off, I used hot water and a towel and rubbed it off. But if you have a big wall to rip off I suggest using a steamer and scrap the wall to allow the steam in and moisten the paste. Think of the wall as a big envelope and you want to see what's inside without ripping the envelope open. heehee Hope this helps.

Answer 8

use whats called a paper tiger over the wall first it rips tiny holes in the paper they you can either spray a solvent on to the paper or just use warm water let it sit on there for a few minutes and with a terry towel just start wiping or see if you can get a piece to peel and start peeling. use the towel with more water as needed for stubborn spots

Answer 9

Try wetting a towel, then iron over it to "steam" the old paper off. There's also a lot of adhesive removers you can purchase at a home show, such as Lowes or Home Depot.

Answer 10

I have heard to use liquid fabric softener. But I had already spent the money on a comercial brand remover so I did not try it.