Whats the easiest way to take wallpaper down?

Question

I just moved into a new house... In the kitchen there is wallpaper that I want to take down. You can tell its been up there a while because its starting to peel already. What is the easiest way to take the wallpaper down? What do I have to do before painting? I've never done this before so I know NOTHING... please help!

Answer 1

Try peeling as much of wallpaper as you can without chemicals. Score the wallpaper but be careful not to score deep into the walls. Mix half part of laundry softener and half part of warm water into a sprayer, and spray onto wallpaper. Wait for about 7-10 minutes then peel. If the wallpaper is really tough to get off after the application use a scraper while peeling it off. Laundry softener is cheaper than other chemicals I've used, it's great if you are on a budget and smells great too. Good luck

Answer 2

Go to Home Depot and get a big jug of Diff and two rotary tools for removing wallpaper, then stop by your friend's house and pick him/her up, then stop by the pizza shop and get one along with a couple cold drinks to take back to your house. You each start at the opposite ends of one wall and work the wall in sections (top and bottom) and meet in the middle, paint the wall with a roller filled with the Diff. Move on to the next wall and repeat, until all the walls are scratched and painted. That stuff will start peeling, bubbling up, just scrape it off with a scraper, and then get a big sponge (the kind you wash the car with) and some clean water and wipe down all the walls to get the rest of the Diff and wallpaper glue off. Sweep the floor and take a break to enjoy the pizza and drinks while the walls air dry. Repair any knicks, or surface damage with a little spackle/crack/joint compound, sand and prime the walls with primer tinted in the same color as the paint, because you really have no idea what kind of mess got used to paint in there since the paper was old - you don't want any lead issues. After that dries, top with 1-2 coats of paint. Happy decorating!

Answer 3

Here is the cheap and easy way. All you need is some warm water and plain vinegar. Mix 50/50 and use a sponge to really soak the wallpaper. Wait a few minutes and it should come off very easy using a putty knife. Another way is to rent a steamer (found at wallpaper stores) which will also loosen the paper for you to peel off. After the paper is removed fill all holes with spackle compound and sand walls smooth. Before painting brush a sealer on the walls and use a paint primer.

Answer 4

Montecer17 is absolutely right even though many people say it is the last thing you want to do because they think the new paint won't adhere properly. I've never had any problem with it and have used this technique MANY times. The ease of removal will probably depend on the type of adhesion. Alot of old papers were applied with a wallpaper adhesive but newer paper is usually prepasted so you just have to get it wet.

Either way with the fabric softener it is very easy! Make sure you use really hot water to mix it. Just one more tip-make sure you use a fabric softener that you can tolerate well because the smell is strong. Also, I wouldn't use a softener that you want to use on a regular basis for your laundry because you kinda get burned out on it through the paper removal process.

Answer 5

I am speaking from experience having taken some butt-ugly wallpaper off our walls. You need to go to Home Depot and get a couple of things (they have all of this in the wallpaper removal section):
- Paper Tiger (it's a tool to score wall paper - it has a round handle and some scoring wheels) you need this to create little holes in the wallpaper that will allow the wallpaper removal chemical to get into the glue under the paper.
- DIF (it's a wallpaper remover/stripper gel) I think it's available in liquid or gel form. I've only ever used the gel.
- A big sponge to apply the DIF gel to the wallpaper. OR you could use a regular paint roller. Whatever you find easier.
- Some rubber gloves.
- Some kind of scraper to help scrape the bits of wall paper that are left on the wall off.

Ok, once you have bought the stuff, get a bunch of newspaper and put it at the base of the wall where you want to remove the wallpaper to protect your floor. Try to remove as much wall paper without the DIF as possible. I once was able to remove 90% of the old wallpaper from our kitchen without any chemicals. This will usually work better in rooms where the environment is moist like the kitchens or bathrooms, since that tends to loosen the wallpaper. Score the wallpaper by rolling the Paper Tiger tool over it. You want to have lots of little holes. Then follow the directions on the DIF bottle and apply. Wait for the required time, then start peeling the wallpaper. If it doesn't come off easily, apply more DIF. Be generous with it. Peel the wallpaper off and assist with the scraper as needed. Get lots of trash bags and just throw the wet wall paper into them as you peel it off the walls. You may need to follow up with additional DIF in spots. Once you have removed all of the wall paper, wipe the wall down with a wet sponge (just water). Let dry. Then get some TSP (I think this is also in the wallpaper removal section) - it's a cleaning liquid (the old formula of **** and Span cleaner used to be TSP - I think it stands for trisodium phosphate). Wipe the wall down with TSP to get rid of any remaining wallpaper glue or dirt or grease. Now you are ready to paint. Use a primer like KILZ for the first layer. It will prevent any wall paper glue that may still be on the wall from showing through. Then paint with any latex paint. Good luck!!

Answer 6

Start by peeling off what you can. Then mix up a batch of warm water and a special wallpaper removal solution (available at any home improvement store, use the directions on the wall paper removal container). Heavily spray the remaining wall paper and scrape it off. I think the scraper i used was the kind that was used to put wall paper up, but any will do. You may have to repeat a few times to get it all off or use a wet wash cloth to wipe away remaining glue.

Answer 7

This is a very easy process.
1. Get a medium size bucket
2. Fill it half way with hot water
3. Get a sponge and wet a good area of the wallpaper with it.
4. After a good minute watch the wallpaper kinda loose its grip. Here then either grab the wallpaper with your hands and start ripping it off or MY FAVORITE, Grab a sheetrock spatula and with it scrape the wallpaper from underneath. You will see that the wallpaper will come off seemlessly.

The spatula will make your work much easier.

Good luck,

Carlo

Answer 8

It relies upon at this form of wallpaper you're able to do away with. you will want a bucket with water (in simple terms make it a cushty temperature so which you will apply), a sponge, a wallpaper knife (razor). you will use the sponge to place the water on. Use the razor to make sparkling cuts around any tears interior the drywall. for many wallpaper, soak it with water. enable it soak in for approximately 30 min, then flow lower back and soak it lower back and initiate off peeling it, continually save it moist. If it incredibly is nevertheless being complicated, soak it some extra and enable it soak lower back... continually save it moist. you will make a extensive mess on the floor... the floor would be VERY moist. I incredibly have drop cloths i take advantage of, yet those are not the main plausible issues for people who don't try this for a residing. you need to use plastic, in simple terms be careful, it gets slippery. For the main complicated, score the wallpaper (you will get a wallpaper scorer from paint grant shops, like Sherwin Williams). continually save the wall paper moist. never paint or airborne dirt and dust over wallpaper... it is going to reason severe issues interior the destiny.

Answer 9

Go to a paint store and ask. There is this stuff that I used that took it off in like 2hours. I can't remember what it is called but it was cheap and it worked and wasn't toxic smelling. Then I sanded the walls and then washed them and then painted.