What is the best way to remove wall paper. Is there any particular product you can recommend?+?

Question

I am trying to remove wall paper from 3 rooms and am dreading the process

Answer 1

You need a heat gun. It melts the glue and peels right off.

Answer 2

We're doing this now and no, it's not fun. We had four rooms and I've found the paper to be different in each room. I'm not sure if it's the quality of the paper, the way the walls were prepared, the humidy level of the rooms or what, but it's definately different.

I like to start dry and remove the vinyl top layer. That usually peels off pretty easily. You can catch corners or seams and it often comes off in large sections if you pull evenly.

Once all the vinyl is off, you're left with either glue or glue & backing. I've tried the removal solution mentioned earlier and didn't care for it - left things slimy feeling in my opinon. I've heard others say they love it though so I guess it's a matter of finding what works for you.

A pump up hand sprayer like you buy for weed killer or whatnot is a great tool. Be sure to get a new one as you're working indoors with steamy water and you don't want the chance of any chemical residue being sprayed about. They aren't expensive and can be purchased at any hardware or DIY center.

You can fill it about half full with very, very hot water and apply a light mist to the backing & glue left behind after the vinyl is gone. If it starts to cool, dump out the container and refill - keeping the water really hot helps a lot.

In some cases (depending on how thick the residue is) you may need to let it sit a few minutes to penetrate through. Use a putty knife to scrape this wet residue off. Be careful not to make gouges in the sheetrock (though you're bound to creat a few knicks - don't panic, they are easily filled with drywall mud when you redo the wall). You can also use a rough sponge or wash cloth (the rough terry kind). I suggest experimenting as different glues come off differently.

My sister uses a product, I believe it's called TLP or TPL or something to that effect. It's a powder you mix with the hot water and is supposed to help remove the glue. I've not tried it but she's supposed to be coming over next week with some to try out on my project. I'm hopeful it'll boost the process along.

Best wishes!

Answer 3

This the cheapest and "easiest" way to do it. buy a wall scoring tool, the one that has the legs that extend outside the palm area of the tool*its a commercial grade tool). trust me the little bit more money will save u tons of time. aslo get a pump sprayer a few (4-5)gallons of white vinegar.
First score all of the area to be scraped, the more holes the better.
next put plastic down if you plan on keeping the exsiting flooring,carpet etc..
Fill the sprayer 1/2 way with the hottest water (you can boil it if u want, i do ) fill the rest of it with vinegar. u want to soak the walls and mean saturate, this willnot harm the walls or sheetrock.
Useing a large spackle knife (10"+) place your hands across the face of it (picture yourself holding up youir hands and showing someone all four fingers with thumbs tucked under, u will see what i mean once u do this with tool in hand) this will keep u from gouging the walls and keep the waximum amout of the pressure on the edge of the scraping part.
The paper should almost fall off if you got the walls wet unough, if it doesn't scrape off with ease get it wetter. try doing one wall at a time. if you dont the solution will dry and it is a waste.
Once finished spakle any gouges or nail pops, lightly sand the walls.
Use a top grade primer and paint to ensure the longest life of your work. if you use cheap primer and paint you will be wasting time and money because the coverage will be less and paint to thin.
GL

Answer 4

It depends on the paper. The secret of good stripping is to get the liquid (water, stripping solution or whatever you use) behind the paper. If the paper has been painted over, score the surface in both directions to allow the liquid to soak in. For vinyl papers, the vinyl coating usually comes off in one piece, leaving behind a porous paper backing that will be easy to soak off.

As you have three rooms to do, why not hire a steam stripper. These are very effective at breaking the bond between the paper and the wall.

Answer 5

nina,

i do this in my job regularly. it stinks!

but the easiest way i have found is to use Vinegar and the hottest water possible in a spray bottle. use about a 50/50 combination.

score the wall first with a semi -sharp putty knife, being careful not to dig into the wall.

spray the solution on about a 3 foot square area and keep that area wet. let it sit about 5 minutes.

while you are waiting, score and wet the next area.

come back to your first area and scrape off as much as you can with a sharp putty knife, again being careful to not dig into the wall.

after you get the top layer of paper off, you will want to rewet the area. then you repeat with the putty knife.

i then use the same solution of vinegar and water to remove all leftover paste.

clean the walls with clean warm water and a sponge.

prime, then paint.

Answer 6

OMG...we just finished this project in 2 of our rooms. Needless to say, yes it is a pain in the rear! What we did was bought this solution called DIF from Home Depot and a wallpaper scoring tool. Run the tool over the wallpaper to make holes, then spray the DIF solution on one section at a time. Let it sit, then start to rip. You might have leftover glue and paper on the walls (we sure did). So you just repeat the process with the DIF. You'll need a plastic scraper to get the remaing glue and paper off. While it's not especially difficult, its quite time consuming so make sure you're prepared to be patient! Good luck!

Answer 7

Paper removal is not as complicated as people think it just involves getting moisture to the old glue by one method or another. One way I personally like is using a scoring wheel(a tool that perforates the paper you can buy them at any hardware store). After scoring just use a water/white vinegar solution 80% water,the vinegar provides rapid break down of the old glue. If it is multi layers a steamer works best.

Answer 8

My hubby observed on DIY or HGTV the different day the place somebody used a great soaker water gun with warm water to get rid of wallpaper. i'm effective you ought to upload some style of product to the water this is used to dissolve glue or get rid of wallpaper. A steamer is a robust option additionally. it often takes some elbow grease. i don't reccomment portray over the wallpaper as a lot of human beings propose, via fact I even have seen that achieved till now and a great style of the time human beings sense sorry approximately it.

Answer 9

The best way to remove wallpaper is to use liquid fabric softner and use a 16 oz. spray bottle with 50/50 water/fabric softner,spray the walls and let it soak in for 10- 20 min. and with a wide putty knife/scraper start scraping and peeling the paper,as you start removing it you will be able to tell if you're putting on enough "spray",if you are it will peal off pretty good, if not enough "spray", it will tear where its dry.Good Luck.

Answer 10

I would use a steam cleaner and direct it at the paper, and while u are scraping that part off direct it at the next part. Or u can u a brush and a bucket of water and brush it on the walls and scrape it off after a few minutes.

Answer 11

I agree with Michael on the fabric softener but I use Windex instead of water...better results for some reason. Don't use the scoring tool as it will leave unsightly holes you will have to fill up before painting.