Removing wallpaper

valerie · Post by **valerie** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 8:16 pm

Yes.

Get one of those little things to "score" the wallpaper that you move over

it in little circular motions... then use a solution of FABRIC SOFTENER and

water... yes, you heard me right... cheap and works... oh heck let me

see if I can look up the strength percentages and I'll get back to ya...

valerie · Post by **valerie** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 8:20 pm

Okay the solution should be 50/50 fabric softener and hot water. Put in

a squirt bottle and let stand for a bit. You may need to do some final

removal with lifting it with a putty knife, but it will work. Clean the wall

afterwords (are you going to paint?) with TSP. You can find all this stuff

just about anywhere, home improvement store and what not.

Have Fun!!

:-6

Peg · Post by **Peg** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 8:41 pm

Someone at work just told me about fabric softener working well to take wallpaper off. I used a squirt bottle, a damp towel, and hot iron. Took some time, but did the job. Why do these helpful hints always come when it's too late for me?

Rapunzel · Post by **Rapunzel** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 8:48 pm

I bought a cheap steamer and steamed the walls. Then as I scraped the manky old paper off I rested the steamer against the wall but propped up on a small metal bin. The steam poured up the walls and when I went to scrape that bit, the old paper just fell off the walls in big swathes! It got all the horrible little bits off and the whole room was done very quickly. That steamer was money well spent!

Rapunzel · Post by **Rapunzel** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 9:11 pm

Clancy wrote: ....now you'll be asked what, "manky" is

hehehe :wah:

Mookey1229 · Post by **Mookey1229** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 11:57 pm

We moved into a house that was old and had old wall paper on it. I used hot water and simple green. It worked great. Just wet it down real well a little area at a time and then take a putty knife and scrap it off. Some of it came off in big huge sheets. Good luck,

BabyRider · Post by **BabyRider** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 1:12 am

That tool that Val is talking about is called a "Tiger claw" and it has little rotating teeth that perforates the paper to allow the solution to soak in better. It works like a dream!

Jcas · Post by **Jcas** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 6:45 pm

I have has sucsess using a paint scraper, but a lot depends on the surface of the wall as well...good luck with it..:-6 :-6

Post by **spot** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 6:53 pm

All these suggestions so far have involved financial outlay beyond the scraper itself, by the look of it. My own experience is that warm fresh urine, left on unlaminated wallpaper, is more than sufficient to scrape back to clean plaster if it's left to soak in for ten minutes. If it's laminated, of course, you have to peel the outer layer off dry - the lamination ought to come away as a single strip.

Post by **spot** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 7:07 pm

JAB wrote: You wouldn't be offended would you Spot if I pass on this suggestion and just take your word for it...?Gosh no. Just a passing observation. You never know when it might come in useful.

Uncle Kram · Post by **Uncle Kram** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 5:37 am

I use a steamer or put washing up liquid in water and apply with a sponge. The suds tend to stay in place whereas water just runs down. If the surface is vinyl, you've got to score it.

My first house was over a hundred years old. I'd never decorated before so started peeling paper off a small area. I had pieces of 9 different types of wallpaper one on top of the other. The one at the bottom was probably Victorian. As I reached the bottom layer, some of the plaster started to come away from the brickwork.

I then had to apply layer 10. The room was probably much bigger originally

deckard · Post by **deckard** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 5:22 pm

Hot water & Vinegar.

Score wallpaper and apply,

Allow to soak,

Comes off real easy.

Post by **spot** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 11:14 pm

While I think of it, would anyone like my handier household tip on softening glove leather with just a bucket, a sufficient supply of canine fecal material and cold running water?

theia · Post by **theia** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 11:36 pm

spot wrote: While I think of it, would anyone like my handier household tip on softening glove leather with just a bucket, a sufficient supply of canine fecal material and cold running water?

Spot, you've been reading Mrs Beeton's Household Management, haven't you?

Post by **spot** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 7:36 am

theia wrote: Spot, you've been reading Mrs Beeton's Household Management, haven't you?Not quite, Theia, but you're very close. It's a letter to the Morning Chronicle of Friday, December 7, 1849, by Henry Mayhew, which ended up published in his London Labour And The London Poor. Everyone should have a copy on their shelf.