OT...what's your favorite method of.....

removing wallpaper? I'm scoring the paper and spraying on Dif. It's only coming off in small amounts at a time. This is going to take me a month for a small dining room!

Reply to
KJ
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I've only done it but once, and it was a small room. Though there was a varied assortment of layers to go through. I think they had just been slinging new paper over old since the civil war.

I did much as you are, though with plain water. The trick to it seemed to be to spend day one scoring the whole of it, then spraying all of it, waiting for that to soak in, and then spraying again. I just kept spraying as I went. It got much easier as I progressed. A combination of practice and steadily loosening the paper I suspect. It was lime plaster underneath so I didn't have to fret much about wetting the wall. In fact I brushed it down with lime water and painted it fresco secco when I was finished. Somewhere on the north side somebody has a very fancy pantry. Presuming they haven't painted it over in landlord brown number 22.

NightMist Who has had to promise her DH that she will not play with quicklime anymore.

Reply to
NightMist

"KJ" wrote in news:MmnTj.149673$yE1.108474@attbi_s21:

My favorite method of removing wallpaper? To bribe someone else to do it for me!

Els.

Reply to
FiederEls in NL

After scoring use lots of water. I use a floor mop and mop the walls and let it soak in before peeling the paper off by sliding a paint scraper (

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)up the wall under the edge of the paper. It comes off in long soggy strips so plastic sheeting on the floor is a good idea. If you have "washable" paper it will probably peel off in two layers (resoak after the first layer if necessary). Good luck.

Lizzy

Reply to
Lizzy Taylor

Well, golly, Kathyl, if I'd know you were going to need to know I would have paid closer attention. There was a segment on the HGtv 'getting your house ready to sell' recently that showed all the tricks. The easy methods didn't work and the folks had to get really serious. Thinking back, it seems like they rented a small steamer of some sort. (Messy, but would be good for your complexion.) Polly

Reply to
Polly Esther

I've had great luck- now this was vinyl coated wallpaper- with peeling off the top vinyl-plasticky layer by grabbing a corner and pulling in long strips, then spraying the bottom paper/glue layer with a mix of liquid fabric softener and water. About any dilution less than 50% softener will work. Let it soak for a few minutes and it's gonna come right off with a terry cloth rag or easily with a plastic scraper- like a wide putty knife. Good luck..... you'll need it!

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

Reply to
Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

Filling a spray bottle with a mixture of hot water and vinegar, about 1 to 1, and spraying large sections several times has worked for me. If your paper has a vinyl coating, it probably needs some scoring. Otherwise, spraying and letting the water/vinegar mixture have time to work, then repeating a couple of times does it for me.

Rita L.

KJ wrote:

Reply to
Rita in MA

Reply to
Roger Edgington

I haven't tried it but a gal I know says that liquid fabric softener works...I think she diluted it before either spraying iton or "painting" it on... Mary

Reply to
MB

I have the gel Dif, but I'm spraying it on. Hummmm....rolling it would make a more even coverage. I've used one spray bottle of the gel and another spray bottle of the "instant" Dif and I've only got one small wall done. And it will certainly need a good scrubbing wash also...TSP? I really thought this was going to be easier....not easy....but easier than I'm finding it to be. It's going to be quite costly if I keep using the spray stuff! I think I'll investigate the hot water combinations.

Reply to
KJ

Score, soak, wait, peel/scrape, repeat. A credit card makes a great scraper - no sharp corners. There may be an offer for one in your mailbox now... Liz

Reply to
Liz Megerle

Get hold of one of those steamer thingies. Maybe rent one. My method is to pull down as much paper as possible (we've lived in old houses, so the glue tends to get brittle and crumbly), then steam off whatever is left. Roberta in D

"KJ" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news:MmnTj.149673$yE1.108474@attbi_s21...

Reply to
Roberta Zollner

I've only done this a couple of times. I have an old "steamer" that looks like an iron - it was on the market during the doubleknit fabric era. It was great for pressing seams without leaving a seam allowance mark. Over the years this has been used to steam off wallpaper after scoring and spraying. It comes off quite quickly. I know that steamers are available to rent - special ones made just for wallpaper. Otherwise, score, spray, then spray again to keep the paper damp. If it is vinyl wallpaper, you have to remove the vinyl layer first. Good luck - a terrible job any way you look at it!

Reply to
Susan Torrens

Soak with anything, wait, take a razor scraper to the wall. Peels off like a champ. I've done more walls than I like to think about. The last bit in our current house was stubborn. We had to resort finally to some horrid chemical. But in the end, it was hot water and razor scrapers. Get the wide one -- I think mine is 7" wide. It's the thing where you screw open the handle and then the big razor goes in and you tighten down the handle again. Use plenty. When the edge becomes dull or nicked, change blades. Works really well for scraping off those last bits and stubborn places.

Sunny

Reply to
Sunny

this is the method i've used for years! works like a charm! even on 7 layers of "regular paper" wall paper. and a plastic wide putty knife works the best it wont dig into your walls like a metal one.

amy in CNY

Reply to
amy in CNY

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