Start by stripping the outer
face off of the wallpaper, sometimes
this is a vinyl coating and other
times, it is just a dense layer
of paper. This should leave only
the backing material and glue.
Prepare a wallpaper stripping
solution consisting of water and
a little dishwashing detergent.
Wallpaper stripping solution should
be sponged on the backing material
and allowed to soak (re-wetting
as necessary) for at least 10
minutes. A cheap garden-type sprayer
will tremendously speed up the
soaking process. Attempt to remove
the backing material with a wallpaper
scraping tool or alternately any
flat bladed tool such as a wide
putty knife. If this fails, re-wet
the backing and allow to soak
longer. The more you soak, the
easier the job.
If the above stripping solution
is not working well enough, you
may also try a solution of 2 parts
water to 1 part white vinegar
and use the same technique. This
stripping solution is only effective
against wallpaper installed using
wheat or starch based wallpaper
adhesives. If the adhesive is
unknown, use one of the below
listed strippers.
If you have really stubborn
wallpaper, obtain some
Safe and Simple online, or
Dif from your local home improvement
store, and follow the bottle's
directions to remove the remaining
backing material.
If you plan on painting the
area you just stripped, you must
ensure that all the glue behind
the backing is removed. To tell
if there is still glue remaining,
wet the wall and feel it. Any
slimy areas mean there is glue
left over. To remove any remaining
glue, mix 2 tablespoons of liquid
fabric softener into a gallon
of water and scrub. You must also
carefully rinse the entire wall
surface so there are no traces
of paste or wallpaper stripper
remaining behind, before you paint.
If your vinyl/dense paper facing
does not want to peel off the
backing, you may try to dry peel
it off the wall which may or may
not cause wall damage. You can
also obtain a paper scoring tool,
such as the Paper
Tiger, to score the paper
and perform the above steps for
removal. Paper scoring tools can
damage the drywall underneath
the wallpaper, but are gentler
on plaster walls. Ensure you read
the directions on the package
for complete instructions, but
a good rule of thumb is to let
the tool do the work. Additional
lateral pressure will cause undo
damage to the wall surface. An
alternate method is to use a razor
to score a series of Xs into the
wallpaper surface. This requires
a careful touch as to not damage
the underlying wall surface. In
some cases, the scoring and soaking
steps will promote or enhance
the stripping of the facing material,
so after this step, attempt to
removing the facing material again.
If still no success, you will
have to perform repetitive score,
soak, and strip steps to remove
your wallpaper.
