The Best Way to Remove Wallpaper Without Losing Your Sa

27 Jun 2019 05:37
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<p>What would you do to avoid removing wallpaper? Probably whatever you could, judging by the stories of woe we found on the web.</p>
<p class="p1 DIYer Rachel Meeks wrote in her “Small Notebook” blog that she was so overwhelmed by the prospect of removing 40-year-old wallpaper from several rooms that she actually &lt;em&gt;knocked down a couple of walls&lt;/em&gt; rather than spend time scraping.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=" p1="" if="" only="" she’d="" checked.="" she="" would="" have="" found t’s="" actually="" a="" fairly="" simple="" diy="" project="" so="" long="" as="" you="" the="" right="" info,="" tools,="" and="" expectations.="" (it’s="" gonna="" take="" <a="" name="some time"></p>some time!)
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<h2>First, Check to See If Your Walls Were Primed</h2>
<p class="p1 Anyone who’s managed to remove wallpaper lickety-split likely (and luckily) had walls that were sealed with wallpaper primer before they were papered, says Geoff Sharp, owner and founder of Sharper Impressions Painting Co., which operates in several cities including Atlanta and Indianapolis.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=" p1="" priming="" became="" more="" common="" in="" the="" 1990s.="" it="" prevents="" wet="" glue="" from="" soaking="" into="" plaster="" or="" drywall="" and="" forming="" a="" tough-to-break="" bond.<=""></p>
<p class="p1 Loosen a corner or seam with a putty knife and pull. If it peels off in a sheet, you got primed!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=" p1="" being="" able="" to="" peel="" off="" wallpaper="" in="" complete="" or="" partial="" sheets="" after="" lifting="" the="" corners="" with="" a="" putty="" knife="" is="" called="" dry="" stripping.<=""></p>
<p class="p1 With well-primed walls, dry stripping should work for the entire job and you could finish a room in a couple of hours at most.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;aside class=" recirculation="" list"=""></p>
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<h2>Water Works Miracles on Getting Rid of Wallpaper</h2>
<p class="p1 “Wallpaper glue is water based, so water is a super-efficient remover,” says vlogger Chris Berry, known as The Idaho Painter, who owns B&amp;K Painting in Boise. “It works so well, we use it instead of chemical wallpaper strippers on both drywall and plaster.”&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=" p1="" here’s="" what="" to="" do="" with="" water:<=""></p>
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<li>Score or perforate the paper and its backing in sections so water can soak through and loosen the glue. The pros recommend a scoring tool called the PaperTiger (under $20) because it doesn’t harm the wall.</li>
<li>Douse the perforated paper with <em>hot</em> water using a pump or compression sprayer (under $50). OK, wallpaper-phobics, here’s where the myth that DIY removal is the worst gets legs. The big mistake most people make is using a regular old spray bottle or damp rag to wet the paper. This leads to hours of fruitless scraping (and griping) because the paper and its backing don’t get sufficiently saturated. The sprayer, on the other hand, gives you the firepower to really soak the glue.</li>
<li>Let the paper soak for about 15 minutes and scrape it off with a putty knife.</li>
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<p>It could take you six hours for an average room, but that’s way better than the days of effort it could take if you don’t know what you’re doing.</p>
<p class="p1 Another option for harnessing the power of H20 is steam.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=" p1="" wallpaper="" steamers,="" which="" you="" can="" rent="" from="" home="" improvement="" or="" hardware="" stores,="" are="" effective="" and="" “much="" neater="" [than="" water]="" because="" you’re="" using="" moist="" heat,”="" says="" jason="" stratos,="" owner="" of="" stratos="" painting="" co.="" in="" springfield,="" mass.<=""></p>
<p class="p1 But they can be tough for steamer newbies. They’re bulky and awkward to use (done an upper body workout lately?)&lt;span class=" s1="" and="" it’s="" possible="" to="" burn="" yourself,="" war<="" pan="">ns&nbsp;Gina Paris of Gina Paris Design in Conneaut Lake, Pa.</p>
<p class="p1 So if all this sounds like a hassle, stick with a compression sprayer, which is easier to manage.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=" p2="" <strong="">If you &nbsp;have woven grasscloth:factor in the extra, painstaking step of tearing off as much of the top layer as possible to expose the backing first, because “the material rips off in thin, stringy shreds,” says Berry.</p>
<p class="p2 &lt;strong&gt;If wood paneling is underneath:&nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;they are the one exception to using water, since water and wood don’t mix. In that case, use a gel chemical stripper that won’t penetrate the wood.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;a class=" anchor"="" name="section-887"></p>
<h2>Avoid Chemical Strippers Because of the Fumes</h2>
<p class="p1 If water is so effective, why does stripper exist? Some pros prefer it because stripper dissolves glue faster than water. But it likely emits low-grade VOCs, or toxic chemicals.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=" p1="" and="" water="" is="" cheap.="" so="" why="" not="" go="" au="" naturel?="" by="" the="" way,="" if="" you="" use="" stripper,="" pros="" recommend="" dif="" ultra="" concentrate="" (pricing="" varies,="" ranging="" from="" about="" $5="" to="" $35="" online).<=""><a class="anchor" name="section-888"></a></p>
<h2>Don't Try the Fabric Softener Trick — It's a Myth</h2>
<p class="p1 Through the interweb grapevine, you may have heard that fabric softener (diluted with water) is a brag-worthy way to remove old wallpaper. But we couldn’t find a single expert who agrees.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=" p1="" “fabric="" softener="" just="" makes="" the="" process="" more="" complicated,="" smelly,="" and="" even="" messier="" than="" using="" plain="" old="" water,”="" says="" berry.="" you="" end="" up="" mixing="" glue="" with="" chemicals="" from="" fabric="" softener.="" in="" addition,="" berry="" may="" harm="" drywall.<=""></p>
<p class="p1 So when it comes to removing wallpaper, the happiest journey (assuming your walls aren’t primed) involves water — and patience.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=" p2="" <em="">Christina Hoffmann contributed to this article.</p>

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