Stripping off wallpaper ?.........

[mukiwa]

This is one of the MOST of topic questions I think I have ever asked, but have any of you stripped of wallpaper or taken it off your walls ? Well, my mom is making my brother and I take of the whole wallpaper in a room thats about 18'X20' and its going to suck. I have done it before but this is a huge job, so I was wondering do any of you have any like wallpaper steamers or stuff like that ? if so what kinds ? and what kinds would you recomend ? We still have about 4 rooms in our house to take off wallpaper (our house is like 6,000 squar feet). I was just looking online to see if I could persuade my mom to buy one but I don't want to buy one and have it not work with crap. But I must also mention, we do not only have 1 layer, but like 4 or 5 or 6 layers of wallpaper (yes, believe me we do, I have taken it off)...........
Thanks chaps

 

[scoobydoo]

Use a mixture of vinegar and water (50/50) in a spray bottle. Spray a section to saturate it really well. Wait a few minutes and then scrap with a putty knife. Works better than anything I've ever used. Good Luck.

 

[bigarn]

They also sell a tool called a Tigerclaw or something like that .... it fits in one hand and you just roll it around on the wall paper and it puts little holes all over it. This allows the solution you're using to get right to the glue and dissolve it quicker, then start scrapeing. I agree, hot or warm water and vinegar works great. Unfortunately since you have multiple layers it's going to be a tougher job.

 

[red79]

I used plain warm water and a scrapper to take mine off when we moved in. There was 4 layers of wall paper. Start at the bottom and loosen it up and slowly pull it upwards. You should be able to get big pieces off that way. Mine was very old. Our house was built in the 60's and had never seen paint.

 

[hot883]

I,m with you RED, I just used plain water in a spray bottle, turned the nozzle to stream/heavy mist and started spraying at the top so it could soak in as it ran down the wall. No need to buy any expensive gel looking goop from HD/L's because water worked for me. GOOD LUCK!

 

[mukiwa]

Aha Thanks guys but sorry to bust your bubble, but ive tried everything you guys have mentioned, because I have already done about 3/5 of my house with my brother taking off wallpaper with just water and a scraper. Yes I have used the TigerClaw and it helps, but I was looking for like a good steamer or something in that catagory. And no offence red79 but if you think your house is old because its from the 60's, hah, that like a joke because our house's land was found in 1790's and was built in 1836, so our wallpaper is ancient.
Thanks though

 

[scoobydoo]

Did you use water and vinegar or just water? The vinegar should soften the glue. The house will smell like a salad but its always worked for me. Good luck!

 

[lovethesea]

if you have paper that was applied w/o a primer of sorts you will be in a world of hurt come time to remove paper. You will end up damaging the drywall/sheetrock.
If the vingegar/water, paper tiger/dif combo or the dawn/water wasn't successful you will have to resort to the steamer. Its messy and very HOT!!! (duh right?) I got mine at Lowe's for about $35.00. But it does work.

 

[red79]

Nah, I didn't have any primer on my walls and I didn't hve a whole lot of damage when I was done. Nothing a little mud couldn't handle any way.

 

[mukiwa]

We usually use hot water with fabric softener, and it seems to work as well as vinegar but smells a little better. What kind of steamer did you get lovethesea ? and how well of a job does it do ? is it quick or slow ? and was it worth it ? Thanks

 

[lovethesea]

Wagner.......at Lowes, but I'm sure other places have something similar. Its a liitle slow and pretty messy. BUT it saved my dry wall. Whomever placed the paper in my sons room previously did not "size" the walls. Therefore when I went to RIIIIPPPP off the paper as I usually would.......HUGE pieces of drywall were coming off OR worse, the littlest tiniest pieces were tearing off. Basically getting nowhere fast. After using all of my "usual" techniques, I resorted to the steamer. About $35-40 bucks. Cheaper than renting one. The only draw back was that it basically melted the glue, so when you went to tear off and then remove remnants with a putty spatula, its VERY sticky and gummy.
When you reach the top of the wall your on a ladder and holding the steamer up higher and I had to use a towel because it bubbles steam and get REALLY hot of course.
Either way, its a mess and I am now almost wall paper-less in my house with the exception of borders.

 

[birdy]

I rented a professional steamer from Home Depot, got my wallpaper off like magic, you mix vinegar in the water and it gets hot hot hot, the wall paper just melted off the walls.
I will never wallpaper a room ever!

 

[lovethesea]

Originally Posted by Birdy
I will never wallpaper a room ever!

AAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEENNNNNNN!!!!!!!

:yes:
(just the border in my sons room with surf boards that I know I can strip off in a heart beat )