Can someon pleeaasse help me?? I’m trying to de-wallpaper my entire house (this is a huge job) and I am soaking the wallpaper thoroughly (though I usually have to peel off three layers before its all off). The problem is, I am washing the walls and they still have a lot of grime and glue on them. Is there an easier way that scrubbing them with sugar soap until my arms go dead?? THeres GOT to be an easier way surely??? PLease help me!
Hi Jessica,
I used a device over in Canada a while back which steamed wallpaper off. Worked pretty well but was still a bugger of a job. You could probably ask one of the tool hire companies such as Kennards if they have anything.
I wonder if a heat gun would work? I have one which I use for paint stripping but havn’t tried on wallpaper, might be a possibility though.
I got this from a google search that lead to the Bunnings website:
What is the best way to remove wallpaper without using a steamer?
There is a product that will aid in the removal of wallpaper. It is called Poly-peel, and comes in a 75g, bright yellow sachet. Simply mix the product and apply, leaving the assorted detergents and softeners to work for about 20 minutes,. You can then remove the wallpaper with a scraper. Poly-peel is available at all Bunnings Warehouse stores.
To make the job easier, you may want to score the wallpaper before application, and investing in a good quality scraper will make all the difference.
Please wash the walls down with sugar soap before you add your new coverings or paint, to remove any residual product.Learn, Love, Strive. Make a difference!
Hi I have removed wallpaper very easily by getting a bucket of warm water, add a cap or two of wool mix to the water. Next peal the top ply of wall paper off the wall. In my experience this peals away very easily and you are left with the glued plain paper on the wall. Get a sponge, soak it in the buket of water and wool mix and liberally apply the water mix to the glued paper. My experience has been that the glued paper wipes of the wall, glue and all. I have removed an entire room of wallpaper in under 20 minutes.
Hi Jessica,
I’m not 100% sure but I have some ideas. As a signwriter we used to use a heat gun to remove the actual material (in your case the wallpaper itself). And then to remove the adhesive we would use either prepsol or turps. Prepsol is avaulable from your automotive paint supply stores. Maybe you can get it from bunnings. But I think it may be fairly expensive. If it saves you time though it may be money well spent.
cheers,
Scissors
Hi Jessica
The steamer suggestion is the wat to go.
Wallpaper has a water based glue so to disolve it quickly you need something hot and wet. You can not use a heat gun on it because it just burns the paper and will not moisten the glue.
Petrolium based solvents will not work on a water based glue and will make it very dificult to paint a water based paint over if you try it.
Wallpaper sucks.
Good luck
Clay
Hi again
I have seen the steamers for rent in wallpaper shops in the past. Maybe I’m showing my age, are there still wallpaper shops??
Clay
I have a permanent twitch in my right eye and often wake up screaming at night after removing wallpaper from an old property I owned……..try the wallpaper steamer and if that doesent work …burn the house down to the ground…if your insurance assessor has ever removed wallpaper you will recieve a full payout same day.
( this advise is absolute rubbish and I take no responsibility for any increase in wallpaper related insurance fraud )
“love the deal – like the property”
Hi just removed wall paper from the kitchen in a reno I’m doing at the moment. My A Team suggested using just water, hot or cold, and sponging it on the paper ensuring it soaks in, leave for about 5-10 mins then scrape it off…presto. Give it a go.
hrm
You could try lavender oil mixed in warm water. It seems to get through anything, in particular those horrible little stickers you get on crystal glasses and things.
As a bit of reno advice:
Never use wallpaper, it’s dated within about 5 minutes of being applied and it sucks to get off.Also:
You may not need to remove it, you might be able to get away with just painting over it. If the paper is textured that may not work so well.Who thought wallpaper was good anyway?
Lazy people who either couldn’t be bothered painting the wall or were too tight to pay a painter to do it for them!
Learn, Love, Strive. Make a difference!
Hi Jessica,
the nightmare of people wallpaper…
… actucally these are my favourite properties to buy.. nobody likes peeling off wall paper… but having done it several times and it being full day consuming the best thing and honest thing ive found that works is…
** go to bunnings hire the wallpaper steamer.. (rougly around $90 a week hire fee)
** fill the wall steamer container up, it takes a long time to heat up and be ready for use..
** with the wallpaper, peel the top layer, via hand.. and try to peel it off as in big wide pieces (usually it will take about 5-10 mins to do a room like this)(this paper is the paper.. with the colour or wall decoration)
** then with that next layer of wall paper thats under the decoration and between the glue (normally, are very clean smoothing, paper and it almost feels you can just paint over it without peeling..) run you your wallsteamer over it and hold it over the spot for a few good seconds.. and scrap away…
** once all sticky residue.. is peeled and scraped away.. the next annoying task is.. a quick wash with the wall.
** normally we use a sugar soap mixture, and give the walls a quick wash,
** then followed by a quick sand… (yes lots of sanding..)
** normally ive done this in a team environment… where as my brother and i would do this work together.. (it takes us, approximately a full whole day.. to completely do half a house…
peeling and cleaning wallpaper isnt a fun job, and can be quite expensive to get a professional in to do…
** but for some funny reason, ive always found that my properties seem to go up.. after all that wallpaper has been peeled away..
Cheers,
sisps.. hope it works out alright.. its just a pain of a job to do..
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