Removing Wallpaper

Updated on August 05, 2007
D.R. asks from Pelham, AL
28 answers

Does anyone know of a good easy way to remove wallpaper without having to hire a professional and without messing up my walls?

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So What Happened?

Thanks everyone for the tips. I tried using half vinegar and half water. It seems to be doing the trick.

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C.W.

answers from Memphis on

Both Lowe's and Home Depot I know carry tools and a removal mix for taking off wallpaper. Its not too messy and actually works really well. Good luck!

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M.S.

answers from Birmingham on

You can rent a steamer from Home Depot or Lowe's to get the wallpaper off. That should work pretty well. I think there is also a solution that you can buy to spread on the walls that will take off the paper.
I hope this helps you!
M. Romero

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N.C.

answers from Knoxville on

Hi D.,

A good way to remove wallpaper is to use a product called DIF.Follow the directions on the bottle. You can get it at Home Depot or Lowes. I don't recommend using the claw thing as it will perforate the drywall and add more work for you.It worked great for me!
Happy Peeling!

N.

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A.W.

answers from Montgomery on

Drench it with hot water. I think there actually is a steamer they make (possible rent one) to steam the paper so it will peel off. Normally hot water works well by spraying it on there and wiping the excess with a sponge. After it sits a little bit it should peel off our you might have to have a little help with a razor blade. Good Luck.

1 mom found this helpful
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K.E.

answers from Huntsville on

D.,

Try mixing ammonia and hot water in a spray bottle, spray it on the wallpaper and letting it soak in for a minute or 2. It should peel right off but if not use a scraper to help remove it

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T.

answers from Chattanooga on

Try mixing water and cheap fabric softener and spraying it on the walls. Let it soak in and then try to scrape it. You can also buy a wallpaper steamer. Good luck.

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H.E.

answers from Knoxville on

We've had some tough wallpaper to remove in our house before. We've used both the Diff spray (make sure to really soak the walls in it) and the scoring tool. And, we've also used a steamer, too (borrowed from a friend). Both worked great for different situations (some wallpaper worked better with one technique over the other). Good luck!

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J.W.

answers from Birmingham on

Unfortunately I have had the opportunity to remove wallpaper several times and am about to do it again in a new house. No matter what you use, you should first score the walls. There's a little handheld device that has little teeth on the bottom and it rolls along the wall. That will allow whatever method you use to penetrate the wallpaper and get to the adhesive. You can get it at Home Depot or Lowes. I have used a product called Dif (Lowes or Home Depot)and it works okay but is a little messy. It's a thick blue gel. You just spray it on and let it sit for a certain amount of time (should be on the label)and then start pulling the wallpaper off. You can also rent a steamer which would be a little neater. I've also heard of mixing fabric softener in water (you can probably find the correct ratio on line)and spraying that on. However just as a warning: if the people who put the wallpaper up didn't prepare the wall properly before putting it up it WILL NOT come down easily and it will almost be impossible to take it down without having some damage to the sheetrock. You can repair the sheetrock though even though it is a pain. Hope this helps.

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J.V.

answers from Biloxi on

I just used Windex to remove the wallpaper border from my sons room, it worked great!

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S.

answers from Birmingham on

We found this stuff called DIFF..It is in a bottle that looks like windex..You spray it on the walls and it comes with a scaper and you just scrape it off..It is a big pain in the butt, but it works...

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L.T.

answers from Nashville on

Its really going to depend on what is under the wallpaper and if the surfaced was properly prepped or not. In our old house, we removed wallpaper in three rooms. In one room it came off super easy because there was semigloss paint underneath and the wallpaper was more modern. Another room was harder because the wallpaper was put up with paste.

We use Dif on all of the surfaces. it really is a good product, and just make sure that you really soak it. We took the wallpaper off in two stages. First we ripped off the top layer and then the adhesive layer...and it worked okay.

Good luck.

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A.D.

answers from Chattanooga on

Lowe's and Home Depot sell wallpaper remover. You buy a little tool that puts tiny holes in the wallpaper, then you spray the remover, and the wallpaper pretty much just peels off. It worked great on my walls and it's not very expensive.

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L.M.

answers from Nashville on

I hate to say it, but it's out of your hands on how that wallpaper comes off, because it all depends on how the paper was put on. I tried a steamer, hot water, vinegar and the water and fabric softener mixure and none of them worked (though the fabric softener made my house smell quite nice). Now, I'm not trying to discourage you, but I just recently had this experience and surely hope yours is better. I used the Diff and liked it better than ANYTHING because it was a gel. Anything else runs and ends up everywhere. Just take your time and go very slowly. Pick a small portion to get started on and that small section will tell you how difficult the rest of the room/house should be. It took me over a month to do my kitchen, but I went to help my father do their kitchen in their new home and it took one hour to do the entire thing, set up, clean up and tearing down all of the paper, and we only used hot water. so, it all depends on how it was put up.

good luck

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S.H.

answers from Huntsville on

My mom does what April W said. Make sure the wallpaper gets well soaked & you should be able to peel it off.

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J.C.

answers from Chattanooga on

Here is one that came through a newsletter I get.

Fill a spray bottle half full with Spick n Span and fill rest of way up with water (label appropriately). Spray this mixture over wallpaper to be removed. Wait 10 min or so and the wallpaper can be scraped right off! Much cheaper than store-bought wallpaper remover and less toxic too.

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C.K.

answers from Biloxi on

I heard you can mix liqiud fabric softner with water, put it in a spray bottle, and it will lift the paper..... also go to Home Depot or Lowes and get yourself a wallpaper scorer(about $5.oo), it really works... thay also have a product called DIF wallpaper remover, I recently used this and the scorer, just score the wallpaper and spray, then it will come off with a scraper easily.... Let me know how your project comes out and good luck!

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N.A.

answers from Auburn on

DIFF its in a spray bottle with a thing you scrap on the wall. Its not easy i dont think anything you use to take wall paper down in going to be easy it takes awahil and it a big pain. And it did mess my walls up when i scrapped the paper off we had to get sheetrock mud and cover the bad places up then sand it down to paint it. Its a real pain but the DIFF will make it come off the wall.

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K.J.

answers from Gadsden on

I bought a wallpaper steamer, around $30. They work great.

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L.W.

answers from Memphis on

If the wallpaper was put up properly, steaming it off, or using Diff, should work well. Just scour it to put holes in the wallpaper, then apply steam or Diff.

If you had my kitchen, where the wallpaper was slapped on without any wall prepping, then hiring a professional was the only way to go ::sigh::

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C.H.

answers from Tuscaloosa on

you can get this stuff from walmart in the paint section...I can't remember the name but it starts with a "d"...anyway, it looks like a bottle of windex. All you do is spray it on the wall let it set for about 5 minutes and you just pull it off. I used it on my living room walls and it works very well with little effort!

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W.B.

answers from Huntsville on

Buy one of those little wallpaper perforators, typically round to fit the palm of your hand with little "teethlike wheels" underneath, and buy the "Big" bottle of DIF! It'll take awhile if the walls weren't primed before they put up the wallpaper but hopefully they were! Good luck

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T.P.

answers from Gadsden on

D.~
I did a kitchen that has some pretty old paper on it....like 8 or so years old. It peeled right off ...but left the sticky backing on...which I had to wet with a spray bottle (I only used water) and then scrape.......It was time consuming, but it was CHEAP & it worked. Plus, I had no additional odors in the kitchen!!!
Smiles & Best Wishes,
T.

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B.P.

answers from Jackson on

D.,

Get you a spray bottle and mix it about half alcohol (to cut the glue) and half hot water and pour in some dawn dishwashing liquid. Wet down the walls really well and the paper will just pull right off. I will make things go easier and faster if you score it. Good Luck.

B.

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J.D.

answers from Montgomery on

there is some stuff called DIF. you can get it at your local walmart, or home depot, etc.. you add it to H2O. they also have a paper scraper. I used this to remove my wallpaper and it didnt hurt nothing. Hope this helps.

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D.H.

answers from Memphis on

The easiest thing to do is rent a steamer from Home Depot. They have a daily rental fee. If you use the steamer be sure not to let it set in one area too long. Good luck!

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S.V.

answers from Johnson City on

D. R,

I just removed OLD wallpaper border from my sons room using a vinegar/warm water solution in a spray bottle. (I ended up using 2 parts vinegar to 1 part water) This worked better than the stuff I think is called DIF (at Walmart) that is expensive if you have alot to do. Best if you get the round thing that cuts small holes in the wallpaper & the wallpaper scrapper. After you score the wallpaper, spray with a good amount of the vinegar/water. It will run down the walls, but you can wipe off with sponge. Sometimes you may need to wait 15-20 minutes to make sure it gets thru to the glue. If it's not coming off good with the scraper, saturate paper again. I was only doing a 10" border & had to put alot of work into getting the remainder of the glue & small bits off. Wish I would have done the vinegar solution before the DIF. I did have to wash down the walls above & below the old border to get the drips, etc. from the vinegar/water. I also had to paint below because of the drips, but it needed a fresh coat anyway.
Good luck!

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S.S.

answers from Mobile on

the easiest way i found as i removed wallpaper from my bathroom wall recently is to wet a sponge ang rub it over the wall paper and it should peel off fairly easy

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L.W.

answers from Birmingham on

you can also use, along with the DIF, a spray bottle with a mixure of a little bit of Dawn diswashing liquid and water. It works really well with the DIF. My husband and I just removed TWO layers of border paper and it worked great!!

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