By Jude Vose
©2007-2009 Jude Vose

Summary: What is the best way to remove wallpaper? Wallpaper can make a room look beautiful! However, when it becomes old, out dated, or torn, and your seams are coming apart, it's time to remove it. Out with the old dated wallpaper and in with the new eco friendly wallpapers or low VOC paints.

"DEAR Jennifer:" Attempting to remove wallpaper is a tricky matter. While many people find removing wallpaper messing and time consuming job, don't try to avoid it by painting over it. This will worsen your removal project and is not an acceptable solution. Follow our professionals' advice, remove the old wallpaper.

SAFETY ALWAYS COMES FIRST

Safety is of the highest importance. Always turn off the electricity at the main panel or at the fuse box for the room you will be removing wallpaper in. Water and electricity don't mix.

You will also be working with a bucket of water. Be very careful with young children and pets as they can easily fall into the bucket of water and get seriously injured. Keep all products and tools out of reach from young children and pets. We can't stress safety enough. Read all safety warnings on all products, before beginning your project.

1. TRY PULLING WALLPAPER IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS

Every wallpaper removal job is different. Some wallpaper is removed easily dry, while others must be wet. To determine this, start at the bottom of the wall and lift a corner of the wallpaper with a Snap-Off Razor Blade or the edge of your Wallpaper Removal Scraper. Many times the front of the wallpaper removes easily dry.

Finding the right direction to remove the wallpaper can make all the difference between easy and extremely hard. Who knew that the right direction you pull the wallpaper will make an incredible difference? When tearing down wallpaper, wet or dry, try pulling from the ceiling down, if the wallpaper does not remove easily, then try pulling from the baseboard up, if this does not work, try pulling the wallpaper sideways.

Sometimes the front of the wallpaper removes dry leaving the wallpaper backing on the wall, this is normal. You remove the front of the wallpaper dry and the backing of the wallpaper wet. The backing of the wallpaper will always have to be wet.

If pulling the front of the wallpaper does not remove easily, or comes off in little pieces, then it must be wet. This includes all types of wallpaper vinyl, mylar, foil, grass cloth, embossed, textured, and many others. Use your wallpaper removal pump sprayer to wet the wallpaper. Remember all wallpapers removes differently.

Therefore, if the wallpaper isn't removing easily one way, always try pulling in another direction. This can make a big difference. Sometimes removing wallpaper is just a bear no matter what. If the Wallpaper Scraper is not working, and you have tried everything, then you may want to try the Wallpaper Scoring Tool.

NOTE: To minimize wall damage, use in a circular motion,
and do not apply too much pressure.

The Wallpaper Scoring Tool should only be used after all the steps above have failed.

2. HOME-MADE WALLPAPER REMOVER CONCOCTIONS "DON'T WORK"

With so many new wallpaper remover products on the market today, how would you know which one to choose?

Many of our customers have shown us the different products they've tried, which all have failed. They have damaged their walls, stained the ceiling and / or woodwork. We never use colored wetting agents. This is a very common mistake that we see. They are now in a big mess and very frustrated, so they call us. The solution was as simple as trying a different wetting agent.

Some people try to remove wallpaper by applying vinegar, or other household concoctions. If you use plain water, vinegar, or other homemade concoctions; the liquid will just drip down the wall and onto the floor. This is nothing but a waste of time.

Wallpaper removal wetting agents work by allowing the warm water to absorb into the wallpaper. In order to remove wallpaper successfully you have to use a wetting agent. Using a wetting agent will simplify the removal of your wallpaper. The trick is, "LET THE WETTING AGENT DO THE WORK". If you rush this process your wallpaper will become very hard to remove, and you will have a lot of wall damage. You want to keep your walls intact while stripping wallpaper. Keeping your wall damage to a minimum will save time, frustration and a lot of money.

We will share our secret with you. "Dif Liquid Concentrate" is the product that we use. It is a clear liquid. Be sure to read the label carefully as there are many products that look alike, but are very different. DIF Concentrate is what we have found to work every time. Why change a good thing. Mix DIF Liquid Concentrate with water as directed on the label.

3. PUMP-ACTION WALLPAPER SPRAYER A MUST-HAVE

We apply Dif Liquid Concentrate faster and cleaner by using a
one gallon Wallpaper Removal Pump Sprayer.

Don't apply DIF with a little hand held bottle sprayer. This will waste a lot of time and is also very painful to your hands. The Wallpaper Removal Pump Sprayer is quicker, easier, and less painful trust me.

The Removal Sprayer will allow you to wet a larger area at one time, speeding up the time needed for removing wallpaper.

Fill your sprayer with DIF Liquid Concentrate, mix as directed on the label. Spray the wallpaper, then let it set for about fifteen to twenty minutes. Don't rush this process; the wetting agent requires time to work. If you do not wait for the recommended time, the wallpaper removal will be very hard.

Now that the wallpaper has been wet, try to remove with a Wallpaper Remover Scraper. If the wallpaper is not coming off it may have to be wet one more time. Spray once again with the DIF solution, wait about ten to fifteen minutes. Now that the wetting agents have had time to work, remove the wallpaper. This will make an incredible difference on how your wallpaper removes.

4. USE THE RIGHT WALLPAPER SCRAPER

Broad Knives and Scrapers may look alike, but they are very different.

Be sure to use a "Wallpaper Removal Scraper".

We have tried every scraper possible, expensive as well as very cheap. Believe it or not we have definitely found the cheaper scraper works the best for us. The Red Star series Wallpaper Scraper works on all types of wallcoverings.

This Wallpaper Remover Scraper was designed with a sharp shaving edge for stripping wallpaper. This is exactly what you need when removing wallpaper. With the sharp shaving edge, you can get under the wallpaper, definitely speeding up the process. Each side of the removal scraper works differently, flip the scraper over to see which side works best for the type of wallcovering you are removing.

5. REMOVE PASTE WITH EXTRA LARGE SCRUBBY SPONGE

Now that you have successfully removed the wallpaper and the wallpaper backing, you now have to clean the wallpaper paste off the walls. Don't let the paste dry, it will be a real bear to remove if you do.

Using your Wallpaper Removal Sprayer filled with DIF Liquid Concentrate, spray your sticky walls. The wetting agent will soften the glue.

Fill a bucket with warm water, and add a half cup of DIF to about two gallons of water. With your Wallpaper Removal Scrubby Sponge, wash your walls. By wetting the wall with the sprayer and washing the walls with the DIF you won't believe the difference this will make in removing the glue off the walls.

This very large rectangular sponge with square corners will speed up the time in washing wallpaper adhesives from your walls.

The professional grade Wallpaper Removal Sponge with dual action has a cellulose sponge on one side, and a scrubby sponge on the other side. The textured side of the sponge is used to loosen the paste on the walls. The smooth side of the sponge is used for cleaning the paste off the walls, and is also great for final clean up.

6. OIL-BASE PRIME AFTER REMOVING WALLPAPER

To ensure that your new wallpaper or paint will adhere to your walls correctly you must always apply oil-base primer after you have removed your old wallpaper. There are many reasons why you should use an oil-base primer.

Removing wallpaper is a great burden and concern to many people. Most all the people we talk to are convinced removing any type of wallpaper will result in plaster or drywall damage.