No thank you!

That is not a project for me!

First use a Paper Tiger to make holes in the paper. Then apply hot water with a sponge and let it soak for 5-10 minutes and then use a putty knife to scrape it. This is what my son the painter just told me. They sometimes have to remove wall paper before painting.

Just use plenty of water. Hot is best. I have a steam machine and it really works great to loosen all that nasty glue. You really don't need that paper tiger on the backing. That's for getting the water behind the vinyl. You've already done that. I've got to remove the paper in my bathroom soon if I ever get rid of this nasty cold and get some energy back.

Linda

I have used a diluted vinegar mixture to remove the brown paper. Saturated it, waited a bit, then peel.

I don't envy you...
:-(

I spoke too soon!!!!
Vinegar is my new friend!!!!!
I have half the paper down!
Looked online and said hot water and vinegar! Man its like slicing butter with a hot knife!! The only scraping I have done is right on the top of the strip to get it down enough for me to grab it.
Much better than the Downey and water!
I'm amazed!

I'm an advocate of the Paper Tiger too and had actually forgotten about the diluted vinegar trick. I've usually just used warm to hot water in a spray bottle. Glad it's coming off easier for you Connie. Remind me to make a note of the vinegar solution. I have one bath that needs updating and it has 2 layers of paper on it. ugh!

I'm done!! I even stopped to cook supper! LOL I think the entire wall (paper was halfway up) took 45 minutes for removal!
I just knew I was going to have to go buy that Paper Tiger! Sunday most stores are closed uptown. I tried the vinegar and knew I wouldn't be buying that Tiger. 99.9% of that backing peeled off in one strip! I think I scraped 3 or 4 times on a tiny piece of backing that tore when I peeled the strips down. And I scraped VERY little on those 3 or 4 spots. I used very hot water too in a spray bottle with a old sheet on the floor at the bottom of the wall.

I had some pretty wallpaper that was left over from my parents' kitchen remodel that I wanted to put up in our house one day. Eric found it in the back of the closet not too long after we married. Needless to say, it was sent to Goodwill- he refused to let me put up any wallpaper in any house we own. Poor guy doesn't put his foot down often so I figured I better listen!

No advise but sending good thoughts!!!!

Janie, whose mom would use extra glue on all wallpaper jobs so she wouldn't have problems later- I feel for the people who bought their house in Jonesboro!

ARGH! When we did our kitchen redo in 2008 we had not only wallpaper, but glued on vinyl back splash. Practically ruined the wall behind that. Thank goodness for a really great and inexpensive drywall guy. He had to come out 3 or 4 times. He even redid the wall in the half bath where we had to pull down tiles. Only charged us $80. DH gave him $100. DW guy responded, "That's too much", DH told him he was worth it to us!
Kathy G in MI

Cool- you found the vinegar tip! My brother has been doing wallpaper for many years and that is what he uses. This is one of his professions, lol. We are in a rental house now and I am getting sick of watching the paper peel off the wall in the boys bathroom. Once they are done with the renovations in there I think I will finish peeling it and paint!

Trish in SC

What's a Paper Tiger?

Susan

Here is a link that might be useful: paper tiger

We lived in a rental house when we were first married that had wallpaper in every room and an outside door in every room but the bathroom. We call it the polygamist house because the occupants could escape if need be. Don't know if it's true or not, but it was our joke. After we moved out and it was purchased by a friend of ours, they decided to remodel and started with the wallpaper. After they got down to the 9th layer they discovered that the there was NO drywall OR lathe and plaster but cardboard boxes that someone had opened and stapled to the studs!! There was wadded up newspaper for insulation where there was insulation. What a nightmare.

Glad you were able to get it down, nodakgal! I have a question for all you with experience in taking down wallpaper. I have wallpaper in my bathroom that I actually like, just hate the border that was put up on top of the wallpaper. Is there a way I can get the border off without the wallpaper becoming unglued?

Job Well Done! Good for you. As I read your first post I was going to suggest the vinegar but you beat me to it. I just went through this process with my son in Law this past Sept. We tried the fabric softner, the vinegar and a bottle mix. In the end, we mixed all three. You just need to find the wetting agent that will cut through the adhesive that was used. Sounds like vinegar was the winner. Good Job! And fast!

sooey

For all of you folks who are planing on removing wallpaper, DO NOT USE A PAPER TIGER!!!! When you use the PT, you will put small holes in the paper layer of the drywall. Spraying the wall with solution will result in water getting into all those little holes and will result in small puckers in the drywall paper. This will result in you having to float the drywall to smooth out the wall.

Over the past years, you wouldn't believe how many walls and ceilings we have repaired for home owners because they distroyed their DW using a PT. It's not a cheep fix!

Now that I'm retired, We are woring with non-profit organizations and we are running clinics on how to remove WP the correct way!

As A general statement - When removing WP, take your time .......... Spray the wall and then go have a cup of coffee or two. Then go back to removing the WP. Do not rush the job!!

And good luck!!

I have wallpaper that *has* to come off, & I've been stalling for much too long.....what ratio of vinegar & water did you use? 50/50 or ??? TIA

It wasn't 50-50 Jayokie. I think I filled the spray bottle with a little more than half HOT water, I actually microwaved it (in a glass meauring cup)cause we wait forever for hot water here and nuking was faster. Anyway, I am guessing a little more than half hot water in the sprayer and the rest vinegar....like maybe 1/2 cup to 3/4cup vinegar?

I found this on the DYI network:

Working smarter: A less expensive solvent option is warm water mixed with a few tablespoons of vinegar in a spray bottle.

Can you give me advice on how to strip just a border on top of wallpaper? I posted this question on this post, but have not had a response.
TIA

Shay Just my opinion but I don't think you can do it. At least I don't know how.
ANything you'd use to take off the border you'd think would dissolve the glue on the wall paper too....unless you'd be able to glue the wallpaper back on....but I think that would be a pain.

Yikes, shay13, I think that might be a very tough job. You want to remove the border but leave the rest of the paper in place? It all depends on what type of paper it is and what type of paste/glue/adheasives were used. I think I would have to call my local paper/paint shop for advice on that one. If you have a place in the room that is hidden or in a corner that you could use as a 'test' spot, you could try to peel the border away. It might come right off with very little effort but, it might be stuck on there with glue that you will never budge. In the end, you might be better off covering up what you don't like with a border that you do like or, and I hate to even think about this...paint over the offending border. Getting that border off without causing damage, nicks, rips, scrapes etc. to the paper that it is on will be almost impossible.

But...I am no expert. So, can anyone else give shay13 some advice? Thanks, Kids.

sooey

Thanks nodakgal and sooey--my husband agrees with you. I don't have a place to experiment, it would show. Since the ceiling is 12 ft, he is suggesting just put a thin strip of molding at the base of the border and painting the entire border and molding along with the crown molding with trim paint. He thinks it would appear to look like wide decorative crown molding. I might just try that because I don't want to strip wallpaper in this large master bath just yet.

What is the point of the vinegar? I have always used just hot water...and not smart like noda didn't heat it in the microwave duh......waited and waited for the water to get hot...how dumb am I? Stacy

Not my favorite project either!

My entire house is (was) wallpapered. I kept a tea kettle going on the stove the entire time and use "409" - along with Kevlar gloves to mask the "409" damage and keep from burning my hands from the boiling water. It sounds quirky, but I tell you, it was so much easier with the boiling water. I didn't even feel the heat from the water at all with the kevlar gloves. The one thing I'll change when I do the rest of the house (only did kitchen and family room then), is to use vinegar or fabric softener. I don't think the softener would have worked for me before though. It was SOOOOOOOO DIFFICULT getting the kitchen paper off. Someone told me it was because the drywall wasn't prepped or primed before it was papered. Wish me luck - I have 2 bedrooms and a very open living/dining room left!! If I wait long enough though, the bedroom paper might fall off on it's own. It's peeling pretty badly already.

I dunno what the point of vinegar is Stacy...I looked online and read it and thought hmmmmmm I'll try that!
I was so happy it worked, the backing paper just came off in sheets! I sprayed the entire sheet, waited a few minutes 2 or 3 since I am impatient and off it came.