The "el-cheapo" $50-$75 steamers don't hold a candle to the rental ones! They get hotter, and usually have bigger plates and tanks. Other ideas... * If you use a stripping solution, get the wall saturated, and apply light painters-plastic TO THE WHOLE WALL(S). * This keeps the solution wet, and softening paste. * Go out to eat. * Get a scrubby-pad with a handle on it, to help "chew" through the paste when it's softened. 3M/Scotch has-'em. * Now, back-to-work! Peel back a couple feet of plastic, and start scraping/scrubbing. Keep progressing down the wall(s). * It's rinse well time! 2 or more passes. * Let dry a day. >>> Here's the REAL important part...use a good stain-blocking primer BEFORE skimming wall. Gardz would be a good choice here, or an Oil primer. * Now do the skimming and/or repairs. * When any skimming/repairs are done, and dust removed... * Prime AGAIN with a good Latex primer. * At last...ready for the actual TWO FULL coats of paint!! NOW you'll have perfection... Faron

Hi Katie, my apologies for the delay in responding to your comment. I've been traveling over the holidays and rare access to a computer. I did end up caulking the gap between the baseboard and the wall. For cleaning gunk out of cracks, I'm starting to like using the bamboo skewers used for grilling that you can get at the supermarket. I had a batch of them in my cupboard and gave one a try and it worked so well, that I'm using them first in situations where I need something pointy. The bamboo is soft enough that it doesn't scratch anything, and I can dampen it and it'll pick up extraneous paper that's stuck in the crack. For some pieces of gunk in the crack, I also used a pair of needle-nose pliers, to extract the pieces. And, while I don't know if it's a bad thing to do, sometimes a piece of gunk would just fall more into the gap between the baseboard and wall, and I left it there. :-) I figured it would just get sealed under the line of caulk afterwards. Wear eye protection! Even if you don't think you need it, wear safety goggles, or at least your eyeglasses if you wear glasses. One day, I was caulking the baseboards in one of our bedrooms for the insulating value, and as I dragged my finger along, a chip of paint flew up off the baseboard toward my face. Since then, I always wear my goggles. About tips for caulking: - Do a search on YouTube for caulking. It really helped me to see videos of people actually doing it. - Get a good caulking gun. I got one from Lowes or Home Depot (I forget which one--I've been in and out of each so much these past weeks!) that was in the $10 range. I love its trigger mechanism. - Hold the gun at a 45 degree angle to both the wall and to the baseboard gap. I mean, this is in three dimensions: as you put the tube tip to the baseboard gap, make sure that it is a 45 degree angle between it and the vertical wall and a 45 degree angle between it and the horizontal-running gap line. (Hope that makes sense--it's hard to explain in words vs a picture. That's why the YouTube videos are so helpful.) - Do not make the hole in the tube too large when you cut it. The hole should not be larger than the gap you're trying to fill. And there was a post on one of these forums about tapering the hole that I thought was useful. While I can't find the posting this moment, I'll add the link when I locate it. Hope this helps! Lee

I completely forgot that we are covering the utility door so that it somewhat disappears. We've lived in this house for 28 years and that door has never stopped being an eyesore to me. The door allows front access to our furnace and air conditioner so the opening needs to be as large as it is. Access from the pantry is not possible because it has built-in shelving and isn't terribly deep. It was originally designed to be a guest coat closet (it faces our front door). FYI: the new 15 light pantry door will have the handle on the kitchen side instead of the living room side for easier access. We are toying with the idea of putting piano hinges on the utility door for a lower profile look. What I'd really wanted to use there was a stereo cabinet type door that swings open and then can be pushed back into the closet but there isn't enough clearance on the side of the furnace to accommodate the thickness of the door. The grasscloth itself is pretty simple (i.e., not a lot of woods or thick fibers) but the paper it's on is fairly thick. Fraying and bending was certainly a consideration so I decided not to bend it around any corners. Even still, there is the problem of fraying, and to be honest, I'm not sure I really know what to do there. They do sell clear strips that protect corners and keep wallpaper from lifting due to people brushing up against it but I never liked the looks of that. I like nice clean lines and don't really want to put anything on the corners if I can help it. Any idea what someone might charge to hang this little bit of wallpaper? Keep in mind, I live in (everything is greatly overpriced) Southern California. :-) Jodi-

So what is left to use if you can't apply water? I wonder whether you could tear off the paper and then scrape the residual paper and glue? The Dremel Multi-max has a flexible scraper on it that could possibly be used to remove residue. It would help to know what kind of glue was used. Maybe it's removable with acetone or another solvent. Your wallpaper is lovely. It's heartbreaking to see the holes.