How to Choose The Best Way to Remove Wallpaper and Border
- 1). You can try pulling off wallpaper or a wallpaper border without using any tools or solutions. If you're lucky, the wallpaper will come off easily, just by grabbing a an edge of the wallpaper and pulling it away from the wall. This is particularly true of vinyl wallpaper. Try to create a large area to grab on to before you pull as it usually will pull off larger areas of wallpaper than if you just pull on a small edge area.
- 2). When some of the layers of the wallpaper are still sticking to the wall, try an enzyme-based wallpaper remover. The enzymes in the wallpaper remover penetrate into the wallpaper. You place some into the palm of one hand and gently rub it on the wallpaper using a circular motion. Avoid pressing hard. Continue rubbing it on to the wallpaper until you can see little holes in the wallpaper all over. Apply warm soapy water on to the wallpaper with a sponge and then scrape off with a putty knife/scraper tool.
- 3). Try solutions to take the stickiness out of the wallpaper adhesive. You can purchase spray wallpaper remover solutions at home improvement stores or try homemade solutions of liquid fabric softener mixed with hot water or vinegar and warm water. Spray the solution on to about 5 square feet of wallpaper and let it soak for about 15 minutes. Spray again and then use a putty knife, 1 to 3 inches wide, to scrape off the wallpaper.
- 4). Rent a wallpaper steamer from your local hardware/home improvement store for a day. You fill it with water and plug it in to heat it up. Hold the attached hose against the wallpaper for a minute or so and scrape with a putty knife. It was amazing and it did the job. This is especially effective when you know that there are layers upon layers of wallpaper in one area to remove. Be sure to put a lot of newspaper down on the floor where you are working to soak up excess moisture and catch the wallpaper pieces.
- 5). Try using scoring tools on the wallpaper if all the above methods have been ineffective. You can use a lightweight scoring tool, which has stainless steel teeth, When you rub it on to the walls in circular motions, it creates many shallow cuts. For extremely challenging wallpaper, use a professional, heavy-duty scoring tool. Spray on liquid remover, which gets into the small cuts and loosen up the wallpaper adhesive. Scrape off with a putty knife.
Source...