I'm attempting to remove wallpaper from DS's bedroom. The first time we tried to remove wallpaper was in our old house and it was a disaster. We rented a steamer, used Diff, and did everything by the book and it was terrible.

This time I've tried two ways- the first was using Diff with fabric softener and baking soda and very hot water. I scored the paper and let the solution really soak in. The dry wall came up with the paper in many sections. This morning I tried it again using just Diff and hot water and scored the wall like crazy. I don't think it was possible to put more holes in the paper. Some sheets came off easily and others tore the dry wall. The wall paper was put on by the previous owner’s right after the house was built so there isn't any real paint under the paper. We have two bathrooms to do after we finish this project so I really need some advice. Has anyone successfully removed wallpaper? Should we just hire someone to finish the job? Help!!

By Yjja123 on Sunday, July 23, 2006 - 03:19 pm:

I removed wallpaper in our entire house---it was even on the bathroom ceilings. arghhh! The easiest method was to rip the top layer off. Spray remainder with a hot water/fabric softner mixture. Once it soaked, the remainder would peel off in big huge sheets. It an annoying job but will go fast once the bottom layer is soaked completely.

By Yjja123 on Sunday, July 23, 2006 - 03:21 pm:

Wallpapering directly on drywall is one of the most foolish things to do. You have 2 choices.
1) Continue removing and you will have to patch all of the damaged drywall.
2) Smooth out the wallpaper and use a primer (Kilz is my favorite) over it. Then you can paint over that.

By Karen~admin on Sunday, July 23, 2006 - 04:44 pm:

Ditto Yvonne! I removed the wallpaper from the 4 rooms that had it in my house and repapered it. The kitchen walls had NOT been prepared and the sheetrock is doomed. The paper job I did doesn't look great because of that. Now I am TOTALLY over wallpaper. Due to my back/neck issues and the arthritis in my hands, I have given up papering and painting. We are going to hire someone to strip the old paper off and the kitchen walls will have to be refloated. UGH! In my house, once this is done, we will never again have carpet OR wallpaper!

Good luck, that's not a fun job.

By Reds9298 on Sunday, July 23, 2006 - 08:06 pm:

Ditto Yvonne! Ours was the same, with no painting underneath. We quickly learned that we needed to tear off the top layer to get anywhere at all. We had 2 people tearing, then DH and I came behind them with the steamers and finished off the last layer. It was a PAIN and took quite a while.

That's not the end of the story though, if the walls haven't been painted before. Then you will have issues with paint sticking to the walls and curing before you do your final coat that will actually look good. We had 2 differnet paint stores in town trying to help us figure it out! We ended up priming like 3 TIMES, then painting at least 2 coats. It was a complete NIGHTMARE! Our kitchen was in a shambles for at least 2 months.

Good luck!!

By Tripletmom on Monday, July 24, 2006 - 08:13 pm:

We usually use a spray bottle with really hot water and dish soap mixed.Spray and let it soak for 10-15 minutes and scrape if off.

By Mrsheidi on Monday, July 24, 2006 - 09:09 pm:

We took the top layer off then just painted over the bottom layer. It looked just fine, after 2 coats. You can't tell where the seams are after you take off the first layer.

By Jjb on Monday, July 24, 2006 - 11:01 pm:

Thank you all for the help! You've gotten me motivated to try it one last time. I'm just happy the entire house isn't wallpapered!