Once Prince Charming and I got the keys to our new home, we started working hard to make the house a livable place. Every wall was covered in either wallpaper or border, and nothing was our family’s style. There also was nasty, nasty carpet everywhere, with beautiful hardwood floors underneath.
We decided right away that given the fact that we have two young children and a whole lot of stuff that needed unpacked, it would be easier to strip all the wallpaper, paint all the walls, then rip up the carpet and clean the wood floors … all before we moved in. While it seemed reasonable at the time, it ended up being a LOT of work and one crazy six weeks. But we’ve accomplished a lot. (I have a feeling our new neighbors are wondering what in the world we’ve been doing for so long.)
My husband enjoys painting, so I got the joy of being the official Wallpaper Stripper. I knew I didn’t want to inhale chemicals for hours on end, and I wanted a safe removal solution. What I found was extremely easy and effective. Of course, I would have loved something like a magic wand, where I could just blink and see everything disappear, but that wasn’t a possibility. Instead, I worked really hard for hours on end, and peeled every last bit of wallpaper off of every single wall.
And here’s how I did it:
1. Fill a bucket with hot, hot water, and one-fourth to one-half cup of white vinegar. (You also can add a squirt of hair conditioner or fabric softener.)
2. Wearing gloves to protect your hands, sponge the hot water mixture on the wallpaper, or spritz it on with a squirt bottle.
3. Peel the wallpaper off, pulling from the floor to the ceiling. (You’ll need to use a scraper to get tough areas.)
4. Wash the walls with hot soapy water when you’re finished, to remove all residue.
Voila!
How do you prefer to safely remove wallpaper?
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