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How to remove old wallpaper and borders

by Aliyeus J

Created on: August 25, 2010   Last Updated: August 27, 2010

It's not always fun coming up against someone's personal preference and style. Especially when it's forced upon you as in the case of moving into a home, previously owned by someone else. You find yourself, unfortunately, being greeted everyday by some hideous array of design and colors, set into wallpapering, plastered to the walls of a room that could otherwise be a welcoming retreat. So finally, you come to one certain conclusion, the wallpaper has to go.



Like many who have met the task before you, your first thought may be to simply paint over the wallpaper. It's simple, quick, and although, possible, it's rarely ever a good idea. It usually causes a lot more problems to occur rather they do so immediately, or soon on, after the job is finished. It's best to just remove the wallpaper, and then resume on with whichever task you wish.

Wallpaper has changed over the years, leaving the newer, more modern styles of wallpaper to be a bit easier to remove. But it is the older styles of wallpaper that can remain challenging in the removal process. The older that the wallpaper is, and the longer that it has been attached to the surface of a wall, the harder it will be to remove.

Before the invention of chemical removal solutions, people would dampen wallpaper, making it wet enough to scrape off the wall. It may sound simple, but it was often a messy, long, and repetitive process. And of course, there is the steaming method, which often seems to work a lot better. The only problem is, many people seem to find it a bit dangerous, and even with the protection of gloves and goggles, It can just seem like too much of a hassle. So, when the simple solution of a liquid or gel wallpaper remover finally came along, the task of wallpaper removal had lost much of its challenge. And so many people now, understandably so, when faced with a wallpaper removal project, will fore go all other methods, and use these newer, more convenient methods of chemical solvents.   

Now, to start removing your wallpaper, you’ll need to produce some horizontal slits in the surface of your wallpaper material with a scoring tool. Making slits about ten inches apart will allow the wallpaper removal mixture to get behind the paper, soften the adhesive, and make the paper easier to remove.

Next, you'll need to apply a wallpaper remover mixture. If you are choosing to use a gel remover, simply take a paint roller and apply the gel evenly across the wallpaper, paying special attention

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