Thursday, October 29, 2009

Wallpaper Glue

Wallpaper glue has been my nemesis for the past week. The wallpaper in the master bedroom came off quick and easy. I can't say that much about the glue. How many layers of glue do you need anyway!? So in my attempt to get the walls prepared for the paint I learned a thing or two about getting the glue of the wall.

1. Do NOT do big sections at a time. You can't work fast enough (unless you are the Flash) to get it off before it dries.
2. Scraping the glue off isn't always the best. We got a wallpaper scrapper that I tried to use to get the glue off... I may have gotten the glue off (with a lot of struggle) but I also left a lot of holes for Mike to putty.
3. Scrub brush and putty knife work the best!

Here is what I found that worked the best if you have to take stubborn wallpaper glue off your walls:
* Dissolve TSP (Trisodium Phosphate Cleaner) in HOT water (according to the directions).
* Using a sponge apply the TSP solution to a small section of wall.
* Take your scrub brush and scrub in circular motion on the wall. (You will notice the glue coming up.)
* Now you can do one or both of these things:
1. Take the sponge and wipe off the glue and continue to use the scrub brush till it is all off OR
2. Take a putty knife to the scrubbed area to take the glue off the wall.
* When finished wipe the walls with a clean sponge and warm water.

Note: This will not be hard work but tedious work! Also dipping the scrub brush in the TSP solution works well too.

1 comment:

Jennifer said...

Oh my gosh, I have painful memories of trying to get wallpaper off walls. Not so much glue I'd say, but just getting the paper off. Soooo many tedious hours of scraping and scraping and scraping...BUT, the positive thing is you're doing it yourself and that will be quite the accomplishment when it's done!