Wallpaper and Wallcoverings - QUICK wallpaper removal

I have tried the hot water and fabric softener, DIF, vinegar, wet newspapers and the paper tiger but they all had the same lousy results: a wet floor and itsy bitsy pieces at a time. I have found a solution to some it may sound more labor intesive but believe me it saved myself many hours of labor and almost no mess. I found by applying a thin layer 1/16-1/8 inch of drywall compound to your untouched wallpaper walls and allowing it to remain there for 30-45 min. you will find the wallpaper will come down in sheets, YES SHEETS, with no harm to underlying wall. I found this out by accident trying to finish a job quicker. I previously tried the old school methods and all I got for my 6 hrs. of effort were wet floors and about an area of 18 sq ft. of removed paper. So seeing that this paper was so stubborn I decided just to skim coat the walls, sand the uneven areas then paint to finish. I applied the drywall compound and after about 45 min. it started to pucker in only a few areas about the size of a quarter but I saw that this would not be a good faith answer to my problem and I did not want to leave this home owner with a potential problem down the road, so I decided to remove the compound before it set up with a trowel and low mand behold the paper that only come down an inch or two at a time was now being removed in full sheets, top to bottom and side to side. The moisture from the compound acts as the release agent of course and due to the consistancy of the compounds mixture it stays on the wall and in contact with the paper. I will admit I have done texturing by hand in many houses so I guess I can apply the compound without making to much of a mess, but it sure as heck isn't as messy as the old school methods. It took me about 20 min. to apply compound to a 8' x 20' section of wall then waited 45 min. to remove, once you can start to remove the paper it will come down as fast as you can control it. You need to have a garbage can next to you because the compound will still be a little wet but not running off the paper by no means. I wish I had video taped it because it saved me from days of labor as well as damage to the underlying drywall by using this method. I hope this helps in anyway, it saved my butt. Todd

That's pretty much then same reason it isn't a good idea to paint over wallpaper. The moisture and the weight of the j/c helped the paper to loose it's bond. I'd be suprised if it works everytime :(

It may not work all of the time, but nothing is going to work all of the time in every situation. I just gave another option in helping out with wallpaper removal. Do what you want with the info, I just know it has worked for me.

Here's a trick to help with clean up. After you put drop cloths down around the room, put newspaper down on top of the drop cloth overlapping each page. After the stripped mess is on the newspaper, just roll it up and put in in the trash bags. Nice clean drop cloths underneath...

Billy