Wallpaper Stripping Without Chemicals

Popular sources define a ‘carbon footprint’ as a measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide. (See: http://www.carbonfootprint.com) The larger the footprint, the more damage to the earth. In plain, unscientific English, you don’t have to be a so-called tree-hugger to take some small steps to lessen your impact. There are modifications, large and small, that we can all make to reduce or lessen harmful damage to our world. You probably are already involved in recycling your household trash, as am I. I don’t march at environmental rallies or spend exorbitant sums on organic fruits and vegetables. (If they happen to be on sale, however, load me up!) But I do try to do my best not to make the ozone layer any larger if I can help it.

The previous owner of the house I just bought was a little old lady who’d lived there for ages. She had wallpapered nearly every square inch of the place with the most hideous paper – well, let’s just say it would not have been my choice, even twenty years ago when it was probably applied — over the wallpaper that was already there. Even the ceilings were wallpapered in some of the rooms.

If you’re in the midst of home improvements – and many of us are these days – here’s an alternative to chemical wallpaper stripping.

Wallpaper steamers can cost as little as $50 and with one of these, a little time and some elbow grease, your walls can be free of decades of wallpaper without your having to breathe in harsh chemicals, or having to figure out how to dispose of the chemicals later.

You’ll need just a few things:

– water

– a broad, flat wallpaper scraper – I like the metal ones best

– an old towel to collect drips

– work gloves

– aforementioned wallpaper steamer

– music (OK, you don’t need this but it makes the time go by pleasantly)

Important: this technique works best on plaster walls, not drywall. Since drywall is made of paper, you don’t want steam anywhere near it.

First, put on the music, preferably something you can sing to. Then, grab a loose corner of the wallpaper and peel off as much as you can by pulling straight down. You will more than likely wind up leaving the backing behind but that’s OK; the steamer is going to take care of that. Now, follow the manufacturers’ instructions on how to fill and operate the steamer. If it’s anything like the one I’ve got, you simply unplug it from its power source, fill the holder with water and then plug it back in and attach the hose which is attached to a nearly flat square plastic hotplate. Make sure the hotplate is facing up or not facing anything you don’t want to get wet. You might want to put it steam-side up on an old towel on the floor. If you’ve got everything hooked up right, the hotplate will begin to spit and sputter like an iron in about 15 or 20 minutes. Score the wallpaper on the wall with a wallpaper scorer or use the edge of the scraper to make shallow crisscross cuts in the paper so that the steam can get to the glue. Put on the gloves and pick up the hotplate while making sure that it’s not aimed anywhere near your face. The handle of the hotplate is usually cool but the gloves are insurance just in case. Put the hotplate against the wall and hold it there for about 10-15 seconds. When you remove it, the wall will be wet and the steam will have penetrated the wallpaper glue enough so that you can use your scraper to slide it right off the wall. The first time I did this, I steamed fairly large sections of the wall and kept putting the hotplate down to scrape the areas. Then I’d pick it up again and steam another section. Better approach: steam a small section with one hand while scraping with the other. Make no mistake, using a wallpaper steamer is a time-consuming task any way you slice it, but this technique will make it go just a wee bit faster. Also, if you scrape immediately after your steam, the wallpaper will stay wet, the glue will stay soft, and the paper will come off easily, even if you have several layers that have been on the wall for decades as it was in my case. If you keep putting the hotplate down the way I did the first time around, some of the wall will have cooled and you’ll have to go over it again. Safety tip: When you’re working near the top of the wall, make sure you’re on a ladder that’s tall enough so that any hot water drips don’t spill down your arm. Also, be sure you’re comfortable up there and close enough to the wall to do your work safely. When you’re finished with an area, GET DOWN and move the ladder; don’t try to stretch beyond your reach.

One final note: Did I mention that the music should be one of your favorite CDs? Almost all albums have at least one or two filler songs so pick one that you really love so you won’t be tempted to stop working to change the music!