Things are getting steamy in the foyer! As a refresher, we have five rooms full of wallpaper and we’re attempting to take five different removal methods for a spin, just to see what ends up working (and what bites the big one). For our first time at the wallpaper removing rodeo we used hot water and a spray bottle, which actually worked out pretty well. And in this week’s hard-hitting Wallpaper Exposé we’ll be tackling the foyer with this guy. His name? Steamer. His game? Steaming clothes. He’s actually John’s sister’s, but it was free to borrow and we thought we’d see how it worked out for wallpaper too.
But first, a moment of silence for the small blue flowers.
Ok, let’s get it going. This is the first area of the foyer we tackled, and our method for this area was for John to run the steamer all over that section of the wall and then I followed behind him, yanking all the way.
It worked pretty well (some areas left the backing when I peeled so they had to be resteamed and reyanked, but it wasn’t too bad. I’d score it as working a smidge better than the boiling water method simply because it was probably 10% faster/easier since around 10% more of the backing seemed to come off so it didn’t have to be removed in a second pass. But when you factor in the expense of buying or renting a steamer I’d say it was only marginally better than our first (free) method of hot water in a spray bottle. So it’s kind of a toss up. Do you want to pay $20-50 for something a little bit easier or would you need it to be a whole lot easier to spend that loot? Of course someone else might swear by a steamer and say it worked in two minutes, so the paper and how it’s applied are definitely a factor too.
Oh but it got a little hairy when we had to get the tops of the walls.
Since we were only dealing with a clothes steamer the hose wasn’t built to stretch very far, so it wasn’t quite long enough for the steamer to rest on the floor while we did the upper areas (which we never thought about until we got to that part). It wasn’t too much of a big deal, but John did get a nice workout holding up the equivalent of a gallon of milk as he worked his way around the top part of the foyer. So that’s just something to think about (definitely rent/buy a wallpaper steamer over a clothing steamer if you’re actually going to spend money on something).
Around halfway through we decided to try another method, which was pulling the paper right along with the steamer, so instead of John doing a big area and then me following behind him peeling, I literally peeled as he went like so:
This method was awesome. In almost every case it removed both the wallpaper and the backing behind it so the wall was bare and perfect underneath. Must have been because there was more heat on the part we were actively peeling instead of pulling the paper off after it started cooling down and John had moved on to another area.
Another reason this second steamer method was awesome was because one person can do it, so if you have a solo meeting planned with a wallpapered room, don’t fret. You can do it. And you can look this sexy doing it:
So I’d rank this second faster-peeling steamer method as around 30% quicker & easier than the hot water/spray bottle method. Although we were tackling a larger area than a small bathroom, so it was still a substantially longer process for us. Especially when we hit this Amazing Race-ish Road Block. Layered wallpaper.
For some reason, there had been two layers of wallpaper applied to the entire front door side of the wall. But it wasn’t an older paper underneath, it was exactly the same stuff.
You guys. It was like GROUNDHOG DAY. Basically we had to do that wall twice and I’m not gonna lie. There was whining. But we got ‘er done. Eventually.
The funny thing is that we have no idea why it was doubled along that entire wall. Our only guess was that something didn’t match up so they redid it with a second layer of wallpaper to correct whatever got crooked or mismatched.
Oh and we did have one “incident” where we think the paper was glued a lot more in one spot for some reason, so our drywall’s top layer got peeled off. Pretty, eh?
My plan is just to skim coat that with some spackle and then sand it down so it’s hopefully flush with the rest of the wall and just as smooth.
After we wrestled all of the paper down I went over the walls with a spray bottle full of half vinegar and half water (not hot, just room temperature) and used the rougher scrubby side of a sponge to make sure there wasn’t any glue residue anywhere. For the most part it had all come up with the backing so there wasn’t much to scrub, but a few tacky areas were a lot smoother after this step, so it’s definitely worth adding onto the end of your peeling project.
So that’s how we steamed things up, all in the name of deflowering the foyer.
Obligatory before shot from our walk-through. You know, for closure.
Oh but you’ll notice that the closet and the bathroom doors are off in the second to last shot, since we’re actively working on taking those from blue to white. We’re also about 20% into the blue trim out there, so we can’t wait to get that done and share the photos, hopefully sometime next week (four coats = Barfville).
Has anyone else taken a steamer for a spin? Did you do the follow-right-away peeling approach, or the steam-a-section-and-then-peel method? So far we’ve loved that we’ve never had to score anything and haven’t even needed a spackle knife (hand-yanking has done the trick). So I’d definitely put that in the pro column, right along with the zero dolla (holla!) cost so far.
Molly says
I am still giggling that you deflowered the foyer, all I can think of is the scene from Almost Famous with all of the girls running around the bed with scarves, and imagining you guys frolicking with strips of wallpaper instead. I am dying.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha!
xo
s
Kellye says
Awesome! You guys made removing that wallpaper look easy! Side note: I think I had that exact same light fixture in my old house. I sprayed it with ORB and it looked great!
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds so pretty!
xo
s
sarah says
sherri,
i’ve removed wallpaper from our home and wow, what a chore! since you aren’t planning on applying new wallpaper, are you going to add any texture to the walls before painting? we have a bathroom that was previously wallpapered and it just feels like something is missing with just a coat of paint. any suggestions?
YoungHouseLove says
All of the walls here are smooth and untextured, so we’ll just paint I think. If you love texture you can buy spray cans of it I think and spray the walls to bring back some of that though :)
xo
s
Erin says
I am surprised that you didn’t destroy the clothing steamer by using it that way!! I work in costumes in film/TV, and a co-worker tried that method and ended up having to replace a $300 Jiffy steamer :(
I am excited to see what you do with the new place. I LOVE the front door and the existing railing on it (very Caribbean style actually, but it somehow works ).
Layla says
Excited to see what y’all do in there!
Signed,
The girl who just ADDED blue trim and wallpaper to her half bath- LOL!
:-D
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, yours is GORGEOUS Layla! Seriously I cried a tear of happiness when I saw it all come together. It’s LOVELY!
xo
s
Kara Atkinson says
We used the hot water and fabric softerner trick and it worked wonders in our 1960’s ranch house. The wallpaper was a super thick velvet, that I thought was going to be like pulling teeth to get off but it came off like a breeze. I have taken wallpaper off a million times and nothing has worked as well as this did.
I can not believe the steaming worked so well on your house. My sister’s and I tried to do that in my parents Laundry room and we didn’t have success like you two did. Congrats!!!
Kara Atkinson says
We used the hot water and fabric softener trick and it worked wonders in our 1960’s ranch house. The wallpaper was a super thick velvet, that I thought was going to be like pulling teeth to get off but it came off like a breeze. I have taken wallpaper off a million times and nothing has worked as well as this did.
I can not believe the steaming worked so well on your house. My sister’s and I tried to do that in my parents Laundry room and we didn’t have success like you two did. Congrats!!!
Jennie says
I thought the post was cute and funny, you guys. I’m a little surprised that anyone would object to such mild phrases like “gettin’ steamy.” Since when, and on what planet, is that immature? I probably shouldnt leave the house anymore, if that’s the case. I’m pretty sure I saw a salad dressing commercial the other day that was steamier … lol. Ya’ll get down with your bad selves … I think most of us enjoyed it :)
Erica says
Your drywall rip spurred me to write a comment for the first time! I have been reading and loving your blog for a while now. I was going to recommend Gardz drywall sealer for the ripped section, but it looks like others have already commented :) A year ago I tackled the worst wallpaper mess imaginable, waterproof vinyl textured paper over unpainted walls that peeled off entire sections of the wall underneath. Extensive research led to gardz which I actually had to order from the States as they don’t carry it in Canada.
After I finally had smooth walls in the hallway after removing, spackling, sealing, priming, and painting I went to tackle the kitchen which had what looked like normal wallpaper. Unfortunately I discovered 2 more wallpaper layers underneath including more hideous vinyl, textured fifties delight. One removal method that I found worked quite well was fabric softener mixed with water in a lawn sprayer bottle (so as to avoid the sore sprayer arm). It was a bit of a sudsy mess but it removed the unremovable when every other method failed!
Good luck with the rest of your wallpaper removal, I must admit that these posts have induced a bit of post-wallpaper stress nausea :) I will go admire my lovely muslin painted walls and try to forget about the giant landscaping project we are starting tomorrow.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh my gosh, that sounds intense! Thanks for the tips Erica!
xo
s
Lisa says
We bought a steamer 20? years ago & used it exactly once for a wall-papered staircase. It was great except that the gluey water dripped down onto the woodwork & wouldn’t wash off. We have always painted since then for the most part so we haven’t needed it again. Many friends have borrowed it though so we think of it as our own little home improvement ministry. :)
Charles says
I think anyone who thinks wallpaper is a good idea should be required ,by law, to spend 100 hours of community service taking down (high quality, yet horrendously hideous) wallpaper in stairwells. :-)
I JUST went through this very exercise (you couldn’t have posted this a week earlier? lol!!)
The Clothing steamer is brilliant! Please accept my humble head nod in recognition of using that clothing steamer!
Jenny G. says
I totally feel your pain. The 4×5′ half bath in our master had three layers of wallpaper on the walls and the ceiling, in the same pattern, with the pattern perfectly matched for all 3 layers. It is beyond me why anyone would do such a thing. It took 2 days with a wallpaper steamer, a paper scorer and putty knives to get it down, which was brutal. I don’t think I ever want to put up wallpaper in a house after that.
Claire says
I laughed when I saw that wallpaper – Laura Ashley reigned in the ’80s. We had the exact same stuff with the exact same trim and contrast paint colors in our townhouse dining room. I loved it! IN 1988!!! I really love the new yellow. Well done!
Kendra says
I’m so glad I found this post. We already have a clothes steamer and although we only have a half bath with wallpaper in our new house, this sounds like it will make tackling that little project when we move in much easier! Thanks for putting in the work up front for us all :)
Anna M. says
Hi, I just started reading YHL and I love all your advice! I have a question about wallpaper removal…did you have to cut power to the room while you worked, or does the steamer not get things that wet?
Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
We didn’t just because it wasn’t too wet but when in doubt it definitely couldn’t hurt!
xo
s
Jen M. says
I have a question. I just took down wallpaper with this method and the wallpaper and adhesive came off without a problem. I’ve cleaned the walls with a scrubbie twice (once with vinegar/water and once with straight vinegar.) The walls are still slightly sticky. Do I need to keep cleaning them before painting? Where your walls still slightly sticky when you painted? Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah, if they’re still sticky you don’t want to paint. I’d google to see what others do. Maybe some light sanding to smooth them out? Or something to cut the adhesive if the vinegar didn’t do it all?
xo
s
Leigh Anne says
Hi Sherry!
My husband and I just got our accepted offer (WAHOO!)on a new house – great bones, but needs some cosmetic updating. Wallpaper removal will be at the top of our list. In re-reading this post, what did you end up doing in the areas where the drywall came off prior to painting?
YoungHouseLove says
We just spackled and sanded and then primed and painted. Came out great!
xo
s
Beth says
Have you ever removed wall paper that had been painted over? If so can you explain what process you used and how successful it was. Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.
Every room of our new house is covered in wall paper that has been painted over. Including the ceilings!
Thanks!!
YoungHouseLove says
We haven’t but we’ve heard that using a scoring tool first (to get through the paint) and then a steamer seems to work for some folks. Good luck!
xo
s