How to remove wallpaper- Donigan Painting Syracuse NY

A question that often pops up with homeowners is how can you easily remove wallpaper?  So here is a professionals opinion on the best way to tackle it.  The good news is you need very basic tools to do so and here they are:  a large sponge, a 5 gallon bucket, a putty knife, ladder, and trash bag.  The sponge is key so go to your local hardware store and buy a contractors sponge, I'll put a pic below.  Whether it is a whole room, half a room or border around the room this should do the trick.  First things first go to a popped edge-corner of the wall paper or pop an edge-corner with your finger nail or putty knife and see if you can lift up the paper and pull off the entire sheet.  You may be surprised that you can with most wall papers get the entire first layer off with out anything more than your finger nail and a good long pull.  It takes a little practice and it may come off in sections vs the whole thing but removing wall paper is a tedious job.  Once you have torn off as much paper as you possible can to expose the pasted backing on it now it's time to get messy.  Fill up your bucket with hot water and soak your sponge.  Now be prepared this is going to get messy and wet so don't freak out the water will dry and you can wipe up the excess with a sponge mop or towel as you go.  Take the soaked sponge and work it over a section really getting it wet from top to bottom.  You want to almost push the water from the sponge into the paper backing.  Work in 6x8 sections from the ceiling down.  Start with one section and move to the next once you have removed all the paper backing.  Here is the key.  Once you have worked over one section let it sit for a few minutes then soak it again, let it sit for 3 minutes, then soak it again and let it sit for 5 minutes.  Doing this will reactivate the paste so it can be removed.   Starting in the area you soaked first in your 6x8 section pull up a corner of the backing and pull it off.  It may not all come off with pulling so keep your putty knife handy to get the smaller stuff.  Once you have removed all the backing you now need to thoroughly clean the paste residue left behind with hot water and your sponge.  This may take many minutes to remove one section of residue so be prepared to get a workout.  Another pro tip is throw out and pickup all the little pieces from your floor or drop clothes before it dries because once it does it's going to be a pita to get back off again. For a smooth finish before painting sand your walls with 100 grit to knock down any snags or remnants of the paper.  The picks below had three layers.  The above formula is what removed it all to get to the end result for this homeowner who was getting ready to sell at the time.

For a fast free quote visit my website below, watch the video and follow the instructions, then let me do the rest.

Donigan Painting
224 Ross Park
Syracuse, New York 13208
315-313-3254
www.doniganpainting.com

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