We’re in the process of a bathroom renovation at my house and it’s quite the mess. The worst part is that it’s my first floor guest bath off the kitchen that everyone uses, daily. There have been a few bumps along the way, and taking the existing paper down has been one of them. Here she is prior to the takedown:
See the ugly brass fixtures? EVERYTHING in my house is brass. I’m in the process of taking care of some of that so stay tuned.
See the flower wallpaper? I’m not big into flowers growing anywhere except outside or cut in a vase on my table. It’s actually pretty but I wanted something different and had lived with it for more than 5 years, since we purchased the house.
What was really fabulous was the “patched” paper behind the toilet paper cover. More on that in a minute. You are going to die.
So I’ve taken off paper a few times but it’s been YEARS and had forgotten there was a trick to it.
First, scour the walls (all the way around) with the Zissner Tiger Scoring Tool. You can get them at any home improvement store but I purchased mine at Walmart for less than $5. Once you have done this, you can begin to peel off the outer layer of the paper. Skip buying the DIFF or other wallpaper remover cocktails. They don’t work in my opinion.
So I peeled off as much of the outer layer as I could and took down the mirror and other pieces like the towel bar and the toilet roll holder. And guess what I found?
Behind the “patched” paper, someone had stuffed toilet paper in the wall. No kidding. I had to take a picture. I was dying. My friend Tim (my painter, wall paper installer and otherwise friend) assured me that was okay and that it was to help the paper from sinking in. uh-huh. right. I was afraid of finding a dead animal (or who knows what!) in the wall when I pulled it out.
Anyway, tearing down paper is one big mess but it’s not hard with the right method, which again, I had forgotten. I rented a steamer from Home Depot, which is for wallpaper removal. It’s $22 for 4 hours or $32 for 24 hours. I had hoped to have mine done in 4. Nope, didn’t happen.
First, put the steamer on the wall and HOLD IT IN PLACE FOR 15 SECONDS. This is key. Originally, I held it on for a few minutes and then started scraping with my putty knife. Unfortunately, I gouged the wall and had bits and pieces of paper everywhere. It was one hot mess. Literally!
It took me 4 hours to do 1 wall. Then I prayed (not kidding here!) because I didn’t want to go over my 24 hour budget. And I started at the top and did a spot for 15 seconds. And then worked my way down the wall. The water drips anyway, so it’s better to GO DOWN THE WALL. The rest of the room only took me around an hour and a half. Total. For 3 other walls.
Do you see the difference? It came off in sheets. Easily. I promise, the trick is to hold it in place for 15 seconds and then move the steamer down. This is all I had to do! It practically came off by itself!
Thankfully, Tim joined the project at this point. We had to take a sander to smooth out the bits and pieces I had missed and then had to use wall putty to fill in the holes where I had gouged the wall. 
Then we re-sanded to prepare for the next step.
Whether or not you are going to paint or repaper (I am re-papering. Gasp!) you want to add a primer (many different brands here) to the spots you repaired. You can see I had a few of those. 
However, we have quite a bit of the work done. Can’t wait to show you the next part so stay tuned!
Melody
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Good job. I have a steamer if you ever want to borrow it. .Couldn’t do wallpaper stripping without it.
Now, a questions Miss Handy Dandy. I need to take down the HUGE plate glass mirror that is in my bathroom and replace it with something more trendy & fashionable. HOW in the world do I do that? I am asking because I see that you took down your mirror. Was it one of those “stand alone mirrors” that is attached to the wall or in little grooves? Any suggestions from anyone???
Thanks
P&V
Hey! I can’t believe you have one! Yes, you’ll need to take down the glass mirror. Mine had screws at the top and a “plate” that it sat in at the bottom that had to be unscrewed too. I needed some help with mine and think I’m going to put a regular mirror back up or do Mirror Mate to the one that was up to dress it up.
Melody
We aren’t lucky enough to have screws at the top – we have a “plate” at the top and at the bottom – we can’t figure it out. I think we are going to score it and take it out. Wish us luck.
Ugh. What a pain! Yes, good luck with that my friend!
I am getting ready to remove wallpaper in two rooms and this information will be very helpful. I have used a hair dryer to heat the paper and pull as I heat each area. I am sure the steamer would be better.
Blessings from Audrey Z at Timeless Treasures.
Hope you will stop by for a visit. Found you on Debbiedoo’s Newbie Party.
Hey Audrey! You are so talented! Love your garden sign and my husband feels the same way about my “stuff!” Come and link your projects up at my place Wednesday if you can! You could win a $5 Starbucks card!
Melody
ChattyChics.com
Thanks for the tip on removing wallpaper. This is something every home owner dreads, I wonder what the difference is in holding 15 sec versus minutes? I can’t believe someone stuffed toilet paper in the wall. I’m sure your happy you finally have it done and didn’t go over 24 hours. Thanks for sharing at Sunday’s Best.
i always admire PETA, they really protect some of the helpless animals on this planet,.
Hey Melody!!! Love this post!! I’m having a linky party again, and would love for you to join it! I have it all set up for you tomorrow too on my page!!! Here is the link http://www.thesouthernproductqueen.com/one-stop-shoppe-linky-party-3 Thanks for sharing!!!
Can I clone your article to my blog? Thank you.
Sony Camera Reviews
that is a lot of work….unless that wallpaper has been on there for years and years all you have to do is spray the wall with warmish water and let it sit for a bit and then start peeling. I have taken a lot of wall paper down and that is the only way to go….all the steaming and roughing it up is unnecessary hard work.
Actually, the hot water trick didn’t work. That’s why I had to rent the steamer.
Melody
Ohhh what a job!! We had border to remove before we painted, it wasn’t enough to rent a steamer, so I looked & looked online and found this tip…. mix fabric softener(i bought a cheapie brand) 1/2 & water 1/2, score paper with scorer and spray mixture rubbing into the holes in the paper…using a putty knife it scraped right off for the most part….. there were a few stubborn spots, but I kept spraying & letting it soak in. The border was off in less than an hour. And my hands were soft and the room smelled good too!!
Thanks Piper! Unfortunately, I tried the Diff/Hot Water mix, which is supposed to work also but didn’t. But that’s okay. It peeled off and didn’t take that long after I remembered what I was supposed to do!
Melody
ChattyChics.com
PS Having a party at my place today. Come join if you can!
http://chattychics.com/2012/01/17/need-inspiration-wild-wednesdays/
Just popping in from Oopsey Daisy…if only I had seen this 3 days earlier! I spent my long weekend taking down wallpaper and 1/2 the drywall in our small bath!! ugggh!!!
~Gay~
itsahodgepodgelife.blogspot.com
These are great tips! I know we all love peeling wallpaper!
Thanks for sharing at Oopsey Daisy!
Thank you so much for your advice on removing wall paper. I painted over some wall paper in my powder room and wondered if the steamer really did the trick. Now I know. ♥
Charlotte