How To remove Wallpaper Borders

So you bought a new house. You love everything about it except for the ugly wallpaper borders in roughly every room. Time to get them off the wall. Removing wallpaper borders is not an easy task, but with a few good tips and some elbow grease, you can get the job done.

The best way to remove the wallpaper border depends on what type of wallpaper was used, what type of covering it was glued on and what type of adhesive was used. One of the easiest things you can try is to use a hair dryer to heat the wallpaper border which may loosen the adhesive adequate to let you peel it off.

Iron Decals

Usually if the border has been glued to wallpaper, it will come off fairly easy. Slightly mist it down and use a plastic scraper to remove it from the wall. If the wallpaper border has a vinyl covering that won’t let the water or any commercial wallpaper remover soak through, use a perforation tool over the whole covering of the border to allow it to soak in.

If the wallpaper border has been glued directly onto a painted wall, use warm water and some commercially ready wallpaper remover and give it fullness of time to soak in before you try to scrap it off.

Steaming also works well for removing wallpaper borders. Steam the whole covering of the wallpaper border. Start from the lowest to the topmost part in sections. If the adhesive is very strong, steam the boarder twice or more until the wallpaper boarder starts to loosen from the wall. Use a plastic or soft metal scraper to avoid damaging the wall. Scrape the border off the wall working from the lowest up. Use warm water and a clean sponge to remove any remaining adhesive from the wall.

Instead of using a commercially ready wallpaper stripper, you can also use a mixture of fabric softener and water. Mix 1 capful of fabric softener with 1 quart of water. Pour it in a spray bottle and spray it right on the wallpaper border. For very strong adhesives, you can also use a sponge and soak the boarder with pure fabric softener.

Another “homemade” selection is vinegar. Mix water and vinegar and pray it on, or use an old paint roller and roll it right on the wallpaper boarder. The stronger the wallpaper adhesive seems to be, the more vinegar you should use. Use the vinegar selection as a last resort, since it will smell pretty strongly for a few days. Wipe the walls down with a damp rag after you removed the wallpaper boarder to get as much of the vinegar as inherent off your wall.

How To remove Wallpaper Borders

So you bought a new house. You love everything about it except for the ugly wallpaper borders in roughly every room. Time to get them off the wall. Removing wallpaper borders is not an easy task, but with a few good tips and some elbow grease, you can get the job done.

The best way to remove the wallpaper border depends on what type of wallpaper was used, what type of covering it was glued on and what type of adhesive was used. One of the easiest things you can try is to use a hair dryer to heat the wallpaper border which may loosen the adhesive adequate to let you peel it off.

Iron Decals

Usually if the border has been glued to wallpaper, it will come off fairly easy. Slightly mist it down and use a plastic scraper to remove it from the wall. If the wallpaper border has a vinyl covering that won’t let the water or any commercial wallpaper remover soak through, use a perforation tool over the whole covering of the border to allow it to soak in.

If the wallpaper border has been glued directly onto a painted wall, use warm water and some commercially ready wallpaper remover and give it fullness of time to soak in before you try to scrap it off.

Steaming also works well for removing wallpaper borders. Steam the whole covering of the wallpaper border. Start from the lowest to the topmost part in sections. If the adhesive is very strong, steam the boarder twice or more until the wallpaper boarder starts to loosen from the wall. Use a plastic or soft metal scraper to avoid damaging the wall. Scrape the border off the wall working from the lowest up. Use warm water and a clean sponge to remove any remaining adhesive from the wall.

Instead of using a commercially ready wallpaper stripper, you can also use a mixture of fabric softener and water. Mix 1 capful of fabric softener with 1 quart of water. Pour it in a spray bottle and spray it right on the wallpaper border. For very strong adhesives, you can also use a sponge and soak the boarder with pure fabric softener.

Another “homemade” selection is vinegar. Mix water and vinegar and pray it on, or use an old paint roller and roll it right on the wallpaper boarder. The stronger the wallpaper adhesive seems to be, the more vinegar you should use. Use the vinegar selection as a last resort, since it will smell pretty strongly for a few days. Wipe the walls down with a damp rag after you removed the wallpaper boarder to get as much of the vinegar as inherent off your wall.

How To remove Wallpaper Borders