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ct_newbie

Buy or Rent a Steamer?

CT_Newbie
10 years ago

We have wall paper in 3 bathrooms and one bedroom. I was thinking of trying to take down some of it myself. The house was built in 1999 so assume that the wall papering was done then or later. I've heard that the more recent glues for wall paper are easier to take off.

I've learned a few lessons from taking wall paper down at my mom's old place. That wall paper was probably 40 years old. In the kitchen, it came off fairly well with DIF but the bathroom was awful. I finally rented a steamer from the Home Depot and it came off much easier but the wall needed skim coat.

Do I dare try this again, at least in the bathroom where the wall paper is already coming off and then maybe the other bathrooms where water damage won't be too bad because after all it is a bathroom with tile and not hardwood? I'd rather stay away from chemicals as I have allergies and toddlers so do I rent a steamer from the Home Depot at $34 a day or should I buy one? If it is the latter, what brand/model do you recommend and does it have any other purpose after I've taken down the wall paper? How much does it cost? I'm guessing in 24 hrs maybe I could do two bathrooms (I have a lot of interruptions and limited time with the kids)

Do you think I should just leave this up to the pros? I don't want to do so much damage that I won't save any money in repairs

Please advise. Thank you!

Comments (7)

  • PRO
    Christopher Nelson Wallcovering and Painting
    10 years ago

    There are better safer products out there than Diff. I have removed thousands of rolls of paper with Safe and Simple, and have used a steamer exactly once, before learning that s&s and is a better, faster, safer, process

    Here is a link that might be useful: safe and simple

  • paintguy22
    10 years ago

    I tried a steamer once, got sick of holding it in one spot for a while and never used it again. A steamer saturates at area with moisture which you can accomplish with a garden sprayer or a squirt bottle filled with hot water just as easily. Also, it's not really the newer glue that makes wallpaper come off easier. It's because at some point along the way, we stopped using sizing to prepare the drywall for wallpaper and started using primers. Stripping wallpaper from a properly primed surface is much easier than if the walls were sized or not prepared properly.

  • CT_Newbie
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thank you both! That is very helpful. I'm hoping since it was a 1999 house that they did prime the wall first.

    I tried the hot water squirt bottle at my mom's house and it did nothing. But perhaps that was because it was the older method of attachment.

    Can the Safe and Simple be bought at the Home Depot. I'm ready to roll - today and tomorrow. I want to try to see what I can do before the professional painters come in. The site makes it seem like I can only order it online. Also, what exactly is in it? Are they just selling another type of dishwashing liquid

    Thank you.

  • PRO
    Christopher Nelson Wallcovering and Painting
    10 years ago

    S&S can only be ordered from the site( as far as I know) As to what is in it, if I knew that I would be an a beach in the Caribbean islands somewhere

  • cricket5050
    10 years ago

    This response might be too late for the OP but might help someone else with removing wallpaper. I tried everything...chemical spray, scoring, dawn dishwashing with warm water. I finally decided to rent a steam machine but could not find one. Got online and ordered a Wagner 1500 steamer from Amazon for 80.00. The best thing I ever did. Removing wallpaper takes so much patience no matter what process you use. I said after I removed wallpaper from the first room...NO MORE!! After a good nights sleep, I continued. I ended up removing the wallpaper from 5 rooms in my house. The hardest was the toilet area and small bathroom. It talks patience and work but the end results are worth it. All of my rooms are now painted and look great. No More Wallpaper ever!

  • PRO
    Christopher Nelson Wallcovering and Painting
    10 years ago

    quote"No More Wallpaper ever!"

    Not good news for me, who is a wall paper installer

  • PRO
    Christopher Nelson Wallcovering and Painting
    10 years ago

    By the way, wall paper is never be a problem to remove, IF, installed properly