The internet is full of advice about this subject.

Here is a link that might be useful: paste removal

Macy,

I know that but I'd like to hear advice from actual people who have done this.

"At this point fill your pump sprayer with warm water and add about 1-2 tablespoons of liquid dishwashing soap. The soap provides enzyme action which helps break down the wallpaper paste."

From the site linked above.

There are no enzymes in liquid dish washing soap.

I use hot water and TSP (the real stuff, tri sodium phosphate, not the 'TSP substitute' stuff, sodium meta silicate).

Protect everything since TSP will darken wood floors and dull the gloss of even old oil based enamel.
It can actually strip latex paint.

Wear rubber gloves and roll up a cuff so nothing runs down your arm. TSP can cause first degree burns on bare skin.
Wash the wall thoroughly, let it dry, then rinse it with clear water.

I'll try the TSP and hopefully that'll do the trick.

Thanks for the warning to wear gloves while using it.

The best method I have found is to use a mixture of water and liquid fabric softener - I know sounds crazy but it works great.
Take an old spray bottle - fill about a quarter full with the fabric softener and the rest with water. Spray on the wall and let sit for a minute or so. Then wash with a scrubby sponge and the glue is gone. I follow up with a second wash/rinse with plain water just to be sure.
There is also a specialty primer you can purchase - the name of it is Gardz - this will seal in the residue as extra insurance if you were going to paint without skim coating.
Hopefully your wallboard was primed before adding the paper as it will be much easier to remove the glue residue.

For the best stripper out there , look here.

Here is a link that might be useful: stripper

Kathy,

Unfortunately, the drywall was not primed first. They glued directly to the drywall :(.

Warm water and a sponge, but DON'T soak through your paper of the drywall. I use a scraper to sort of scrape/squeegee it off when it is good and emulsified.

Once you get most of it off let it dry and then feel it with your hand. You can sand any rough patches of glue you may have missed lightly with a drywall pole. Skim coat any areas where the drywall skin was damaged or where you have imperfections with joint compound. Sand either wet or dry and then use Zinsser Gardz. It's very drippy, stinks and is a total pain but is the greatest at binding down any damaged drywall, sealing in the joint compound and will lock away any glue residue from your paint.

Over the past 9 months, I've done three rooms and have finally got the technique down. Just finished a guest bedroom and you'd never know there was wallpaper on the walls.

I fill a garden sprayer with hot water & stripper (Dif, etc) Let it sit on the wall for 15-30 minutes to soften the residue. Take a scraper (I use a 5" flexible putty knife) and starting at the top, just begin scraping the now-gooey glue from the wall. Keep a bucket or sponge with you to clean the knife edge after each long scrape.

It's also a good idea to wipe down the scraped walls with a cleaning solution (TSP is great) a section at a time, to catch any minute film.

When the walls have dried completely, lightly sand the whole surface and begin your wall prep with Gardz followed by necessary joint compound repairs. Spot-prime sanded repairs, when dry, with Gardz as well.

...As a side note... Contractors who hang paper directly on raw drywall have to be some of the lowest life forms on the planet!! GRRRRR!!!

"...As a side note... Contractors who hang paper directly on raw drywall have to be some of the lowest life forms on the planet!! GRRRRR!!!"

Or homeowners.

At that point if it is not textured it probably is actually attached well enough to just paint over.

I have a rental house with already painted textured wallpaper on bare drywall.

The drywall will be replaced before sale.

It is faster and cheaper to tear it out and hang new than anything else.
Depending on how we decide to market the place (owner occupies vs. rental) it may even get an insulation upgrade.

"...As a side note... Contractors who hang paper directly on raw drywall have to be some of the lowest life forms on the planet!! GRRRRR!!!"
Or homeowners.
In my 20+ years in this business, it is usually the home owners who do this indisputably horrific act, but I have come across situations where in actual wall paper installers have done it also. They were installers that only did that,install,they did not know or care what a paint brush or roller was. They also were never in a position to remove their handy work from hell.Now this was 15 or 20 years ago when the $ was loose and people just spent. I am hoping the word gets out that a hours worth of priming and $30 worth of WALL COVERING primer will prevent almost all headaches at removal time.

"...As a side note... Contractors who hang paper directly on raw drywall have to be some of the lowest life forms on the planet!! GRRRRR!!!"

I agree wholeheartedly. The contractors hung the wall paper in this house and they did zero prep work on the drywall ahead of time. There are a few spots where the paper wasn't glued and you can see the original drywall and it is pristine except for the mud to cover the screws.

The contractors hung the wall paper in this house and they did zero prep work on the drywall ahead of time.

They should be hung by their thumbs