The wallpaper border in the bathroom has been peeling, so I finally got motivated to remove the wallpaper. I talked to a friend and did research online to see what method would work best. Turns out it’s a combination. The wallpaper is from 1996 — so the method may not work with older wallpaper.
We started with scoring (using Papertiger: a rolling tool that pokes holes in the wallpaper for easier removal) so the liquid could go through to soak the wallpaper. However, we stopped using the scoring tool as we modified the process. My friend suggested using water with a few drops of fabric softener. An HGTV article had a similar method except it states to spray each area three times and wait 30 minutes.
I tried this first and it worked OK. The wallpaper’s outer layer (gray) was stubborn in a few spots. Since this is in the bathroom — the wallpaper was tougher on liquid. I even used a steamer we have (for clothes). Later Paul discovered we could just scrape the wall without wetting it. But I hit a lot of areas that wouldn’t budge using Paul’s method.
I noticed the gray was harder to get off with liquid, but easier to peel when dry. The layer behind the gray, however, came off easily when wet. So, we peel off the gray with a little help from something like a joint knife. While peeling, you might want to hold a grocery bag with your arm to dump the paper in for easier clean up (once in a while I missed the bag).
Spray the wallpaper’s second layer with warm water and let it sit for a few minutes. With the joint knife, it peels right off. The areas using the first method have more scratches and dents than the ones using the improved method.