What's behind my wallpaper? Urgent help

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#2363887 1-Dec-2019 11:19

SATTV:
unrlx: Yep tried that too. It was also peeling off the first layer of gib lol. Well it basically needed to get really wet but not constantly so hot till it started eating into the gib

Were you using just a steamer or did you user a paper tiger first?

A paper tiger puts thousands of tiny holes in the paper first before steaming it, lets the water get in behind and stops you lifting the top layer of gib.

Once done, you will have tiny holes in the gib but you were probably going to skim and pigseal anyway.

John

Yeah used paper tiger.

So I shouldn't care about holes in the gib? I'm gonna seal, skim and plaster as much as I can as it's basically bare gib.

michaelmurfy

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#2363891 1-Dec-2019 11:24

I’ve got an older house and had exactly this. Steamer didn’t actually help much.

In the end got one of those weed spray bottles and filled it up with warm water and fabric softener. Sprayed it on the walls and let it soak in for a bit. Wallpaper comes straight off without tools most of the time.

By far the best method I tried and was far far quicker than the steamer.

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unrlx

46 posts

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#2363897 1-Dec-2019 11:37

michaelmurfy: I’ve got an older house and had exactly this. Steamer didn’t actually help much.

In the end got one of those weed spray bottles and filled it up with warm water and fabric softener. Sprayed it on the walls and let it soak in for a bit. Wallpaper comes straight off without tools most of the time.

By far the best method I tried and was far far quicker than the steamer.

I was using fabric softener too. It kinda works the same with sugar soap atm. Just need to let it soak like you said.

So what is this yellow paper? Is it lining paper or actual wallpaper lol.

eracode

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#2363900 1-Dec-2019 11:38

michaelmurfy: I’ve got an older house and had exactly this. Steamer didn’t actually help much.

In the end got one of those weed spray bottles and filled it up with warm water and fabric softener. Sprayed it on the walls and let it soak in for a bit. Wallpaper comes straight off without tools most of the time.

By far the best method I tried and was far far quicker than the steamer.

My b-i-l was an interior painter-decorator etc. Years ago he showed me a trick in a situation just like this where we dissolved about 1/4 or 1/2 cup of laundry washing powder into about 3 litres of warm water - then sprayed it liberally onto the wall after using the Paper Tiger. Sprayed with a squirt bottle or pressurised garden sprayer.

The washing powder had to be of a type like they used to advertise as having “hungry enzymes” that ate dirt. In this case the enzymes actually ate or dissolved the starch in the old wallpaper paste - and after leaving it a good long time and keeping it damp with the sprayer, the old paper (much like OP’s yellow stuff) easily came off in great lengths.

Maybe fabric softener works the same way - don’t know if it contains enzymes.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

unrlx

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#2363903 1-Dec-2019 11:41

eracode:
michaelmurfy: I’ve got an older house and had exactly this. Steamer didn’t actually help much.

In the end got one of those weed spray bottles and filled it up with warm water and fabric softener. Sprayed it on the walls and let it soak in for a bit. Wallpaper comes straight off without tools most of the time.

By far the best method I tried and was far far quicker than the steamer.

My b-i-l was an interior painter-decorator etc. Years ago he showed me a trick in a situation just like this where we dissolved about 1/4 cup of laundry washing powder into about 3 litres of warm water - then sprayed it liberally onto the wall after using the Paper Tiger. Sprayed with a squirt bottle or pressurised garden sprayer.

The washing powder had to be of a type like they used to advertise as having “hungry enzymes” that ate dirt. In this case the enzymes actually ate or dissolved the starch in the old wallpaper paste - and after leaving it a good long time and keeping it damp with the sprayer, the old paper (much like OP’s yellow stuff) came off in great lengths.

Hungry enzymes? Lol..which brand actually has this?

How long was it left there for?

eracode

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#2363908 1-Dec-2019 11:46

unrlx:
eracode:

michaelmurfy: I’ve got an older house and had exactly this. Steamer didn’t actually help much.

In the end got one of those weed spray bottles and filled it up with warm water and fabric softener. Sprayed it on the walls and let it soak in for a bit. Wallpaper comes straight off without tools most of the time.

By far the best method I tried and was far far quicker than the steamer.

My b-i-l was an interior painter-decorator etc. Years ago he showed me a trick in a situation just like this where we dissolved about 1/4 cup of laundry washing powder into about 3 litres of warm water - then sprayed it liberally onto the wall after using the Paper Tiger. Sprayed with a squirt bottle or pressurised garden sprayer.

The washing powder had to be of a type like they used to advertise as having “hungry enzymes” that ate dirt. In this case the enzymes actually ate or dissolved the starch in the old wallpaper paste - and after leaving it a good long time and keeping it damp with the sprayer, the old paper (much like OP’s yellow stuff) came off easily and in great lengths.

Hungry enzymes? Lol..which brand actually has this?

How long was it left there for?

Don’t remember the actual brand but the hungry enzymes were a feature of a laundry powder ad 20-30 years ago. I’m sure there’s still powders that contain them.

Sprayed solution was left on the wall 30-40 minutes and kept damp with the sprayer.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

unrlx

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#2363927 1-Dec-2019 12:06

eracode:

unrlx:
eracode:

michaelmurfy: I’ve got an older house and had exactly this. Steamer didn’t actually help much.

In the end got one of those weed spray bottles and filled it up with warm water and fabric softener. Sprayed it on the walls and let it soak in for a bit. Wallpaper comes straight off without tools most of the time.

By far the best method I tried and was far far quicker than the steamer.

My b-i-l was an interior painter-decorator etc. Years ago he showed me a trick in a situation just like this where we dissolved about 1/4 cup of laundry washing powder into about 3 litres of warm water - then sprayed it liberally onto the wall after using the Paper Tiger. Sprayed with a squirt bottle or pressurised garden sprayer.

The washing powder had to be of a type like they used to advertise as having “hungry enzymes” that ate dirt. In this case the enzymes actually ate or dissolved the starch in the old wallpaper paste - and after leaving it a good long time and keeping it damp with the sprayer, the old paper (much like OP’s yellow stuff) came off easily and in great lengths.

Hungry enzymes? Lol..which brand actually has this?

How long was it left there for?

Don’t remember the actual brand but the hungry enzymes were a feature of a laundry powder ad 20-30 years ago. I’m sure there’s still powders that contain them.

Sprayed solution was left on the wall 30-40 minutes and kept damp with the sprayer.

Thanks for this. Will keep that in mind to try.

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MadEngineer

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#2363945 1-Dec-2019 13:06

I remember those ads for the laundry powder but not the product. They advertised it like lots of little pac-man things running around eating the dirt in the wash

You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

unrlx

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#2363947 1-Dec-2019 13:09

MadEngineer: I remember those ads for the laundry powder but not the product. They advertised it like lots of little pac-man things running around eating the dirt in the wash

Haha that's a good visual mate. I'll look out for it but I'm thinking it might just work like the sugar soap I'm using?

eracode

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#2364002 1-Dec-2019 13:32

Sugar Soap is a chemical and very different to ‘hungry enzymes’ laundry powder.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_soap

I’m not at all sure it will work the way the enzymes do - but the Wiki does say ‘strips certain types of wallpaper’.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

eracode

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#2364007 1-Dec-2019 13:39

Here we go - ‘Drive’ laundry powder TV ad from 1977:

https://www.ngataonga.org.nz/collections/catalogue/catalogue-item?record_id=148472

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

unrlx

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#2364018 1-Dec-2019 13:57

Yeah sugar soap was recommended by a staff at Mitre 10.

Trying to find hungry enzymes and nothing's coming up for it haha

eracode

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#2364022 1-Dec-2019 14:05

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laundry_detergent

Doesn’t help with specific brands thought - unless further research.

Edit: Consumer NZ report on Persil confirms it contains enzymes. Not sure if they’re hungry though.

I found this very easily - the first one I looked at - and I suspect all or most common brands would be the same.

https://www.consumer.org.nz/products/laundry-detergents/persil-ultimate-front-front-loader

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

unrlx

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#2364035 1-Dec-2019 14:52

eracode:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laundry_detergent

Doesn’t help with specific brands thought - unless further research.

Edit:Consumer NZ report on Persil confirms it contains enzymes. Not sure if they’re hungry though.

I found this very easily - the first one I looked at - and I suspect all or most common brands would be the same.

https://www.consumer.org.nz/products/laundry-detergents/persil-ultimate-front-front-loader

Guess they won't specifically say "hungry" in their products to not scare off householders that it might eat in to the colouring of clothes lol

unrlx

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#2383124 30-Dec-2019 20:59

Hi guys,

Update on this.

I've started removing the wallpaper. Some walls are gib and some already plastered.

For the plastered ones, do I just sand it down and put another layer of plaster?

Also there is also a part beside the door where there is wood, do I skim, seal and plaster over it as well?

Image attached:

https://imgur.com/a/Asp4dGf

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