How to Get a Glued Border From Drywall

Pour one gallon of hot water into a paint tray. Add one cup vinegar to the water and gently swish the liquid around until it's mixed.

Determine how easily the glued border will come off. To do this, find the most inconspicuous place in the room, usually behind a door or in a corner. Put a drop cloth on the floor beneath the spot on the wall. Place a clean paint roller cover on the roller, dip it in the vinegar mixture, and roll it onto your chosen test area. Allow the wet border to sit for five to 10 minutes. Roll vinegar onto the border one more time.

Use a wide drywall knife to pry one edge of the border off the wall. Once you have enough border pried off that you can use your fingers, gently pull the border away from the drywall, trying to avoid tearing the paper. If the border is vinyl, it will probably break apart, leaving paper on the wall while the vinyl peels away. This is fine. Just continue to peel off as much of the border as possible. Work your way around the room, applying the vinegar, letting it sit and then peeling off as much as you can.

Apply another coat of vinegar water to the remaining paper and glue residue. Repeat the process in the above step to remove as much of the remaining paper as possible.

Fill a spray bottle with warm water and four heaping tablespoons of fabric softener. Spray the solution on the glue residue and let it sit for two to three minutes. Wipe away the fabric softener mixture with a rag. Wedge your drywall knife under stubborn or gloppy glue spots. If the fabric softener doesn't remove the glue, apply a solution of warm water and tri-sodium phosphate, which is available at paint stores. Apply the tri-sodium phosphate solution with a rag, and gently scrub the glue off the wall.