The Best Way to Strip Wallpaper Borders

Tape plastic dropcloths to the baseboards around the perimeter of the room to protect the baseboards and nearby flooring from liquids and glue. Lay old towels around the perimeter of the room against the baseboards to further absorb moisture.

Wedge a putty knife underneath any edge of the border. Pry the putty knife up to loosen the border from the wall. Using your hands, slowly pull the top layer of the border off the wall. Do not attempt to strip the backing yet.

Mix 1 gallon of hot water and 1 cup of white vinegar, and pour it into a spray bottle. While wearing rubber gloves, spray the solution liberally onto a 2-foot-wide section of the remaining border backing. Stand on a ladder if necessary. Let the solution permeate the backing for 15 minutes to soften the adhesives.

Scrape off the softened backing using a flexible metal spatula. Apply gentle or moderate pressure to the spatula to prevent gouging the walls.

Strip the remaining 2-foot-wide sections of the border backing using the same process. Remove as much backing as possible.

Examine the walls for remaining stubborn backing and sticky paste residue. Spray wallpaper gel stripper liberally over the affected areas of the walls. Let the gel stripper permeate the backing and paste residue for 20 minutes.

Scrape off the remaining backing and softened paste residue using the metal spatula. Thoroughly remove all traces of backing and paste from the walls.

Fill a bucket with warm water. Saturate a clean rag in the water and wipe it over the walls to rinse away any remaining residue.

Wipe the walls with paper towels until dry. Remove the dropcloths and towels from the floor.