How to Remove Wallpaper Glue From Drywall

Wallpaper provides a decorative covering to walls without the need for paint. Various colors, styles and patterns are available to accentuate your home. An owner who tires of wallpaper or a new owner who has different tastes, may wish to remove it. Removing wallpaper reveals the material holding it in place: glue. To prepare the wall for paint, the glue residue must be removed from the drywall. This can be a painstaking process depending on how well the glue has bonded to the wall.

Roller with a low-to-medium nap
Extension pole
Large paint tray
Vinegar
Hot water
Trisodium phosphate
Baking soda or fabric softener
Hand sprayer
Paint scraper or wide drywall knife
Drop cloths or sheets
100-grit sandpaper
Pole sander

Instructions

- 1
  Place drop cloths or sheets below the wall
- 2
  Mix 1 cup of vinegar and 1 gallon of hot water in a large paint tray.
- 3
  Apply the vinegar-water mixture to the wall with a roller and an extension pole. The roller should be slightly damp. Use an up-and-down motion with the roller.
- 4
  Allow the mixture to sit on the wall for a few minutes and repeat Step 3. The wallpaper should become darker.
- 5
  Gently scrape off the wet wallpaper with a drywall knife. Try to start at a steam in the wall.
- 6
  Wet the wall again and scrape it as needed until it is all removed.
- 7
  Apply a solution of warm water and trisodium phosphate (TSP) to the wall. You may also mix hot water and 1 large tablespoon of baking soda or 4 tablespoons of fabric softener. Apply with a hand sprayer.
- 8
  Allow the solution to sit on the wall for a few minutes.
- 9
  Remove the glue residue with a paint scraper and a sponge or cloth.
- 10
  Allow the wall to completely dry.
- 11
  Sand remaining dried areas of glue with a pole sander and 100-grit sandpaper.

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