How to Remove Wallpaper Border with Ease

Years ago when I moved house with my family I remember walking into the living room, only to be greeted by one of the most horrendous wallpaper borders I've ever had the misfortune to lay eyes upon. You've really got to wonder about the personal taste of some people, but it’s whatever floats your boat I suppose. Anyway, we decided to remove this affront to the eyeballs as soon as possible, but removing wallpaper border isn’t always as easy as it sounds. Don’t worry though, that’s why we at DIY Helpers are happy to put together a ‘how to remove wallpaper border’ guide to give you minimal frustration.

The toughness of removing wallpaper border depends on a few different factors. The age of the border matters, as generally the longer it has been stuck to the wall the harder it will be to detach it from its stubborn grasp. It is also usually easier to remove it from walls that are papered rather than painted, so be sure to take in these factors before you begin. As with most things there is more than one method, so let’s take a look at them.

Peel It Off 

Yep, this sounds like common sense but you’d be amazed at the amount of times we've seen people go for the most complicated methods first when doing some DIY and completely bypassing a much simpler method. Before you try any of the other methods listed in this post simply see if you can peel it off first, which may be easy if the wallpaper border hasn't been on the wall for long.

Get a putty knife or wallpaper scraper and lift up a small corner of the border. Ditch the tools from here on and pull on the border slowly to attempt to peel it away from the wall. If parts of the border end up sticking use your scraper as you go.

Water Is Your Friend

If the peeling method hasn't worked and the wallpaper border remains, no doubt secretly laughing to itself, then you’ll have to up your game and bring out that wonderful liquid we call water. Simply fill up a spray bottle with warm water and mist the surface of the border, leaving it to soak in and soften the adhesive. When it feels soft enough try to peel it off again, using a scraper if bits still remain. If bits still cling on then apply more water to further soften the glue.

If the water isn’t soaking through to the glue, such as if the border has a vinyl covering, use a wallpaper scorer or craft knife to perforate the surface first. This will allow the water to penetrate the surface easily and reach the glue.

Let's take a look at a video of this in action:

Create Your Own Home-Made Wallpaper Stripper 

If water isn’t working you can try making your own wallpaper stripper instead. Of course, you could just buy some but we’re all about saving money here. One method we've used in the past is combing one capful of fabric conditioner with four cups of water, or you could mix one part of white vinegar with one part water. Both methods work well.

As with the water you need to spray the mixture directly onto the surface, allowing it to soak in. Then it’s just a case of pulling the border away from the wall and using the scraper as needed. You can remove any adhesive residue by putting more of the solution on to a cloth and gently wiping it across the surface. 

Warning: If you’re removing the wallpaper border from existing wallpaper take care as the solution may end up soaking through to the wallpaper underneath. Wipe the area clean once the border is removed so that none of the liquid remains.

Can’t You Steam It?

Yes, you can use a wallpaper steamer to remove a border but we’d generally advise against this since the area you’re trying to remove is small. If you’re stripping the wallpaper as well as the wallpaper border then go right ahead, but we presented the methods above as removing the wallpaper border only; plus it obviously costs a lot less than hiring or buying a steamer.

Wallpaper border image by Quinn Dombrowski on Flickr. Used under a Creative Commons license.