General Information

"Vinegar & Water"

The "old wives tale" of using vinegar and water is no longer valid.  This recipe worked well long ago when 90% of wallpaper was made of pulp paper.  Pulp wallpaper was usually installed with starch or wheat based adhesives.  The pulp nature of old wallpaper would readily absorb water and the acidity of the vinegar would attack the adhesive (acid is the chemical enemy of starch or wheat). Over the last 20-30 years wallpaper and adhesive have changed.  Today 90% of wallpaper is vinyl coated, vinyl laminated to a paper backing, or vinyl laminated to a fabric backing.  Most wallcovering installed in commercial buildings is solid vinyl or fabric backed vinyl.

"Enzymes"

Removal solutions have been in existence for years., but have not chemically changed for years.  Most competitive removal solutions introduce an enzyme to attack wallpaper adhesive.  Ever conscious of safety, Safe and Simple © removal solutions DO NOT use an enzymes to attack adhesive.  Our removal solutions work on the premise of reactivating the existing wallpaper adhesive.  Once the adhesive is soluble it can be removed.

"Sizing"

People often think that wallpaper removal will be easy because their walls were sized prior to installation.  Sizing is actually thinned down wallpaper adhesive.  Older homes were constructed of plaster and walls were painted with oil based paints. The sizing gave more of what felt like tack to the slick feeling enamel paints so that it would more readily hold the wallpaper.  While this practice is still in existence today it does not mean removal will be easier.  This is especially true if the paint is latex based and the walls are drywall.  Sizing over latex or drywall can  make the removal more difficult because the sizing cures over time by absorbing into the latex paint or drywall paper surface. 

"Primers"

There are hundreds of different primers each with very specific properties and uses..  We are often told by our customers that the wallpaper should remove easily because the walls were primed.  This holds true IF the primer was a wallpaper primer.  We have found that the better the wall was prepared with proper materials and workmanship, the easier the removal.  Wallpaper should only be installed on primers formulated to receive wallpaper.  We have found Draw Tite to be the best wallpaper primer.

"R35"

R35 is a specially formulated wallpaper primer which offers a feeling of tack.  This product feels tacky when wet or dry.  This tacky feeling was deliberately included in the product to make paperhangers believe slippery and wet wallpaper will adhere better, especially on a slick or new surface.  It is extremely difficult to remove.  If the wall is dry and still feels tacky hours later, most likely it is R35.  Scrubbing the R35 could take hours and if the walls are drywall or texture, the scrubbing action usually ruins the paper surface of the drywall or texture.  In most cases is easier to seal over the R35 with Draw Tite than to scrub for hours on end.

Click here  to go to 826 removal solution used to remove border adhesives