Question from joseph
What is a way to remove wall paper that was applied 27 years ago. I don’t know what type of glue was used. I have severe MCS. so it has to be fragrance free.
thank you,
joseph
Debra’s Answer
Here are some instructions from DIY Network: DIY: How to Remove Wallpaper
The only problem is that it calls for using fabric softener, and most fabric softeners contain fragrance.
Here are some fabric softeners advertised to be fragrance-free:
Ultra Downey Free & Sensitive “All the softness of Downy without dyes or perfumes.”
Refreshingly Free sells various brands of unscented fabric softener
Readers, any favorite fragrance-free fabric softeners?
Yes! I love Natural Choices Safe n’ Soft fabric softener! I buy it online. The company is really great, too. The last set of bottles I bought had an odor on the plastic bottle. The lady who packs the bottles called me to personally assure me that she has MCS and never wears hand lotion. She suspected that the bottles were contaminated during the shipping process and she sent me new ones! (They were just fine, as usual.)
Last time I removed wallpaper, I rented a wallpaper steamer. It was a pain to use, but it did the job. The steam dissolves the wallpaper glue and it scrapes off.
I’ve had very good luck with Seventh Generation fragrance-free laundry detergent and plain white vinegar as a fabric softener. There is NO vinegar smell left on anything afterward and clothes, especially towels, come out of the dryer soft and just fresh-smelling. I was extremely skeptical of this method at first, but having tried it over quite a long period of time, I’d recommend it! You only need a small amount of the vinegar in the rinse cycle (however your washer handles that), perhaps a quarter of a cup. Experiment and you’ll find a reasonable level.
So many laundry products are suffocatingly over-fragranced, fabric softeners especially. This old-fashioned method really works.
I use white vinegar for fabric softener. Don’t know how that would work in the wallpaper removal recipe.
I have MCS & I use Seventh Generation Free & Clear Fabric Softener .
Hi all,
Eco-Baby liquid softener comes in a fragrance-free option; also, 7th Generation offers a fragrance free liquid softener; caution: 7th Gen has a very strong, not pleasant odor. We prefer Eco-Baby – just discovered it.
Also, vinegar or baking soda will soften clothes.
Hello,
We have removed all sorts of wallpaper in our house (from paper that was put on in the 1920’s all the way up to the 1980’s) and we used hot water in a spray bottle, and then later a clothing steamer, to get it off. The steamer worked like a charm and was much less messy than the water, but both worked, and both are totally non-toxic, as you’re only using water. Once the paper is saturated, it becomes really easy to scrape off with a flat scraper; in some instances, the steamed paper actually fell off by itself.
Fragrance softners that are TRULY fragrance free are a tough one, as far as I’m concerned. 7th-Generation changed their formulation sometime in the last 6-12 months and it was the only one I could safely use (they added essential oils but still call it ‘fragrance free’, how can that be??) The Whole Foods Fragrance Free Laundry Softner also seems to have hidden “Eo’s”. So I’m kind of stuck! May try one of the above recommended brands, eg; Refreshingly Free. Sorry I can’t help with the removal of wallpaper issue…..I’m sure someone has a safer idea somewhere!
Debra, are you suggesting that the only toxic component of fabric softener is the fragrance? I personally would need a much longer pole than 10 feet to even go near that stuff! Sandy
COMMENT FROM DEBRA:
No, I am not suggesting that at all! The original question was removing wallpaper. The questioner said he needed something that was fragrance-free. I found a wallpaper solution using fabric softener, so I suggested some fragrance-free fabric softeners. Fragrance-free is a tough criteria because a product can be fragrance-free and still toxic, as you noted. I was simply answering the question.