Wallpaper Project I (Part 2)

I wanted to share with you all my process for cleaning the wallpaper glue off of our walls in the hallway.  I wasted time (and some money) taking unnecessary steps, so I will share with you my "process of elimination."  

I sent Tim to Menards to get some wallpaper-removing solution.  I had read that fabric softener works, too, but its not necessarily cheap, so I figured we would just use something for its intended purpose.  He came home with a jug of Dif.

I sprayed the stripped walls and let it soak for 2-10 minutes like the instructions said.  Then I would take a plastic putty knife and scrap "the worst of it" off.  It still left a lot on the walls, so then I would wash the rest of it off with a wet sponge.  As a got part way through a sprayed section, I would spray another section so it would soak while I finished the section I was on.

After awhile, I realized that the putty knife wasn't really getting me very far and that the sponge was getting most of it any way, so I continued spraying, then just wiped it down with a sponge (which still required scrubbing).

About 3/4 of the way through the project, I realized that the Dif wasn't doing any more than the water on my sponge, so I just used a wet sponge.  Once the whole sponge looked dirty I would go rinse it out, then get back to scrubbing.  This turned out to be much faster and just as effective.  And also way less messy.

So, the moral of the story is:

After the paper is off, all you need is a wet sponge (and a sink or tub nearby to keep it wet/ clean) to wash the glue off the wall!  Aren't you glad you have me to tell you these things :)

Oh, another tip/ lesson learned.  I started out with a bucket of water that I kept rinsing my sponge in, but the water would get dirty really quickly and then I would spend a lot of time rinsing the bucket and the sponge, then filling the bucket.  This was a waste of time (and water).   Just rinse the sponge in the sink or tub.