Self Help

Before cleaning non-washable wallpaper, it is wise to consider your options. As with washable surfaces, you may decide that it is easier to live with a few scuffs and smudges than to attempt to remove them - especially since you cannot disguise the cleaned spot by washing the surrounding wall surface. And with particularly fragile papers, such as screen or hand-printed ones, you run the risk of rubbing off the surface if you wipe or brush too vigorously.

Several techniques, though, are generally safe for all but the most delicate papers. An art gum eraser, the pale brown, crumbly type that is available in stationery stores, will often lift light dirt and smudges from a wall. A dough-like wallpaper cleaner, available at most hardware and home-decorating stores, works in a similar fashion.

Make Your Own Cleaning Solution

You can also make your own cleaning paste at home. In a large saucepan, combine 1 cup of salt, 1 1/2 ounces of potassium alum (available at pharmacies) and 2 cups of water. Heat the mixture over low heat, stirring constantly until all of the solids are dissolved; remove the mixture from the stove, add 1 tablespoon of kerosene, and stir. Transfer the mixture to a basin and slowly stir in 5 cups of flour.

When the mixture becomes too thick to stir, knead in the remaining flour by hand. This recipe makes 1 1/4 to 2 pounds, but you may double the amounts given. Store the mixture in a tightly sealed jar, and use it as a poultice to clean large sections of wallpaper. But test it first in an inconspicuous area to be sure that it does not damage the paper.

Another stain-removing measure, also to be tested in a hidden area before use, involves applying a paste made by mixing petroleum-base cleaning fluid with an absorbent - fuller’s earth for dark surfaces, whiting or cornstarch for light surfaces. The paste should be allowed to dry, then brushed off. Finally, the area should be rubbed with a soft, clean cloth dipped in borax. A third means of spot cleaning wallpaper is to use a chemically treated synthetic sponge, sold at hardware and home-decorating stores.

Wall-cleaning methods are designed to deal with specific problems. However, if the wallpaper is so badly soiled that it must be removed, you will most likely be confronted, once the paper is off, with a bare wall or ceiling covered with deposits of old paste. Unlike the paper it once anchored, the paste can be attacked vigorously. Use a special wallpaper-paste solvent to prepare the surface for whatever new treatment you plan. The solvent, which is available at paint, wallpaper and hardware stores, must be mixed with water according to the manufacturer’s instructions.