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Cleaning Wallpaper - 10/10/2005 6:48:52 AM

EmeraldSlave2

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OK so this weekend I went to the local Renn Faire where it rained a lot, sometimes heavily. I wore a burgundy velvet cape. While it had been rained on before, it had never soaked through and I found out that it had not been treated and it bled all over my chemise.

That was annoying but fine with me as it was white cotton which could be bleached.

I put the cape in the bathroom to hang and dry overnight. The next day I put it on the towel rack to take my shower. About two hours later my roommate tells me that it had left a few marks on the wall. I rushed up and saw that the roommate had apparently not had the good sense to MOVE the cape from where it was. I moved it and saw that there were unfortunately a few streaks and light spots on the paper.

I first moved in with a hot washcloth but then realized the paper was not at all happy with that, so I blotted it dry and left it.

Does anyone have cleaning suggestions for wallpaper? I know there is a substance you can get for it but not sure if that would work.

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RE: Cleaning Wallpaper - 10/10/2005 6:59:39 AM

Quivver

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Yikes EM, it all depends on the Walpaper itself!
Some and I'd *assume* yours considering it's in a bath room has a light coating to keep it from sucking up the humidity. But if it didnt like the wash cloth wet it's not gonna like any liquid either. What many pro's use for Walpaper is TSP mixed with water say 7/1. Use a sponge, squeezed out well, work bottom up to avoid drips. I'm going to guess that when it's dry the color lightens up some? If that's so, you could also try dabbing a bit of bleach if the background is white, but your going to loose some color overall. If you do use the TSP plan to clean the entire wall. I'm afraid that the paper has already absorbed the color so there might not be much you can do. Good Luck!
Q

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RE: Cleaning Wallpaper - 10/10/2005 7:34:49 AM

mistoferin

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Another couple of suggestions Emerald. Not sure if they will work as it may be that the dye has soaked into the paper and changed the color of it at a deeper level. Be sure to try things in an inconspicuous spot like behind the toilet....but those new Mr. Clean erasers work amazingly well. My other suggestion if that does not work is to try to OxyClean. I have found it to take stains out of almost anything....but I have never tried it on wallpaper.

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RE: Cleaning Wallpaper - 10/10/2005 12:46:29 PM

SadistDave

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You might also want to head to Barnes and Noble to browse through some books for ideas. They have a section for that sort of thing. Look for "Haleys Hints" and thats where you need to be...

In case you can't get it cleaned you might consider faux painting the spot to match the wallpaper.

Better yet, if you have some of the paper left, you can replace the marked area by carefully cutting out the pattern where the marks are and filling the hole with an unmarked section of wallpaper. It's tedious, but it works really well if you are careful to cut along the lines of the existing pattern.

-SD-

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RE: Cleaning Wallpaper - 10/10/2005 5:23:24 PM

subversiveone

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DoItYourself.com has many suggestions on this type of stain. You might also goog 'homemade cleansers' or something...
Have you tried baking soda? Hydrogen peroxide? Citrus based cleansers? 10% bleach solution on a cotton ball?
Look at it this way, if the paper come loose, you can reglue it. Assuming the strip is much larger than the affected area, you may have to purchase some paste and only use a dab of it. Lifting a red dye can be tricky but do-able ;)
ps)the magic erasers do actually work, never used on anything other than crayon though...

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RE: Cleaning Wallpaper - 10/10/2005 8:46:22 PM

sanita

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i know it is a carpet cleaner, but the powder form of "Resolve" worked really well for me in getting out a melted lipstick on a fabric car seat. Since it is powder, maybe there will not be so many problems with the walpaper peeling. You have to scrub at it, though. The bottle comes with a brush attached.

good luck with it!

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