Lots (and lots) of wallpaper to strip...

[TheEmpressofBlandings]

Is buying/renting a steam stripper worthwhile? I've never used one (not had a house with wallpaper before). Does it speed things up much? We've got lots of rooms to clear, seems like every available surface has been papered

[wowfudge]

Well worth imo. Took me 45 mins to strip a room that would have taken hours without it. If you are not sure about the condition of the walls be careful as it is possible to damage the plaster, especially if it's really old.

[Seeline]

Definitely worth getting. Hiring can work if you are decorating over a set time eg the whole weekend. It's not so good if you are only doing short bursts here and there.
Most of the shop ones aren't much better than using a steam iron!!
We hired one, realised how much we had to do and ended up taking the manufacturers details off the machine and contacting them direct to purchase one of theirs (more industrial and far more effective). This was 20 years ago, and I can't remember how much it cost, but it has definitely worked out cheaper than hiring one every time we needed it, and family have borrowed it over the years too.

[CarbeDiem]

I'd agree they are bloody brilliant. It's much faster.
You have to be careful though depending on what you are taking off.
My dsis has just had to sign forms for her new house with the council, to say that she will NOT use a steam stripper on the walls with wood chip paper. Luckily there's only one room with it but I don't think she'll be sticking to that rule once she has a go at getting it off manually :)
I've stripped it before with a steam stripper and it pulled loads of plaster off underneath, but nothing that couldn't be skimmed over.

[TheEmpressofBlandings]

Ok, hiring sounds like the way to go then - what does it do to woodchip that it's not allowed Carbe?!
Thankfully no woodchip for us, just lots of ahem, contrasting patterns on every wall.
I've also come across SimpleStrip in my googling, basically it's sheets that you soak, then whack them up over the current wallpaper and it soaks through and dissolves the adhesive, meaning you can remove the paper without damage. Tempting, but how good can it really be?

[whenhenshaveteeth]

I'm in the same boat as you. The entire (5 bed) house is (badly) lined and needs striping.

A professional painter friend of mine lent me his stripper and it's great! It's not a heavy duty one by any stretch but it does the job brilliantly. I checked and you can buy it from B&Q for £25, the brand is Earlex.

I've never used a professional stripper (!), so obviously it could even be better but to me it's good as it is.

Getting your own means you can do bits and pieces as and when. Hiring one might of course mean that you actually do it since you're paying for it!

In any event, the whole sponge and water job seems so middle age like!

Good luck!

[MrsBosh]

Oh no, I hear you! Our new house is the same - wallpaper everywhere - I just want nice plain smooth walls!

Second all the posters who say to buy/hire a proper plug-in stripper - so much easier! I was pleasantly surprised at the prices from Homebase/B&Q when I looked a couple of months ago. A good tool to use alongside is a palette/scraper kind of thing so you can steam with one hand and scrape with the other. Most come with a couple of 'heads' so you can get into little awkward spaces as well as do the big expanses. My DH stripped our bedroom recently and it didn't take too long with our Homebase bargain.

Best of luck :)

[fiverabbits]

I used to love stripping wallpaper but I am always amazed that people get hold of the wallpaper that has come off the walls and throw it on the floor. Don't do that throw into a bin and use dust covers for any mess that falls on the floor and save hours clearing the mess up. Any bits that you can't get to with the stripper use HOT water in a spray bottle.