The DIY Wallpaper Glue That May Not Leave Residue Behind

Wallpapers have gone beyond the floral patterns and clashing colors that adorned vintage homes. Now, there are tons of options available with varying textures and colors, making the wallpaper vs. paint argument even harder. Unfortunately, the fact that most wallpaper glue leaves residue behind is a dent in the pro-wallpaper argument. But it seems there's a DIY paste that might fix that issue.

You can make the glue by dissolving 1 part of corn or potato starch in a little water, stirring well to remove any lumps, and then pouring that mixture into 10 parts of almost boiling water in a pot. Keep stirring gently until you get a thick, yogurty consistency before turning off the heat. Leave the mixture to cool before use.

Although this DIY glue has many variations, the base ingredients are always the same: corn or potato starch and water. These are the same base ingredients in liquid laundry starch, which is widely known to allow easy wallpaper removal, even after a year, without any sign of residue. Now, does this mean you will get the exact result if you use this homemade glue? Well, you can't be so sure. Aside from the base constituents, most liquid starch brands contain emulsifying agents like soap or starch-bonding agents like borax. While these ingredients enhance the product's original use, which is to starch clothes, when used as DIY wallpaper glue instead, they could also act as alkaline agents that assist in breaking down the starchy adhesive while removing it.

If you're looking for a simple DIY wallpaper glue that works, you're in the right place. Just don't bank on it coming off without residue. Your stripping results would likely vary because there is nothing in most combinations that works for easy removal. Even variations of this glue that have more than two components focus on increasing its shelf-life by adding preservatives like alum or increasing its stickiness by adding corn syrup. 

But if you really want to use this hack, maybe because of its simplicity, affordability, or for ecological reasons, adding an extra step before removal could still give you the no-residue result. All forms of this DIY paste are made from water-based materials, so they are easy to take off when a little moisture is applied. Simply spraying water and vinegar before peeling is one of the best ways to remove wallpaper glue from your walls without residue. But don't forget that for the best installation and removal results, you must prep your walls before applying the wallpaper. Without that, even glue that is meant to be easy to remove could become a nightmare to strip.