The Right Air Freshener for a Wallpapered Room

Wallpaper can be stained by a lot of things, including aerosol or air-borne substances – glass cleaner, hair spray, perfume, and air freshener.

Even if these are not sprayed directly on the wall, the droplets can become suspended in the air and eventually find their way to land on the walls, causing little tiny stains. Over time, these can build up until they become noticeable, or simply create a dingy cast to the surface.

A diffuser type air freshener is a good alternative. Just be sure the reeds don’t touch the wall, because the oils will stain the wallpaper.

Toiletries, Cleaning Products Damage Wallpaper

You might have to enlarge the photo to see the tiny spots on the wallpaper – they are much more visible in real life.

The tiny spots were caused by the homeowner using hairspray. And the water stain in the corner is surely the result of the housekeeper letting cleaning solution pool up on top of the tile.

No airborne anything when you have wallpaper!

If you are going to use hair spray, stand in the tiled shower. Spray the Windex onto your rag, not onto the mirror. No aerosol air freshener.

Even if the product does not hit the wall directly, tiny droplets will hang in the air and can then work their way to the walls, eventually causing staining.

Mysterious Spot on Wallpaper – Air Borne Substances

If you look closely, you will see tiny tan dots all over this wallpaper. This is a paper wallpaper with a very light acrylic coating, that was installed maybe 30 years ago. The installer did a very good job – although he did not remove the previous layers (2!) of wallpaper backings, and did not use a primer.

I see spots like this almost exclusively in bathrooms – where you have enclosed spaces, toiletries, and humidity.

Since these dots are most prevalent around the upper areas of the room, I think they are stains from air-borne substances. However, an alternate theory is that they could be stains leaching through from the tan backing paper that was left on the wall, or possibly from the clay-based paste that was used for the installation.

Epounding:

My theory of air-borne substances is that if you spray something into the air, such as hair spray, air freshener, deodorant, or even onto a surface, such as glass cleaner, some of the substance becomes air-borne, hangs in the air, and eventually will come to rest on the walls. This results in perfectly round little specks on the walls. (See the Page to the right, “Care and Feeding of Your New Wallpaper.”

The stains could even be coming from cooking oils that splattered into the air, got sucked through the A/C ducts, and expelled into the bathroom.

Since this paper has just a light acrylic coating and no durable protective vinyl coating, most any substance floating around in the air would be able to land on the paper and penetrate into it, leaving these spots.

Don’t get me wrong – I MUCH prefer these thin acrylic-coated papers over thick vinyls and non-wovens. You just need to take appropriate steps to protect them.

Moving on…

Another possibility is because the installer didn’t remove the previous layer(s) of manila-type paper backing left from the original wallpaper installation(s), nor did he use a primer or sealer, it’s possible that chemicals from the old tan paper backing are leaching through onto the new wallpaper.

This is why art framers recommend acid-free mats and framing techniques. The same are available for wallpaper installations – but we’re getting into some pretty high-end topics now…

Getting back to our bathroom in Tanglewood (Houston).

Another very possible cause is the clay-based paste that was used to hang the wallpaper. I have seen many, many times, a “dirty,” tan discoloration coming through from underneath the paper, which I firmly believe is coming from the tan-colored clay-based paste that many installers like to use. I have many instances validating this theory.

The only discrepancy is that stains from the paste working their way through the wallpaper would not manifest as tiny, perfectly round specks, but as more generalized, mottled areas. Unless, the composition of the wallpaper included teensy dots in the paper fibers, intended to allow for porousity. Or humidity in the room forms miniscule droplets which land on the wall and then wick the tan paste up through the wallpaper. Which sounds reasonable to me. In fact, I like this theory a lot. And I really DISlike clay-based paste.

A final idea is that the wallpaper is just old. After 30 years on the wall, materials are bound to break down, humidity will take a toll, and it will be time for a change to a fresh new look.

Bottom line: Remove old wallpaper, properly seal and prime the walls, avoid clay-based pastes and instead use a clear wallpaper adhesive.

Check back tomorrow for more!

Do Not Use Aerosol Products in Your Wallpapered Room

When I finish a wallpaper job, I like to give my clients (and especially their children) a “lecture” about care and feeding. You can read the full version of this on a page found at the right.

For now, I want to explain why not to use spray products in your room.

Avoid the use of any aerosol or air-borne substances such as hair spray, glass cleaner, air freshener, etc. Residue can hang in the air and will eventually find its way onto the wallpaper. Please see the above attached photos, where you can see tiny dots of shiny residue on the middle panel of the door, and in the second photo, on the wallpaper. Instead, use a solid air freshener, or the new “Poo-Pouri” type products that are not air-borne. When applying hair spray, step into the shower so any overspray will land on the tile walls, not on the wallpaper.

For cleaning the mirror, have the housekeeper spray the Windex on her RAG, not onto the MIRROR –this will prevent overspray from getting onto the wallpaper.

Aerosol Products Can Stain Wallpaper

See these tiny drops on the wall of this bathroom? I believe these are caused by people using aerosol toiletries, such as hair spray, air freshener, and other such products.

Even if MOST of the material hits its target, SOME of it will remain air-borne, and then will eventually find its way onto the paint or wallpaper.

Most people don’t notice tiny stains like these. But sometimes they’re very visible, and that’s why I recommend that people stay away from air-borne products. For air fresheners, there are solid or wick-type diffusers, and with glass cleaners, it’s preferable to spray the cleaner onto a rag, than to spray it onto the mirror or window.