LESLIE: Ruth in Brooklyn, New York – forget about it! – she listens on WABC. What can we do for you?
RUTH: I have had wallpaper in my bathroom for at least 20 years.
LESLIE: OK.
RUTH: And all the seams have opened and I have tried to seal them back with various kinds of glues and they just don’t stay that way.
TOM: Well Ruth, have you thought about replacing the wallpaper after 20 years? It might be time. (chuckling)
RUTH: Yes, I have thought about it but I’m concerned to see what’s underneath.
TOM: Oh, you know, it’s an adventure, Ruth. (Leslie chuckles) I’ll tell you what. If you’re looking for a product that can help repair loose seams in wallpaper, Zinsser – Z-i-n-s-s-e-r – makes a product called Sure Grip Seam and Repair Adhesive. It sells for about four bucks a tube. Comes in like two-ounce tubes. And it’s designed specifically to repair those places where the wallpaper is loosening up; especially at the seams.
LESLIE: You know what else, Ruth, you could try, especially since it’s fabric-coated wallpaper? Is it predominantly fabric or is it like a paper on the front and then a fabric on the back?
RUTH: Yes. You can try – because you can temporarily apply fabric to your wall as wallpaper if you put it up with starch. So if you find that nothing is working, it’s not sticking, take some starch – you know, make the starch mixture so that it’s in the liquid form – and then just roll it over the seam. That could work, too. Try the real product first but always know that starch will help.
TOM: Ruth, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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