In this article we will discuss how to remove wallpaper. Removing wallpaper in your house can be quite a pain. But it can be made easier if you have the right equipment or tools and approach to get rid of it. Read below to learn – How to remove wallpaper?
Steps to Remove Wallpaper:
1.) Things to Know Before You Start to Remove Wallpaper
Few things you need to know before you start removing wallpapers:
- Lay some old sheets over the floor and on other things that you may to protect. If possible it is better to move your furniture out of the room.
- Remember to close all circuit breakers to any room outlets and lights. If you planning to perform this task, you may want to keep halogen lamp handy.
- Keep all the covers in place and tape all the exposed area in the concerned room. This will prevent water from getting inside at the time of removal process.
- It is better to know the type of wall you have in your room. Most of walls are generally made up of either plaster or drywall. A plaster wall is hard, durable, and water-resistant. On the other hand drywall is just paper-covered gypsum. So you would like to go easy on your drywall.
- After determining wallpaper, it is also important to know the type of wallpaper you have. There are different types of wallpaper people install in their house, but the removal process is quite easy if you have strippable type or peelable type as compared to the traditional varieties. You can test this out putting a knife under a corner of the wallpaper. Loosen it and try to peel it back using your hands.
- In case the whole paper peels away in a single piece, you have the strippable type of wallpaper.
- In case only the surface layer gets peeled away, leaving a papery layer behind, your wallpaper has a strippable top layer. This type of wallpaper will be little difficult to remove as compared to strippable wallpaper.
Now, if you are unable to peel the wallpaper away from your wall using hand or can only peel a small piece away at a time, you have traditional wallpaper which is quite a challenge to remove. You will have to remove it either with stripping solution or a wallpaper steamer.
2.) Remove Wallpaper Which is Strippable
Strip The Wallpaper:
- Simply find and loosen a corner of the wallpaper.
- Peel the wallpaper off the wall. In case the sheet gets torn, just find a new corner and start again.
- Wash away the residue. Clean the wall with a mild soap and hot water.
- Wash, and then dry it with a clean towel or rag.
3.) Remove Wallpaper with a Peelable Top Layer
Peel The Wallpaper:
- In this case, find and loosen one corner of the top layer of the wallpaper. Generally, the upper layer is made of vinyl and should strip off easily. Once you are done with the top layer, you will be left with backing paper.
- Now, wet the backing paper with water for a couple of minutes. Then, apply warm water using a rag, sponge, or a paint roller.
- After saturating the backing layer, scratch and remove the backing paper from the wall. You can use a plastic putty knife to get rid of the sticker areas.
- Rinse the residue and clean the wall with soap and hot water.
- Wash and dry the wall with a clean towel or rag.
4.) Remove Wallpaper which is a Traditional Type using Stripping Solution
Using Stripping Solution:
- Score your wallpaper using a wallpaper scorer. Follow it as per instruction. Making some holes in the paper will help the stripping solution to get deeper into the adhesive.
- Apart from wallpaper scorer, you can use sandpaper.
- Now, fill a bucket with some hot water. Ensure that the water is as hot as you can handle. After that mix in a wallpaper-stripping solution as per the instructions on the bottle.
- You can also use vinegar solution. It is very effective, cheap, and non-toxic solution. You can use a 20-percent solution.
- Apart from these two, you can also use a fabric softener at about 25-50-percent solution. Make sure it is unscented.
- After mixing the solution, soak a paint roller in the hot water solution. You can also use a sponge or large paint brush in case you don’t have a roller.
- Also, you can go for a spray bottle. It will make the application much easier. However, it will also cool down faster.
- Remember to saturate one part of the wall at a time.
- Leave it for several minutes.
- Later, strip the wallpaper using a plastic putty knife.
- Rinse the residue and clean it with soap and hot water.
- Wash and dry it using a clean towel or rag.
5.) Remove Traditional Wallpaper Using Steam
Remove Wallpaper Using Steam:
- For this method, you can either buy a wallpaper steamer or you can rent it. The steaming method is one of the best methods to remove wallpaper. It works effectively in getting rid of wallpaper that is difficult to remove.
- To make this method work, firstly score the wallpaper as per the instructions given on your wallpaper scorer. This is done order to provide steam a way to penetrate deeper.
- You might skip the scoring process because it may create small holes in the paper on your drywall. However, if you have a real plaster wall, you don’t need to be worry about it.
- Now, steam the wallpaper in small parts.
- Hold the steamer straight against the wallpaper, this will soften and loosen the adhesive of the wallpaper. The longer you hold the steam against the paper, the easier it will be to get rid of it. The extra moisture might damage your walls, so try to be careful while steaming.
- Also, remember to wear proper gloves and long sleeves while performing this task as the steamer will drip hot water.
- After steaming, scrape the hot wallpaper. You can use a plastic putty knife to scrape.
- Peel the wallpaper upwards.
- Finally rinse the entire residue.
- Clean the wall with mild soap and hot water.
- Rinse and dry the wall using a clean towel or rag.
