The 3 Easiest Ways to Remove Old Wallpaper
Sam Lutz • February 13, 2018
In general, there are three things that people use to remove old wallpaper: water, solvent and steam. The method you choose will depend on your wallpaper, what it’s made of and how it was applied. Most homeowners start with simple water and graduate to other products if water fails. Wallpaper removal can take hours or days, depending on the size of the room, the type of paper, age of the paper and other factors. If you’re planning to remove wallpaper, give yourself a large block of time to complete the project.
No matter what method you use, removing old wallpaper takes upper body strength. If you don’t feel up to the task, get a partner or contact a professional.
Before Getting Started
Find out whether or not your walls were properly prepared before the wallpaper was applied. To do this, soften a corner of the wallpaper with a damp sponge, then pull back the edge of the paper and peer behind it. If the wall is a gray-brown color, the wallboard may not have been properly primed before the wallpaper was installed. Talk to a professional before moving forward.
Some wallpaper is designed to peel away easily. Once you get a section of the wallpaper going, try tearing it off in large chunks. If the wallpaper comes off without water, remove all the paper you can. Some shreds of wallpaper may remain on the walls. You can remove this at a later time with water.
Gather Your Materials
For this project, you’ll need:
- Tarps
- Painter’s tape
- Scoring tool
- Paint scraper
- Ladder
- Bucket
- Sponge and spray bottle
You may also need a solvent or steamer, depending on much resistance you encounter from the wallpaper.
Follow the Process
Remove or move the furniture to the center of the room. Cover the floors with tarps and tape the tarps to the baseboards. Remove any outlet covers, then protect the outlets with plastic.
Turn off the power, because you’ll be using dripping water to soften the walls. Clear kids out of the area in case the glue contains toxic fungicides. Open the windows to ventilate the space.
- Score the wallpaper with the scoring tool.
- Spray a wallpaper section with warm water, or apply water to the paper with a damp sponge. Work in small sections (two feet by two feet, approximately) or the glue will start to dry before you can remove the paper.
- Allow the water to soak into the paper. This usually takes seconds, not minutes.
- Scrape the wallpaper away when the glue behind the wallpaper is soft. If the wallpaper is difficult to remove, the glue wasn’t properly softened when you started scraping. Spray again and give it more time.
- Repeat steps 1 through 4 in sections throughout the room.
If these steps don’t work, add vinegar to the water, as it can help soften the glue. This tutorial shows the whole process:
If vinegar doesn’t work, rent a steamer, or use a solvent. follow all manufacturer instructions when using a solvent and keep the space well ventilated. Wear work gloves and eye protection.
Beware of the dripping hot water and steam that will come from the steamer. Hold the steamer to the wallpaper long enough for the glue to soften, but not so long that the wall itself will be damaged. Scrape away the wallpaper using a scraper. Don’t pull the wallpaper off with your fingers, as you may get burned. Watch this tutorial for more information:
Stop In At Ace Paint and Unfinished Furniture
Once the wallpaper has been removed, it’s time to paint! Stop in at Ace Paints and Unfinished Furniture for all the tools and paint products
you need.
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