How to Remove Wallpaper in 5 Steps

5 Steps on How to Remove Wallpaper

 

 

Hello, this is Joe from The Picky Painters. Today, we will go over how to remove Wallpaper before painting walls. I tried to make it easy, but there are a lot of small details that can help with this type of project. Let me know if I missed anything or if you have questions at joe@thepickypainters.com.

Step One: Preparation for Wallpaper Removal

 

First, you need to make sure you have the right tools. We will share a couple of lists below, one for pros and another for the DIY’er. Second, you must prepare the area and protect the flooring and electrical outlets from getting too much water.

 

Step Two: Determine the best tactic for wallpaper removal

 

For starters, you will need to figure out what type of Wallpaper you have on your walls. 

• Some wallpaper will be made of porous paper and absorb water without a perforation tool. 
• If you are lucky, you may have a very thick wallpaper, and you can pull the top decorative layer off in large sheets before beginning the wetting process on the glue and paper layer underneath.  
• Most wallpapers are made from materials like vinyl, and you need to perforate the surface if you can’t peel it or when it is not porous, and you can just wet it.

After determining the wallpaper type, you can peel or perforate the top layer, and the messy part will begin. It is usually best to work in sections, but you won’t have to go back to these steps later if you can peel or punch the entire room.

 

Step Three: The wetting and glue removal process begins

 

You want to start with a few rows of Wallpaper in this step. It is best not to even begin with an entire wall. Starting small will help you figure out which way to go or if you will be able to handle this project. You will have to wet the section, wait 3-5 mins, and repeat the process until all the wallpaper backing is very wet.

If the top layer of Wallpaper was already peeled off in previous steps, this should go easier. When perforation is needed, more wetting steps will usually be required. You may even want to perforate more, as seen in the video. After wetting the section enough to wet all the backing, you can move to the next step.

 

Step Four: Peeling and or scraping the Wallpaper where needed

 

Now it is finally time to remove that Wallpaper or backing. Sometimes, you can pull it off, as demonstrated in the video walkthrough. If it does not come off so quickly as in this video, you will have to move to scrap it. Don’t forget to keep wetting the areas you are working on. If they dry out, you will have to wash them down and possibly wait. Make sure you are not scraping the walls hard enough to damage them. 

If the paper is soaking wet, you may have severe issues, and it still isn’t coming off. Some builders did not use special paint or paint, maybe just cheap flat color, so the paper may not come off. I compare it to gluing two pieces of paper together as that happens, so you will never get them apart without ruining the surface.

If this is where you are, you may need to stop and hire a professional as you may need to paint over it, but you can’t just use regular paint, and at this point, you would need to use a unique process to achieve a smooth finish. We will cover this topic in another blog and link it here.  

Hopefully, everything is going well for you, and you have peeled or scraped the Wallpaper and/or backed off the walls. If you still have Wallpaper, you may need to peel the top layer and then continue wetting the back a few times to get it to release quickly. Once the paper and backing are removed, you can move to the final step.

 

Step Five: for wallpaper removal from your interior walls

 

You should have a small amount of stick glue left on the walls. Sometimes it may be a litter thicker and tougher to remove. You can just wet the walls, wipe them with a sponge, and keep rinsing them with a clean bucket of water.

You will likely have to change this bucket frequently to keep the water fresh. If you have a more challenging time removing, you can use the green scrub pads to get the tough glue off the walls and continue rinsing.  

Hopefully, you have made it this far and have successfully removed your Wallpaper, backing, and all the glue without having many wall repairs to complete before painting. Look for more how-to videos on the other painting steps and create a smooth finished wall.

Thanks for reading and submitting any questions or topics we may not have covered, or let me, Joe know how it all worked out for you. joe@thepickypainters.com I will try my best to help you and create more helpful content to help in your future painting projects.

If you are in the Cleveland, Ohio area, give us a call for any wallpaper removal, Interior Painting, Cabinet Refinishing or Exterior Painting needs. Also, look for more information about us in future markets or contact me for more info at joe@thepickypainters.com. 833-PICKY4U (742-5948)

 

The DIY wallpaper removal checklist

 

1. Something to wet the walls down (depending on your budget)
2. Pump sprayer
3. Spray bottle
4. Bucket and rag or sponge
5. The scraping blade is easy to hold, and an angled blade for larger areas helps a lot.
6. Tiger Claw tools to perforate the Wallpaper
7. Additive to the water to help remove the glue
8. Wallpaper removal solution (some you add to warm water, some stand-alone)
9. Fabric softener add ¼ to heat water
10. Vinegar add ⅓ to heat water
11. Plain warm water may even work!
12. Scrub pads for problem glue removal
13. Floor protection
14. Trash can. It will get messy. Be prepared!

 

Professional wallpaper removal near me checklist for pros

1. Large or small pump sprayer
2. Wallpaper removal scoring tool
3. Wallpaper scraping tool
4. Wallpaper Stripper solution
5. Wallpaper steamer for very tough jobs
6. Scrubbing Pads for problem glue
7. Floor Protection
8. Waste Bin for removed Wallpaper