Wall-papers usually consist of two or three layers of material: a decorative outer layer and two thin layers under it. The nature of the wallpaper has changed many times in recent years, which is why you may have to try different methods to make the final removal of the wallpaper from the walls.

The most problematic, as a rule, is the removal of residual wallpaper paste and curbs. Very rarely, these procedures can be performed without soaking and using various cleansing chemicals.

And now the good news! This article is a complete review of expert advice and useful tips that can greatly facilitate you the removal of wall-paper. So…

Different types of wallpaper and how to remove them

Let's start with the simplest case.

Обои «Strippable»

When buying wallpapers, you can worry in advance about the fact that in the future you do not have problems with their removal from the walls. To do this, choose a wallpaper marked "Strippable" and a special icon, as in the picture.

Wallpaper removal from the walls - Strippable wallpaper

These easily removable wall coverings have a smooth, plastic outer cover. These include vinyl wallpaper, paper or vinyl on textile backing, etc.

To remove them, you must gently pry the corner of the wallpaper in the upper part of the wall with the edge of the scraper or the blade of the knife. While holding the papers close to the wall, it should be removed using downward motion. Remember that pulling a paper on yourself, you are likely to rip them, and therefore systematic downward movement is less risky. It is not necessary to put special efforts here.

Other types of wallpaper

The first thing you need to do to remove old wallpaper, not marked as "Strippable", is to prepare for this not very neat process.

The floor and furniture should be covered with plastic or some other dense material. Make sure that you have all the necessary tools: sprayers, scrapers etc. Quite often when removing wallpaper, scoring devices are used that roll over the surface of the wallpaper, creating on it a series of small depressions or perforations. Thanks to this, water and various chemicals are better absorbed into thick wallpaper and help soften the glue beneath them. At the same time, these scoring devices can leave marks on the drywall and other soft surfaces, so do not apply too much pressure to them.

If you are going to spray chemicals on the wallpaper, such as a paper-removal fluid, take care of a respirator that will not let you inhale chemicals. It will also come in handy if after removing the wallpaper you are going to grind the surface of the walls.

1. Remove wallpaper from the walls through cutting and soaking

With this method of removing old wallpaper, a series of horizontal slits are made across their entire surface. If the wallpaper is too dense, for example vinyl, then you can also use a scoring tool, such as "Paper Tiger" (see the picture below). This device has several small rollers with needle-shaped protrusions that push through the surface of the wallpaper without damaging the wall.

Paper Tiger tool for removing wallpaper from walls

Paper Tiger tool for removing wallpaper from walls

If you do not have a similar tool, then use a razor blade or a knife to make slits on the wallpaper with a distance of about 20 cm from each other. After that, spray a sponge or sponge wallpaper on a special liquid to remove wallpaper or warm water with soap.

Allow the liquid to soak for a few minutes, then use a scraper with a flexible blade 8 cm wide to start scraping the wallpaper. They will either wrinkle above the surface of the scraper when you press, or tear off when you pull the edge. Continue to push and sip them until the paper is removed. If the wallpaper is torn and it becomes more difficult to remove them, then rewet this area.

If the glue is not clearly softened and not weakened after soaking, you will have to do differently to remove the wallpaper, for example, by steaming or chemically.

2. Removing the wallpaper with steam

Some stores of household goods rent a special wallpaper steamer (steam generator) that will make your work easier and avoid the need for using chemicals.

Steam generator for removing wallpaper from walls

Steam generator for removing wallpaper from walls

The use of a steam generator is similar to the use of an iron, which is used for pressing clothes. Using steam in relation to the old wallpaper allows you to soften the paper and weaken the wallpaper glue. After applying this procedure, the remaining wallpaper is removed using a spatula.

At the same time, super-aggressive steam can damage the plaster, especially if the surface was not properly sealed before the wallpaper was pasted.

3. Removal of wallpaper by chemical means

Most chemicals for wallpaper removal have been designed so that they can be added to hot water and applied in this way to soften the old glue. Some of them include special enzymes that help dissolve the adhesive. However, if the old wallpaper that you are about to remove is sufficiently dense (for example, non-woven), you still need to use a scoring tool for perforation or cut the wallpaper into strips to help the chemical solvent penetrate the glue.

Helpful Tips

1. if the outer cover of the wallpaper is vinyl, then you must first tear it off before you start soaking, because neither the chemical solvent nor the steam can penetrate the vinyl to soften the glue;

Removing wall-paper from walls

2. After the wallpaper and glue residues have been removed, be sure to lightly sand the surface of the wall to remove the remaining roughness and create a surface suitable for binding the paint, wallpaper or other new coating that you are going to apply;

3. If you are going to paint the walls, use a quality primer based on the sealing oil as the base coat for the paint;

4. As a solvent for wallpaper glue, you can apply fabric softener - just add about one part of the liquid conditioner to the two parts of the water in the spray bottle, shake well, spray this mixture onto the wallpaper, allow a few minutes to soak in and start removing the wallpaper;

5. dishwashing liquid - Another tool that works well when removing old wallpaper; for the preparation of the softener it is sufficient to mix one part of the non-aggressive dishwashing liquid with about ten parts of hot water;

6. white vinegar Also can be useful when dismantling old wallpaper - the acid contained in it, helps to soften the wallpaper glue. For use, mix 1 part of white vinegar with about 8 parts of hot water. The smell disappears quickly after the walls dry.

How to remove wallpaper from plaster or plasterboard

If a primer has been applied before the wallpaper is pasted on the drywall, you can slowly scrape off or remove them from the walls without soaking. However, unprimed plasterboard or plaster can have a sheet of paper as an outer cover, and wallpaper can be glued directly onto this paper. In this case, if you start to shoot the wallpaper without softening the glue, then you can do a catastrophe.

So, if the walls were not primed, then remove the wallpaper from gypsum board or plaster should be as follows:

1. Remove the top layer of wallpaper, then soak the bottom, which remained on the wall. Direct the flow of water to the top of the wall using a garden sprayer until the water drains down the wall. The wall must get very wet! After that, allow the water to penetrate into the lower layer of wallpaper, which usually takes 15-20 minutes.

2. After this time, use a scraper or spatula to gently push it under the lower layer of wallpaper, raise and pull them off the wall. If the wallpaper is well soaked, then the surface of the drywall will remain intact and it can be slightly sanded before painting.

Edge Curbs

How to better remove wallpaper borders depends on what kind of wallpaper was used, on what type of surface they were glued and what kind of adhesive was used for this.

The easiest way to try it is to heat the curb with a hair dryer, which can sufficiently weaken the adhesive and allow you to carefully remove the curb.

Usually, if the curb was glued to the wallpaper, then it is quite easy to shoot: warm up a little with a hairdryer and use a plastic scraper to remove from the walls. If the border has a vinyl coating that does not allow air and moisture to pass, then before heating or soaking you will need to perforate its entire surface.

If the wallpaper border has been glued to the painted wall, use warm water and a special tool to remove the wallpaper. Apply to the surface of the curb, allow longer to soak and remove with a plastic scraper.

Removal of wallpaper curbs

A great way to remove wallpaper borders is to steam them off. Begin to soar them from the bottom to the top and repeat the procedure until the curbs begin to lag behind the walls.