Steps
- Find a good place to start and pull a strip off by hand to get you going. Using the sponge, soak the paper enough to allow easy removal. Scrape or pull paper off the wall, whichever is easier. Don't dig the scraper into the wall.
- For large areas it is best to use a steamer and score the paper diagonally with the edge of the scraper so that chunks can come off all at once rather than hundreds of little pieces.
- Once all the paper has been removed, let the wall dry then give it a once over with the scraper again to remove little bits that are stuck on.
- Finally, give the wall a quick sanding using medium-fine sandpaper to smooth off. Fill any holes, cracks etc, sand off when done.
- Before repapering, run your hand over the wall to make sure there are no more little bits stuck to it and it's all good and smooth.
Tips
- Start at the bottom and work your way up, rather than in the middle of the wall.
- If your wallpaper is difficult to get off, and you aren't using a steamer, try using liquid fabric softener in warm water, and use a sponge to really soak the old paper. This can work better than wallpaper remover.
- For vinyl wallpaper, when scoring and soaking doesn't seem to work, try separating the top (vinyl) layer from the adhesive layer with a dull putty knife. Then go back with your Dif or liquid fabric softener/warm water to remove the adhesive. It seems like double the work effort, but it actually goes pretty fast when compared to trying to scrape both layers together.
Warnings
- Place plastic at the base of the wall to capture any spillage. Score or cut edges where the wallpaper to be removed joins with paper that will be staying e.g. ceiling. This leaves a clean join instead of pulling ceiling paper off with the wallpaper.
Things You'll Need
- Make sure that you have hot water and a sponge. Also a decent stripping/scraping tool, some sandpaper, and filler to repair any cracks or holes.
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