How Do You Take Wallpaper Off a Wall?
One painstaking aspect of remodeling a room or your entire home is the process of removing old wallpaper. Depending on the age of the house, the wallpaper can be decades old. While modern wallpaper is typically able to be removed in strips, that is not the case for older paper. The best way to remove wallpaper is with wallpaper removal solution and lots of patience. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Drop cloth
- Wallpaper removal solution
- 5-gallon bucket
- Broad knife
- Scoring tool (optional)
- Ladder
Instructions
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1
Cover the floor and nearby walls with drop cloths. Cut the power to the room, and remove the outlet covers and light switches.
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2
Mix the wallpaper removal solution in a 5-gallon bucket of hot water, according to the package instructions.
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3
Dip the sponge in the solution and soak the wall with the removal solution. Give it a few minutes to penetrate the wallpaper.
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4
Test a small section with a broad knife. This will help determine which way you will need to strip the wallpaper, whether up and down or left to right. If the paper does not remove easily, penetrate the wallpaper with a scoring tool and resoak the wall section to allow the removal solution to penetrate more deeply.
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5
Repeat the steps you made with the test section: applying the removal solution, allowing it to soak and carefully scraping up the wallpaper with the broad knife. The process can be extremely slow and irritating, depending on the type of wallpaper used and its age. Be patient, and work diligently.
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Tips & Warnings
Replace the wallpaper removal solution when it gets cold.
