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Step 1
Move furniture away from the walls and cover the floor with drop cloths.
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Step 2
Pick a corner or an edge of the wallpaper and try to peel it off using your hands, a putty knife or a wallpaper scraper. Some papers are designed to simply peel off.
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Step 3
If the paper doesn't peel off, or if the pattern comes away but the backing remains, score the paper lightly using a razor blade or a wallpaper-scoring tool. Be careful not to cut into the drywall or plaster underneath.
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Step 4
Apply plain water, water mixed with a mild household soap, or a commercial solution of a wallpaper remover to the wall using a paint roller, squirt gun or large sponge. Saturate the wall several times if necessary; the paper will absorb the water until the glue begins to loosen.
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Step 5
Alternatively, rent or buy a wallpaper steamer. Take care–—steamers get very hot.
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Step 6
Try again to pull the paper off with your hands. You might still have to use a scraper or putty knife, however.
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Step 7
Wash away as much of the glue as possible, until you are down to the original painted or primed wall. You might have to use a heavy-duty scouring pad. Wait until the wall is dry and use sandpaper to sand off what remains of the paper, backing or glue.
Hopefully, when you decide to re-wallpaper a room the old wallpaper is strippable and comes off with ease.… More
Comments
life4three said
on 8/17/2009 This was the worse way to remove wallpaper ever!!
TERRIEMAE said
on 3/29/2008 i've been successful removing wallpaper by using a mixture of water and liquid fabric softener. mostly fabric softener, put in a squirt bottle. but first score the wallpaper with a scoring tool,one of those things that makes holes in the wallpaper so that the softener will soak in.it's just a little round item with plastic teeth that fits in the palm of your hand and you just swirl it around and around on the wallpaper. sorry that i didn't know the name of it, but it can be purchased at any store that carries wallpaper. also you can hold a wet warm cloth in a seam of the wallpaper, if the paper seam has loosened up or worked loose, that means its the kind you paint over, if you wish. it won't wrinkle, bubble or shrink with paint. good luck. hopes this helps. terriemae
lulucamel said
on 2/28/2008 Wow, he made that much harder than it had to be. Just spray water on wallpaper (a LOT of water), wait 10 minutes, peel off.
lulucamel said
on 2/28/2008 Wow, he made that much harder than necessary. Spray some water on it== a LOT of water== wait 10 minutes, peel it off.
sugamomma said
on 2/15/2008 Hi dont bother with all that expensive stuff they sell at the store to remove wall paper its a bunch of crock. All you need do is get a bucket of warm water pour about half a bottle of white vinegar in stir and wipe across your wallpaper. Dont go crazy and saturate the wall now just wet it enough to get the vinegar to penetrate the wall paper. Then let it sit then go in and peel off that wall paper like your peeling a banana thats how easy it will come off. If some is still trying to stay do the process over again it does work and you wont be taking off half the wall along with your paper or inhaling chemicals either. Good luck and pass it along to friends and family.