Wish to know methods to take away wallpaper? I’ve tried a lot of alternative ways and am sharing what I’ve discovered works finest!
Simply as in our earlier house, there’s a LOT of wallpaper to take away at our house in NC! Over time I’ve tried each trick within the e book for taking outdated wallpaper down (now we have a knack for getting homes completely loaded with it) and as we speak I’m sharing the elimination technique that works finest for me. I’m additionally sharing the “earlier than” and “after” makeover of the latest room I eliminated wallpaper in – our laundry room. Able to see?? (put up consists of affiliate hyperlinks; full disclosure out there {right here})
Right here’s the “earlier than” of what our laundry room seemed like after we purchased our home:
I used to be capable of get the entire wallpaper in your entire room down in underneath two hours which is fairly superb! The important thing to my wallpaper eradicating approach is to make use of a reasonable handheld steamer such as you steam garments with. I’ve {this one} and it really works nice (bear in mind to make use of the entire precautions on the steamer directions to keep away from getting burned by the steam and don’t use it close to any electrical shops or switches). The method is easy, however I’ll present you methods to take away wallpaper step-by-step so that you’ll know precisely what to do!
To get arrange, have a trash can close by the place you possibly can discard the wallpaper that you simply take away from the wall. It’s additionally a good suggestion to place a drop material down in your flooring to guard them since wallpaper that’s eliminated has adhesive on the again that may switch to your flooring if dropped on them. Then…
1. Begin Steaming at a Backside Seam
Beginning at a backside seam between two strips of wallpaper, steam that space completely along with your steamer. Utilizing a small putty knife, attempt to get the blade underneath the steamed wallpaper so you can begin pulling the sheet of wallpaper up on the nook. If you happen to can’t get the nook up, steam it some extra and take a look at once more. As soon as I’ve the primary little bit of nook pulled up, I proceed pulling the sheet with my left hand because it loosens from the wall and use the putty knife in my proper hand to get underneath the paper and assist separate it from the wall:
2. Alternate Between Steaming on Prime of the Paper & Beneath It
When you’re capable of pull the nook up, proceed steaming that sheet of paper by alternating between steaming on high of the sheet (transfer the steamer backwards and forwards over the realm):
and beneath it (being cautious to not steam your hand):
Handheld steamers don’t have an enormous water tank so I maintain a watering can with a small spout subsequent to me for straightforward water refills so I can maintain going with out regularly working to the sink.
If you happen to’re actually fortunate, you would possibly be capable of use this system to get your wallpaper off in giant sheets like I did in our laundry room:
however the actuality is that it’s not all the time that simple! Generally it can come off in little items it doesn’t matter what wallpaper elimination trick you strive. A variety of it has to do with whether or not the partitions had been correctly prepped earlier than wallpapering or not. If it doesn’t come off fairly as simply as you’d like right here’s what to do:
3. Use a Putty Knife to Assist With Extra Cussed Items
In some instances you’ll discover which you could simply peel off the highest layer of wallpaper however the backside layer of wallpaper backing continues to be caught to the wall. That is usually the case with vinyl wallpaper that you simply’ll discover in some bogs and kitchens – it may be actually cussed! If this occurs, steam off the highest layer of wallpaper as described. Then for the paper backing that’s nonetheless caught on the wall, take a humid sponge or rag and soak it nicely, letting it sit, soaked with water for a number of minutes when you work on one other spot. Then, come again to it and steam the paper backing (beginning on the edges) whereas utilizing a putty knife to elevate it off:
Normally it can elevate off fairly simply! As a substitute for a putty knife you might additionally strive {this lengthy dealt with scraper} that will get nice evaluations.
4. Take away the Wallpaper Glue
Now that you know the way to take away wallpaper, what in regards to the wallpaper glue residue?! As soon as your whole wallpaper is eliminated, you’ll usually nonetheless have residual wallpaper adhesive on the wall that you simply’ll need to get off earlier than portray or wallpaper set up. I merely fill a bucket with heat water and use a dampened sponge to wash the remaining glue off – you possibly can see the portion the place I eliminated the glue from the wall on the left and the portion I hadn’t but gotten to on the suitable:
If there’s a LOT of glue left behind after eradicating your wallpaper, earlier than I scrub it off with my sponge, I evenly steam one space of the wall at a time and transfer my putty knife over the wall to scrape off the surplus glue:
after which comply with it up by scrubbing the remaining off with my sponge and heat water.
5. Prep Earlier than Portray or Re-Wallpapering
Wallpaper glue is hard as a result of even when it looks like you’ve gotten all of it off, usually there’s residual glue there that’s reactivated while you paint the partitions (and the glue turns right into a glob and messes up your paint job). To stop this challenge, there’s some particular prep to do earlier than portray over wallpaper glue. After stripping the wallpaper and scraping and scrubbing off the residual glue, evenly sand the partitions after which brush on a coat of Zinsser ALLPRIME Water-Base Drawback Floor Sealer or Gardz Drawback Floor Sealer which you could get on-line {right here}. These sealers seal in any residual glue so it received’t be reactivated when painted over. It additionally seals any cracked or peeling drywall too in order that they’re able to be patched and painted.
After I ending eradicating the wallpaper in our laundry room I… added wallpaper proper again to it – ha! I’m a glutton for punishment I suppose 🙂 Right here’s a reminder of what it seemed like “earlier than”:
and right here’s what it seems like now:
It’s a very laborious house to get a photograph of because it’s tiny and has no pure mild however hopefully you possibly can nonetheless see the massive distinction that the brand new wallpaper made! I wasn’t a fan of the mirrored doorways that the washer and dryer are behind so I really wallpapered these too after coating them with a superb primer!
Together with re-wallpapering with {this blue floral wallpaper}, I added {this new rug} as a doormat, a set of {these blue & white striped storage bins} above the washer, and swapped out the outdated, dated mild fixture for {this brass star flush mount fixture}:
If you happen to’re re-wallpapering like I did, remember to take a look at my put up on wallpaper set up for the step-by-step of hanging your new wallpaper. If you happen to’re intimidated about hanging conventional pasted wallpaper, another choice to contemplate is peel and stick! It’s an awesome newbie’s method to check out wallpapering since you employ a whole lot of the identical methods to hold it however it’s simpler since you’re not speeding towards the clock to hold it earlier than the glue on the again of your wallpaper dries. Take a look at my full weblog put up on peel and stick wallpaper to get the main points on methods to dangle it!
Different Strategies to Strive for Eradicating Wallpaper
Whereas utilizing a handheld steamer is the easiest way I’ve discovered to take away wallpaper, there are different methods you possibly can strive too if you wish to experiment with what works finest for you together with:
1. A Wallpaper Steamer
A steamer that’s particularly made to steam wallpaper like {this one} has an oblong formed attachment that you simply placed on the wall to lure the steam and make it more practical. I’ve tried utilizing one earlier than however discovered that I did higher with a handheld steamer that allowed me to steam underneath the sheet I used to be pulling up. It does have the benefit of getting a a lot larger water tank although so refills aren’t wanted practically as regularly. If you happen to go this route, remember to get one with a hose that’s lengthy sufficient to succeed in the highest of your partitions.
2. Scoring + Chemical Stripper
Another choice for methods to take away wallpaper is to “rating” your wallpaper utilizing {this device} that makes small holes in it adopted by a wallpaper stripper like {this one} or {this one} that you simply spray or sponge on. I do know some individuals who use this as their go-to technique however for me it was actually gradual and the scoring device left a couple of marks on my wall. Plus I’d fairly use plain steam than a chemical stripper. If you happen to use a chemical stripper, remember to comply with the security directions utilizing security goggles and gloves.
3. Sizzling Water in a Spray Bottle
That is undoubtedly the most affordable path to go in the event you don’t already personal a handheld steamer. Merely put pretty sizzling water in a twig bottle (or some individuals use equal components water and material softener or equal components water and vinegar), spray one space of your wall at a time, let it sit, after which use a scraper to take away the wallpaper. I eliminated the primary half of the wallpaper in our lobby this manner so it’s undoubtedly do-able however I experimented with my handheld steamer for the primary time on the second half and it moved issues alongside way more shortly for me.
I hope you all discovered this to be useful! If you’d like some wallpaper eradicating apply, come on over (ha – I want!). Whereas I’ve tackled our laundry room, small breakfast nook, powder room, and kitchen I nonetheless have my ladies’ rest room and our grasp rest room to go….
