How to Remove Vinyl Wallpaper

Vinyl wallpaper is durable and moisture resistant, making it a great choice for wall coverings. Unfortunately, these qualities can also vinyl wallpaper difficult to remove. For this reason, you may have to try more aggressive methods to remove the vinyl wallpaper from the wall.

Try removing the vinyl wallpaper with your hands and a putty knife. Often the heavier wallpapers will not tear, making them easy to remove once a little force is exerted. You can use a putty knife to pry away the top corner of the wallpaper, then gently pull the paper away from the wall. If that doesn't work, try one of these other methods to remove the vinyl wallpaper.

Keep in mind, that even if you can manually remove the wallpaper with just a tug, you will still need to remove any adhesive before installing new wallpaper or painting the walls.

Step 1: Fill a spray bottle with a mixture of 2 gallons of hot water and a cap of fabric softener.

Step 2: Saturate the vinyl wallpaper with the mixture of hot water and fabric softener.

Step 3: Use a putty knife and sponge soaked with the hot water mixture to remove the top corner of the vinyl wallpaper. You should be able to use the putty knife to pry away the vinyl wallpaper. Then use the sponge with the hot water mixture to help dissolve the adhesive.

Step 4: Remove all of the vinyl wallpaper, using the sponge to remove any stubborn adhesive.

Step 5: Remove all of the remaining adhesive and any backing on wall by saturating the wall with the hot water and fabric softener once more. Then use a wide blade putty knife to remove the adhesive as it detaches from the wall.

TIP: Keep in mind that you should only apply enough of the hot water mixture to loosen the adhesive, and not enough to make the underlying drywall soggy.

Step 6: Wipe down the walls with a natural sponge and the hot water and fabric softener mixture to remove the last of the adhesive.

Step 7: Clean the walls one final time using warm water and a sponge.