Tips for Removing Old Wallpaper

One of the most dreaded home remodeling tasks is the removing of old wallpaper. Some people even paint over it to avoid the removal process, and without fail, they tend to regret that decision and end up removing painted wallpaper. The good news is that there are ways to make this process a bit smoother. It's really all about basic science.

Understanding Wallpaper
Understanding the material you're working with is half the battle. If you can relate wallpaper to something you're familiar with using, you can do what you need to do with it. Wallpaper is glued to your wall. Think of the other types of adhesive you've had to remove. For instance, stickers on items that you have purchased can be hard to remove. You may end up using soap and water, and in some cases, even oil. The difference between these kinds of items and wallpaper is that the wallpaper is stuck to a porous surface, which means the glue is actually in the material. Your job is to get it out.

Special Tools
There are tools made just for removing old wallpaper. If you have a lot to remove or you do this as a side job or hobby, investing in these tools might be well worth the money. After all, every job goes smoother when you have the right tools. However, if you don't plan on doing a lot of this activity, you can simply modify the way you use some of the items you already have in your house.

You need to access the glue that lies under the wallpaper. You might think that you should just start peeling away at the nearest seam or top corner. Of course, you can do that, but you're going to get frustrated and there really is a much easier way. Besides, even after you peel a bit off, you still have to remove the remnants and get the rest of the unpeeled wallpaper off. Why not use a simpler technique?

If you didn't buy the tools made for removing wallpaper, you need to get creative and make do with what you have. What you're going to do is perforate the wallpaper. That's right, you're going to put tiny holes in it, but not so many that it falls apart when you peel it off. To do this, you're going to need some kind of item that can perforate the wallpaper without perforating the actual wall. If you have enough patience or helpers, you can use tacks. You might also use new forks (they have sharp points when they are new) a hairbrush with uncovered wire bristles or even a serrated steak knife.

Simply perforate the wallpaper in no certain order. The next thing you need to do is to get some steam under the wallpaper. To do this, take a normal household iron for ironing clothes. Put the iron on the steam setting and proceed to steam it. You don't need to put the iron on the wallpaper. You can just get it very close so that the steam can get underneath it.

After you steam the wallpaper, test its release abilities by gently tugging at one of the seams or a corner. When it comes loose freely, you've met with success. Continue to pull the wallpaper gently until you meet feel resistance. Repeat the perforating and steaming process on the next section. If the wallpaper seems to be more resistant than you would like, use a straight edge like a ruler to assist in lifting it from the wall.

Source: Personal Experience