Years ago wallpaper was all the trend in many homes, now that trend has long gone. Most homes still continue to have wallpaper due to the time it takes just to take it down. We are going to tell you how to easily take down wallpaper with just a little work on your end and some items you might already have at home.
Before we begin the supplies needed are:
- Painters Tape
- At Least a 5” Putty Knife
- Wallpaper Scoring Tool
- Pressure Sprayer
- Hot Water
- Vinegar
- Screwdriver
- Fabric Softener
- Garbage Can
*Safety glasses and a tarp to cover the floor are recommended*
Since we will be spraying water on the wall, best practice is to lay down your tarp to protect your entire floor. Next, using your painters tape, completely cover all outlets and light switches to protect against any water that may come into contact with them. Don’t worry about any wallpaper around these as we will come back at the end to remove any leftovers.
There are many different ways to get the wallpaper off, starting with the easiest way is to find an edge of the wallpaper, then using your putty knife, try to scrape behind the wallpaper slowly pulling towards you, if you're able to, the paper should come off in sheets. If not, you might need to try another way to remove it.
If you head on over to Amazon.ca you can easily find a budget friendly Wallpaper Scoring tool. This tool will make the next step much easier, by allowing the water to seep under the wallpaper and make the adhesive less sticky. With your scoring tool, run the tool over the entire wall with minimal amount of pressure, just enough it does not go through the sheetrock or cause the wallpaper sheet to rip.
Gather your Fabric Softener, and hot water - you will need about ¼ fabric softener to ¾ hot water, and mix together. This recipe can be altered as needed, depending on the type of wallpaper you are applying it to. Empty your wallpaper water remover into your sprayer bottle, and begin spraying over the same area you had used your scoring tool on. At this point the wallpaper should begin to peel off itself, if needed you may help it along with your putty knife. Turn off all power to the area you are removing the wallpaper from, peel off the painters tape that was covering your outlets, and unscrew each of the wall plates. Using your scraper, remove the remaining wallpaper around the outlets. Any stubborn wallpaper left on, use a damp rag with your mixture on it and continue to scrape. Cover each area again with new pieces of painters tape.
By now I'm sure you are beyond ready to get your new paint up but there might be remaining adhesive on the walls. Using the same mixture and putty knife, work in sections by spraying and scraping, any stubborn adhesive let soak for a minute or two to allow for easier removal.
Congratulations! You have successfully removed your wallpaper! Now- Let's paint!