Maybe you finally took a few days off to renovate your house and decided that the wallpaper (which didn't look good until the 1970s and should have stayed there) should go away in your living room! However, you didn't think much about it and finally started pulling it off – how difficult can it really be?
Four hours later you sit on the floor staring at the wall and think, "After all the scraping and peeling, how do I still have more than half of the wall with wallpaper?" We feel your pain. Take a deep breath and call the troop 0800-0 12 12 12We take care of it so that you can enjoy your free time and relax.
If you're not ready to finish this job and tackle it yourself (good for you!), Read on as we explain the best ways to remove background images. We wrote everything about hanging wallpaper and tips on hanging wallpaper, but we found that we didn't cover how to remove wallpaper. With our instructions, we are sure that you can remove your wallpaper as painlessly as possible.
Start with some prep work.
Before you start peeling, scraping and asking, "Why didn't you just call Handy Squad?" To begin, you need to prepare the room. This means removing everything from the walls, moving or covering nearby furniture and covering the baseboards.
You also need to determine what type of wallpaper you have and whether your walls are plastered or drywall. Gypsum is most commonly found in homes built more than 50 years ago, while drywall has been used in homes for the past 50 years or so. This is important to identify because drywall is more sensitive than gypsum, which means that you need to be more careful when removing wallpaper.
To determine the type of wallpaper, use a spatula to loosen a corner of the paper and try to peel it off. If you are one of the lucky ones with peelable wallpaper, it should just peel off. If the wallpaper peels off but leaves a paper backing, you have a removable wallpaper. If the paper doesn't peel off at all, it means that you have a traditional wallpaper that requires a little more work, water and a wallpaper remover (don't worry, you can do this).
Remove removable wallpaper.
Step 1
Use a spatula to loosen the corner of the paper. Use your hands to pull the paper off the wall. You should pull as close to the wall as possible to avoid tearing the paper (if the paper tears, lift another corner and start over). Repeat throughout the room.
step 2
When you have removed all wallpaper, clean the walls with soap and water.
Remove removable wallpaper.
Step 1.
The removable wallpaper has a top layer that peels off like removable paper. Simply loosen the corner with a spatula and peel off the paper.
Step 2.
Once you have removed the top layer, the paper backing remains. To remove this layer, follow the instructions below to remove conventional wallpaper.
Remove traditional wallpaper.
Step 1.
Mix hot water and wallpaper remover according to the manufacturer's instructions. Pour this solution into a spray bottle.
Step 2.
Apply the solution to the wall and let it stand for a few minutes.
Step 3.
Peel off the paper with a spatula. Work from top to bottom. If you removed the paper from this section, go to the next section.
Step 4.
Clean the wall with soap and water to remove any residue.
Still out of luck? Try a wallpaper steamer.
A wallpaper steamer can be a stroke of luck if your wallpaper does not seem to be removable, no matter how much you scratch and spray on. Just follow the manufacturer's instructions and you will get a wallpaper-free wall in no time.
If you don't have time to remove your wallpaper or just don't want to get your hands dirty, call Handy Squad 0800-0 12 12 12, Our London decorators can remove your wallpaper and then paint your walls (if necessary). Let us know how we can help you. We are happy to do this too. Request a free quote by filling out our online booking form.
