What type of wallpaper do you have?
The type of wall covering you have determines the best way to remove it. Your wallpaper may:
- Be peelable
or … - Need to be moistened and scraped.
Peel
You can usually peel off modern wallpaper with a vinyl or PVC coating with minimal effort. Loosen a corner and start peeling it off. A standard putty knife will help you pry it off the wall.
Peelable wallpaper leaves a thin backing glued to the wall which requires some effort to remove. However, you can also wallpaper directly over the top of it.
Moisten
You need to loosen the glue by moistening the paper with water and a little vinegar. You can also use a prepackaged wallpaper remover solution mixed with water. You can try applying water with a paint roller, sponge or brush to the wall or using a steam cleaner. If the wallpaper has a thin vinyl coating to make it waterproof, you won’t be able to moisten the paper and glue using these methods. Instead, sand away as much of the vinyl coating as possible to expose the paper below.
You can also try lightly perforating the surface to allow the moisture to soak through. There are special tools available to perforate the vinyl coating without damaging the wall behind the paper. Speak to your local hardware store about the best tool to use for your circumstance.
Apply enough water so it doesn’t dry out.
Scrape
Once the moistened glue has had a chance to loosen, you can pry up the old paper with a wide-bladed tool such as a standard putty knife. Hopefully the paper will come off cleanly and easily.
However, chances are some parts of the paper will come off easily while other parts will be stubborn and difficult to remove. Remove all the wallpaper you can and then repeat the moistening process with the remaining wallpaper. It may take several attempts to remove all the wallpaper, especially if there are unexpected layers underneath!
Wallpapering over Wallpaper
The best option is to always remove the old wallpaper before hanging the new wallpaper. However, in some circumstances such as when the wallpaper has been glued directly onto a drywall, it will be almost impossible to remove without damaging the wall behind in.
In these circumstances, it’s probably best to simply sand the old wallpaper and hang the new wallpaper directly over the top. It also helps to add a coat of primer before hanging the wallpaper.
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