Wallpaper removal is easiest when you work out what is on the wall before attacking it. Some modern papers are designed to peel off dry, some split so the decorative face comes away while the backing remains, and older papers often need soaking before they release. If you immediately score, steam and scrape everything, you can turn a straightforward job into damaged plaster and hours of unnecessary repair.
Test a seam first to see which method works.
Protect the room before you start
Move furniture away from the wall and cover the floor. Wallpaper paste and soaking water are messy, and small strips of wet paper stick surprisingly well to carpets. Before using water or a steamer around sockets and switches, isolate the relevant electrical circuit at the consumer unit and make sure it is off. Screwfix also recommends keeping sockets covered and protected during stripping. Remove faceplates only if you know how to do so safely; otherwise keep moisture well away from electrical fittings.
Have a bin or heavy-duty bags close by. Wet wallpaper gets heavy quickly, so clearing as you go is easier than dealing with a floor covered in soggy strips at the end.
Useful tools include:
- a broad filling knife or wallpaper scraper;
- a smaller scraper for edges;
- a sponge or spray bottle;
- warm water and wallpaper-removal solution if needed;
- a bucket;
- a scoring tool, but only if the surface will not absorb water;
- a wallpaper steamer for stubborn areas;
- dust sheets and cloths.
Test whether the wallpaper is strippable
Lift a lower corner or seam with a scraper and pull steadily away from the wall. If the entire sheet releases in large sections, you have strippable paper. Keep the pull fairly low and close to the wall rather than yanking straight towards yourself. Work slowly so you remove as much as possible in one piece. If only the printed face comes away and a paper layer stays behind, the wallpaper may be peelable or splitable. Remove the top layer dry, then soak the backing.
If almost nothing moves, you will need to soften the adhesive.
Soak ordinary wallpaper before scraping
For paper that absorbs moisture, apply warm water or a wallpaper-removal solution to a manageable section. Give it time to penetrate the paper and soften the paste. Do not soak the entire room at once. Work in sections that you can scrape before they dry again. Test an edge after several minutes. Properly softened paper should lift with noticeably less resistance. Slide the scraper behind the paper at a shallow angle and push rather than digging into the wall.
If it still resists strongly, re-wet the area and wait. Repeated soaking is usually less destructive than forcing a scraper under dry paper.
When to score wallpaper
Vinyl-coated or washable wallpaper may repel water. If water beads on the surface instead of soaking through, perforating the face can help moisture reach the adhesive. Use a wallpaper scoring tool lightly. The aim is to make tiny holes in the covering, not carve channels through the plaster or plasterboard below it. This is one of the most common places people create avoidable wall damage. Pressing hard enough to cut the substrate leaves hundreds of small gouges that later have to be filled.
Try peeling off a vinyl face layer first. If it separates cleanly, soaking the paper backing is usually preferable to aggressive scoring.
Using a wallpaper steamer
A steamer can help with stubborn paper, several painted layers or old adhesive, but it is not necessarily the best first option. Steam introduces a lot of heat and moisture and can damage weak plaster if it is held in one spot for too long. Fill and operate the steamer according to its instructions. Hold the steam plate against a small section only long enough to soften the paper, then scrape that area while it is still warm.
Keep moving. If the plaster surface begins to soften, crumble or lift, stop steaming that section. Older walls deserve particular care. Plaster that is already hollow or poorly bonded can come away with the paper.
Removing wallpaper from plasterboard
Plasterboard with a sound skim coat can usually be treated in a similar way to plaster, but bare or poorly sealed plasterboard is much easier to damage. Its paper face can tear if it becomes saturated or is scraped aggressively. Use less water, allow enough time for the paste to soften and keep the scraper almost flat to the surface. If you expose brown or fuzzy plasterboard paper, stop scraping that spot. Let it dry and repair it appropriately before decorating.
A steamer should be used cautiously on plasterboard because prolonged heat and moisture can weaken the surface.
Work around sockets and switches carefully
Do not flood electrical fittings. Isolate the electricity before working directly around them. Wallpaper often runs behind switch and socket plates. If a faceplate is safely loosened, paper can be trimmed and removed around the box, but electrical work should not be improvised. If you are not confident working near wiring, leave the fittings in place and cut neatly around them or use a qualified electrician for anything that requires disconnection.
Never direct steam into a socket, switch or electrical box.
Remove the paste residue
Once the paper is off, the wall is not necessarily ready to paint. Dried wallpaper paste can leave shiny patches, ridges or a surface that interferes with new paint. Wash the wall with clean warm water or an appropriate adhesive-removing solution. Work over the surface with a sponge, rinsing it frequently. A broad scraper can help lift softened lumps of paste, but again keep the blade flat.
Run your hand over the dry wall afterwards. Adhesive that was hard to see when wet often becomes obvious once the wall dries. If you plan to paint, taking time to remove paste is usually worth more than trying to hide it under extra coats.
Repair the wall after it dries
Let the wall dry fully before filling or sanding. Mark gouges, torn paper, old nail holes and loose plaster. Fill small defects with a suitable filler, allow it to dry, then sand smooth. Larger areas of loose or damaged plaster may need proper repair rather than a skim of filler. If the wall surface is chalky, very porous or has exposed plasterboard paper, use the appropriate preparation or sealing product before decorating. Do not necessarily coat everything with PVA; choose a product intended for the finish you plan to apply.
Removing painted wallpaper
Wallpaper that has been painted over can be stubborn because the paint blocks moisture. First see whether any layer will peel. If not, lightly perforate the painted face so water or steam can reach the paste beneath. Several layers may come off together, or you may have to remove them one at a time. Allow more time and avoid forcing the scraper. A job with three generations of paper and paint is simply slower than removing one modern strippable layer.
How long should wallpaper removal take?
There is no reliable per-room figure because the wall construction, adhesive, number of layers and wallpaper type matter enormously. Strippable paper may peel away quickly; other walls need several rounds of soaking and repair. Judge the job by the wall, not by a deadline. If a section is taking excessive force, change the method instead of pushing harder. Aim to leave the wall sound and ready for decorating, not merely bare.
Source checked: Screwfix: how to remove wallpaper.