How to Remove Wallpaper Quickly and Easily

Wallpaper removal can be a bit daunting as it seems like there’s so much you need to do. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to make the process quicker and easier. Today, Handyman Connection® of Boise, the top local home maintenance expert, explains what you need to know:

Protecting the Room

The first thing you need to do is to carefully protect the floor, woodwork and the furniture. Remove everything from your walls, including vents, switch plates and outlet covers. Then you need to mask the openings with tape and plastic. You also need to turn off the electricity to the room and, if necessary, use work lamps in the area. Remove the furniture from the room, and use plastic and towels to protect the floors.

Removing the Current Wallpaper

It’s a good thing that many wallpapers are strippable, so you can easily remove them. You can simply pry up a seam edge, tug gently and pull down at an angle. However, some wallpaper can be hard to take off the walls. What you need to do is remove the top layer of paper by pulling it off the wall. This leaves the wallpaper backing. Now, you can apply hot water to it and then scrape the backing off the wall. This job will be easier if you do small sections one at a time.

Scraping the Paste 

This step is very important because it ensures you can paint the room or hang the new wallpaper properly. Scrape off as much of the paste as you can using your putty knife. Then, deal with the remaining spots using gel stripper. Apply this to the last bits of hard to remove paste, and then scrape off both the gel and paste at the same time. Rinse the wall with water until it is smooth and clean.

These are just a few of the many ways to remove wallpaper. If you need more advice, then don’t hesitate to give Handyman Connection of Boise a call. We are experts in a wide variety of home improvement and home maintenance tasks. In particular, we can help put a new coat of paint on your home and hang new wallpaper. Contact us to learn more ways to remove wallpaper. You can also request an estimate.