Removing old wallpaper is a messy and tedious job, but it is usually necessary if you want to paint or repaper the walls. Before attacking the wallpaper, take the time to protect the room and its contents. Remove all the furniture and carpets from the room if you can. If not, cover them and the floors with heavy plastic film. Remove the plates from all switches and outlets, then cover them with masking tape. Protect the moldings around the doors, windows and walls with self-stick masking paper.
There are three ways to remove wallpaper: you can scrape and peel it off, you can steam it off or you can remove it with chemicals. Each method has advantages and disadvantages, and choosing the best method depends upon the type and condition of the wallpaper and the condition of the walls underneath.
If the wallpaper is fairly new, like vinyl wallpaper, you may be able to peel it off without having to resort to any removers. Start at the baseboard and try to peel the bottom edge of the paper up. It may help to work a wallpaper knife under the edge of the paper first. Try to pull the paper up as a continuous strip, and avoid ripping it if possible. With luck you may be able to peel all the paper off the walls. If, however, a few stubborn pieces remain, you will have to use an electric steamer or chemicals to remove them.
An electric steamer consists of a boiler, and a hand-held perforated metal plate. The best steamers are heavy-duty models with a large plate, ideally at least one foot square. These can be rented for about $20 a day.
The boiler holds fresh water. It has an electric heater that converts the water into steam. As the steam expands, pressure forces it through a hose into the hand-held plate, where it escapes through perforations in the faceplate. Sometimes hot water can also drip from the plate. (For this reason, it not a good idea to use a steamer to remove paper from a ceiling). Protect yourself by wearing long sleeves, long pants and gloves.
Steam from the plate penetrates through the paper to loosen the adhesive, but if the paper is non-porous or painted or if there are multiple layers of paper, the vapors may not be able to soak through.
In this case you will have to score the paper so the vapors can work through to the paste. You can buy a handy tool designed for scoring wallpaper at most paint supply stores. It is called a PaperTiger. Place the tool on the wall and rotate it around the surface. Small spiked wheels in the handle rotate to cut thousands of perforations into the paper, but do not damage the wall.
Never use chemical strippers in a steamer. They will ruin the steamer and strew toxins into the air. You can, however, add a pint of vinegar to the boiler. This will not harm the equipment and will act as a solvent to dissolve the wallpaper paste.
Work with two hands to loosen and remove the paper. Start at the top and hold the plate against the wall with one hand for about 30 seconds. Then move it to an adjacent section while you remove the steamed paper with the wallpaper knife in your other hand. Work your way down the wall. Steaming a large room can be tedious, and you will naturally want to stop and rest from time to time. You should position a large metal tray or bucket nearby to hold the steamer plate when you put it down.
Steamers can damage some walls, particularly if the wallpaper was pasted on unprimed wallboard or plaster. Test the steamer against the wall first before proceeding too far into the project.
If you suspect that the steamer will damage the wall, then it is safer to use a chemical wallpaper stripper (also called a remover). There are many products on the market, but the best is an enzyme-fortified gel that is non-toxic and odorless. It has a thick consistency so it can stick to a vertical surface (called vertical cling) without running down to the floor. Most of these products must be mixed with water.
If the paper is non-porous, you will have to score it before applying the stripper. There are a couple of methods for applying the stripper. If it is thin enough, you can spray it on the wall with a garden sprayer. The thick gels are best spread with a 3/8-inch nap paint roller (some remover gels require a special roller for application). After spreading the stripper, wait about 20 minutes for it to penetrate and dissolve the adhesive; the paper will start to bubble up. When this happens, use a scraper to loosen and remove the paper.
