How to Remove Wallpaper from Drywall

With the right tools, you can remove wallpaper and wallpaper border from drywall. It can be a tricky process to do yourself but once you're finished, you should have a clean surface to start your painting project.

Ways on How to Remove Wallpaper from Drywall

•Find a great place to start and pull a strip off by hand to get you going. Using the sponge, soak the paper plenty to allow gentle removal. Scrape or pull paper off the wall, whichever is easier. Don't shot the scraper into the wall.

•For large areas it is better to use a steamer and score the paper diagonally with the border of the scraper so that chunks can come off all at once rather than hundreds of little pieces.

•Once all the paper has been removed, let the wall dry then give it a once over with the scraper again to off little bits that are stuck on.

•Finally, make the wall a quick sanding using medium-fine sandpaper to smooth off. Fill any holes, cracks etc, sand off when finished.

•Before repapering, run your hand over the wall to make positive there are no more small bits stuck to it and it's all good and smooth.

Things To Do :

•Start at the bottom and work your way up, rather than in the middle of the wall.

•If your wallpaper is difficult to get off, and you aren't using a steamer, try using liquid fabric softener in warm water, and use a sponge to really soak the old paper. This can make better than wallpaper remover.

•For vinyl wallpaper, when scoring and soaking doesn't seem to work, try sorting the top (vinyl) layer from the adhesive layer with a dull putty knife. Then go back with your Dif or liquid fabric softener/warm water to move out the adhesive. It seems like double the work effort, but it actually goes pretty fast when compared to trying to scratch both layers together.

Tools and Materials

•hot water
•sponge
•stripping/scraping tool
•sandpaper
•filler to repair any cracks or holes