Step-by-step | How do I Strip Wallpaper I Decorating Centre Online

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Perhaps your wallpaper is looking old and used, or you have decided to redecorate the room, or perhaps even your old wallpaper doesn’t work as well with your new furniture. Whatever the reason for you deciding to redecorate your home, you must always strip your wallpaper before hanging new wallpaper up. 

This is not only because the wall will become thickened and often pucker at eh density of wallpaper hanging off of it, but it is also because your new wallpaper is likely not to stick as well to the old wallpaper as it would to a completely stripped wall. 

This means that if you strip your wall of your old wallpaper, your new wallpaper is much more likely to last longer as well as leaving your fresh new wallpaper with a smooth and clean finish too.  

Additionally, if you are wanting to paint your wall, instead of having wallpaper, you simply must not paint over wallpaper. This is because painting over old wallpaper does not always give a smooth finish as it would do if you had previously stripped your wallpaper from the walls.

This is especially relevant if you have previously had textured, embellished, glittered, or any other kind of wallpaper that will show the texture underneath even the final coating of paint.  

As a result of this, you must make sure that you spend enough time stripping your walls in order to achieve a smooth and clean wall before starting your new redecorating journey. 

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So, I have decided to redecorate my room. What do I even need to remove the old wallpaper on the walls? 

There are typically three ways in which you can remove your wallpaper from the walls. However, the list of tools which you will definitely require in order to strip your walls of wallpaper will need to be bought no matter which way you decide to remove your wallpaper.  

Materials you will need to purchase: 

·         Dust Sheets

Either cloth or even polythene dust sheets are suitable to use for this. Although as a result of the thinness of the layer of polyethene, these types of plastic dust sheets are likely to tear, they are moisture resistant and therefore would be more suitable to cover your carpets, or any other type of surface which may absorb some of the wastage from stripping your walls. 

Cloth dust sheets are reusable; however, they are more likely to let moisture seep through, therefore it is wise to underlay your cloth dust sheets with polythene ones, just to be on the safe side.  

·         Polyethene sheet, or a plastic bag of some sort

This is to protect your plugs and/or sockets from and spillages. It is often quite difficult to remove paint from any sockets, and it can also become a hazard if some of the paint, or other products, end up inside the sockets themselves. This means that, covering your sockets and/or switches with some form of plastic covering is very much necessary when you come to strip your wallpaper. 

·         Masking tape

This is to be used in conjunction with your plastic bags and/or polythene dust sheets. In order to keep them in place and ensure that they are completely covering any sockets, carpets, or other objects which you don’t want to be ruined with paint, you simply line the sheet or bag with tape to firmly hold it in position.  

·         Bin bags

This one is quite an obvious and simple one. Bin bags are needed in order to collect up all the removed wallpaper which you do not require anymore. Having a couple (or more!) bin bags ready throughout the process of stripping your wallpaper can be a very easy way to keep everything organised, as well as potentially stopping any tripping hazards.

Everything else you will need for stripping your wallpaper will be listed below, as it is very much dependent on which method you choose to strip your wallpaper with. 

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Which method for stripping the wallpaper from my walls should I use? 

Well, the answer to this question is very much dependent on what you require from stripping your wallpaper, how easy your existing wallpaper is to remove, how much wallpaper you have to remove, as well as which method you prefer and which method you are most comfortable doing too. 

However, the detailed instructions below on the two different methods will hopefully help you choose between the two different methods! 

Chemical Stripping Solution 

This is quite an easy, as well as very effective way in which you can remove your wallpaper. It is simply completed by applying a chemical liquid to your walls. This is because, within these solutions there are chemicals which work to dissolve any adhesives which you previously used to put up your wallpaper with.  

As a result of this, chemical solutions are very effective for removing smaller surface areas of wallpaper, such as individual strips, or a feature wall as it might take quite a significant amount of time to remove the wallpaper using this method from a whole room- however, again, this is very much dependent on the size of the room.  

There are a couple of different ways in which you can buy these solutions, for example some come in a bottle and some come within a spray bottle for an easy application to your walls. If you have purchased the non-spray bottle, it would be highly recommended to purchase a spray bottle for your chemical wallpaper stripping solution as this can make the entire process not only easier for you, but quicker for you too. 

The chemical solution is usually available in a read-mix which can be directly applied to your walls- these ones are more likely available in the spray bottles- however they are also available in a more concentrated solution.

If you have purchased the more concentrated solution, it may be necessary to dilute it somewhat in order to reduce any damage which may occur from directly applying concentrated chemical stripping solution to your walls. This can be done with some water, or whatever the bottle of your chemical solution suggests that you must add.  

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Natural DIY Stripping Solution 

If you are not too fond of applying the above chemical solution to your walls, you can also make your own wallpaper stripping solution. Although, depending on which natural wallpaper stripping solution you choose, it can be somewhat less effective than the chemical stripping solution, it is a very easy way in which you can quickly and efficiently remove your wallpaper.  

There are many different solutions which are effective in removing your wallpaper from your walls, however, we would recommend the below natural wallpaper stripping solution if you are only wanting to use a natural stripping solution on your walls rather than the chemical striping solution. 

Some of the ingredients that you will need are: 

·         ⅓ cup of lemon juice 

·         2 cups white vinegar 

·         2 cups water 

You will also need: 

·         Spray bottle 

·         Scraper 

Again, much like detailed above, using a spray bottle is a very effective way in which you can easily apply either your chemical wallpaper stripping solution or your natural wallpaper stripping solution without any mess or fuss.  

However, there must always be a warning with these natural DIY wallpaper stripping solutions. As they are untested in an industrial sense, they may not give the same results as chemical solutions and they may also be harmful or damaging to your existing walls. However, the latter point is very unlikely as a result of the diluted vinegar and lemon.  

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Electric Steam Wallpaper Stripper 

This is by far the most well-known way of stripping wallpaper. An electric steam stripper is essentially a tank connected with a hose which is, in turn, connected to a steam plate. The tank is ten filled with water, heated until boiling point and then the steam is release into the hot plate which you press against the wallpaper.  

What then happens is that the steam penetrates the wallpaper, which moistens the old adhesive underneath the wallpaper. This then loosens the wallpaper by moistening the adhesive, making it easy to remove either using your fingers or, more effectively, using a wall scraping tool.  

These types of electric steam strippers are perfect for removing large areas of wallpaper- such as a full room of wallpaper, rather than just a feature wall- as they can remove it easily and without much effort from you. 

They are also highly recommended for removing stubborn wallpaper which potentially is difficult to remove as the steam from the hot plate will remove almost any adhesive, not matter its chemical composition, unlike some types of chemical wallpaper stripping solutions.  

Electric steam wallpaper strippers are also very highly recommended if you are likely to remove your wallpaper more frequently in the future. If you are someone who likes to redecorate your home often- because you just want to, or because you have children who are likely to damage or draw over your wallpaper- electric steam wallpaper strippers are wonderful because they can be used again and again.  

Consequently, depending on how much wallpaper you need to remove, as well as your individual preferences for removing it, there are the above three ways in which you can easily and effectively remove your wallpaper from your walls.  

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If you need to know more about stripping wallpaper from your walls, please go ahead and check out our other BLOG POSTS on how to remove wallpaper as well as our post on how to effectively clean your walls after you have already removed your wallpaper, ready for redecorating. 

There are also other tips & tricks in our BLOG that you shouldn’t miss out on!