If you have a room that needs wallpaper removed and don’t know where to start, this post is perfect for you!

Stripping wallpaper is not for the faint of heart. It is a tedious task that requires a lot of patience. Our current house on South Centre Street has numerous rooms that need to be stripped. Not only are the walls covered in 3-4 layers of wallpaper, but they also have a few coats of paint on them. We knew we would have to remove these layers and were eager to get started on the task.

After trialing a few different methods and materials to strip the wallpaper, we found that the following tools can help streamline the process. We are stripping layers of paint and wallpaper off of plastered walls, not drywall, which is important to note! There a few essentials you will need to strip wallpaper:

• Spray Bottle/mister
• Wallpaper steamer
• Carbide Scraper 
• 2-4” Stainless Steel Putty Knife
• Gloves (optional)
• Warm water
• Dish Soap

Soap, Water, Spray

When we first started stripping wallpaper, we used mister bottles with a warm water + soap mixture, and scrappers. This is a great alternative if you don’t want to invest in a wallpaper steamer. Alternatively, you can use a fabric steamer to get a similar effect. 

Fill your spray bottle with warm water and soap, and head to an area of the wall you need to strip! First saturate an area of the wall with water and allow it to soak in. We like to work in sections, allowing a roughly 3’x4’ area to soak in, while we move to another. Wet wallpaper tends to be much easier to strip than dry wallpaper.

Once the wallpaper has soaked in the water, use your scraper to scrape off the wallpaper. If your walls are covered in paint and wallpaper, you might have to do this a couple of times. Scraping the paint off with a carbide scraper allows the water to soak into the wallpaper in fewer steps. Keeping the wallpaper wet is important, so make sure you are saturating the areas well.

Steam those walls!

Because we have multiple rooms that need the wallpaper stripped off of, we decided that it would be worth it to invest in a steamer. Darla did extensive research and looked at a few different options, but finally settled on the Wagner 915e On-Demand Power Steamer. We opted to get a version with multiple options, but this version comes with the wallpaper attachment. 

When using the steamer, allow about 15 minutes for the water to heat up and build up pressure. While you wait, this is a great time to prepare your area. We have hardwood floors we wanted to keep in good condition, so laying down a drop cloth or plastic will help spare your floors. Water runs down the walls and soaks into baseboards or the floor. Be careful using the steamer as the steam and attachments can get hot!

When the steamer is ready, place the clear head on the wall and allow the steam to work over the area. It is important to saturate the walls, allowing the water to soak into the wallpaper. Just like we did with the water and soap, we worked in sections again. We found that letting the attachment sit on an area for about ten seconds, with the steam running, makes the wallpaper peel off easily. Be careful not to burn yourself as the water is hot! 

When stripping areas that are also covered in paint, use the carbide scraper to first remove the layers of paint and expose the wallpaper. Removing the paint first makes it easier for the water to soak into the wallpaper. 

Ultimately, stripping wallpaper is still a process that takes a lot of time. But, with using these tools and tricks, it can be a little easier!