Our Tips for Removing Wallpaper

If you’re embarking on a redecorating project, you might need to remove some outdated wallpaper. Unfortunately, this isn’t the nicest job in the world; it’s messy and time-consuming. It will certainly all feel worth it in the long run! Follow our tips to find out how to effectively remove your wallpaper so as not to cause any damage to the walls underneath.

Preparations

Make sure you’ve protected your floors and furniture with dust sheets so that they don’t get damaged. In fact, you might want to remove some furniture from the room, just to be on the safe side.

Think about the power sockets in the room, if you’re working with a wet sponge to dampen the existing wallpaper, you don’t want it running into the plug sockets. Test a small section of the wallpaper to see how easy it is to remove. Grab a sponge and bucket and dampen a small area, with a scraper start removing a small section of the paper. This will help you understand how long the task might take; if you’re lucky, there won’t be too many layers. Some wallpaper is easier to strip off than others.

Soak Off Stubborn Paper

Use warm water to soften the wallpaper paste underneath and make removal easier. Once the water has soaked in, use your scraper to lift off the paper. Our Axus Pro Strip Scraper is a fantastic choice because it features an ergonomic soft grip handle for optimum comfort.

As you scrape, you must be careful not to damage or dig into the wall underneath. Keep repeating this process until all wallpaper has been removed.  It’s important that you remove every last little bit of paper and remaining paste.

Once all the wallpaper is removed we recommend preparing the area correctly before painting the walls, or applying new wallpaper. This will prevent your new paint from flaking and cracking, or your new wallpaper to bubble or even fail to stick.