How to easily peel off old wallpaper from the wall: an overview of ways

Everyone who at least once began to do repair work knows how difficult it is to remove the remnants of old wallpaper that are firmly stuck to the walls. Among professionals, there are many tricks, tricks and secrets that allow not only significantly speed up this process, but also save nerves, effort and money for expensive special chemicals. These are the tricks you will learn from our article.

Preparatory work

First of all, we will explain why it is so important to remove all old trellis from the surfaces without a trace. The fact is that over time, even the most durable wallpaper sheets cease to evenly adhere to the wall. And if you lay new ones on top of them in a second layer, it is likely that in the most unexpected places they will swell or begin to wrinkle.

In addition, the liquid base of the adhesive applied to the lower layer can soften them and act as a release catalyst. Thus, it is worthwhile to play it safe and remove all residues before starting the finishing work.

But before proceeding with the removal, it is necessary to take several preparatory steps, which in the future will provide good assistance to the master. What to do:

• Protect the floor from scraps that will likely fall and stick to the floor. To do this, a regular plastic film is useful, which must be pulled between the skirting boards and fixed. After completion of work, it is easy to remove and remove along with all construction debris that appeared in the process.
• The plinths themselves with the same purpose should be pasted over with a wide masking tape.
• Using masking tape, you need to shield sockets and switches: since when removing wallpaper liquids are often used, do not take risks, it is better to prevent moisture from getting inside electrical appliances.
• All unnecessary items of furniture and decor should be removed from the premises during operation. If this is not possible, it is better to cover them with a film or old bedspreads.

After the preparatory work is completed, you need to stock up on the tool that you will need to remove wallpaper from the walls.

Essential tool

As a basic toolkit for preparing for pasting, you can use:

• Painting spatulas - both narrow and wide.
• Steam generator or steam iron.
• Paint knife.
• Paint roller.
• Capacity with water.
• Wallpaper tiger (special scraper tool).

Depending on the number of trellis, their type and scope of work, the toolkit can be either less or more.

Wallpaper Technology

In order for the removal process to be quick and effective, information about the type of wallpaper that the room is pasted in is useful. In this case, the package from them or the labels with which they were provided will be on hand. If this information is lost, it is worth trying different methods, choosing the most effective.

Another mandatory component of training is safety. It is better to turn off the power to the room during operation to avoid short circuits.

If the wall covering is very old, it may well separate from one touch. Just try to pick up its edge and pull it slightly. It is likely that the shabby sheets themselves fall away from the slightest tension.

How to take paper wallpapers?

The standard way to eliminate trellises of any type, primarily paper ones, is to abundantly wet them with liquid. For this, ordinary water is suitable, which must be applied to the entire area evenly and in sufficient quantity. It is optimal to do this using a conventional household spray gun or sponge. Make sure that moisture is absorbed into the wallpaper base - from getting wet it will become malleable and easily move away from the wall. For the effectiveness of soaking, it is better not to rush: on average, each of the paintings will take about 15-20 minutes to get wet.

To easily wet old wallpapers, use warm water. You can also try adding a little vinegar essence or a rinse.

After some parts of the surface are wet, they can be gradually disconnected by prying off with a paint knife or a narrow spatula. Begin work from the edge of the sheet, prying seams.

Additionally, for certain varieties of trellis, you can use individual tricks.

How to remove non-woven wallpaper

Dense interlining is not easy to detach by simple standard wetting. For this purpose, it is necessary to prepare the coating for removal. Using a paint knife, try to make through the slots on the canvases. And already walk on them with a sponge with water. After getting soaked, pry the cuts with a spatula and remove the wallpaper from the walls.

Helpful advice: try replacing the water for wetting with a primer - this option is much more effective for removing non-woven trellises.

We remove the vinyl-based wallpaper

Since vinyl, which covers such a wallpaper with a thick film, is difficult to moisture, it is easiest to remove it gradually. There are two main ways to remove them:

1. Pry up the vinyl layer and try to scrape it off with a spatula, then use water soaking for the bottom paper layer of the wallpaper.
2. Using a wallpaper tiger or metal brush, scratch the vinyl layer and apply moisture to the surface for 10-15 minutes. You may need to repeat the procedure more than once.

Additionally, if after removal the trellis has not completely departed and some uncleaned places remain, you can eliminate them with an emery cloth or any suitable grinding technique.

Acrylic Wallpaper Removal

The acrylic type of wallpaper coatings is removed according to the same principle as non-woven or vinyl: after machining with a scraper or knife, they must be saturated with moisture. In the case of acrylic, you can also try out steam treatment. A home steam generator or iron with a vertical steam function is well suited for this.

After cutting or rolling over the surface, steam over separate sections of the wall with steam and gradually tear off the swelling wallpaper with a spatula or knife.

Fabric Wallpaper: Features Removal

Designer textile tapestries are very durable, but sooner or later it is time to change them. The peculiarity of this type in their multilayer texture: on the base layer of thick paper, a fabric surface of silk, jute or linen is usually applied. And the task of the master in the first place is to remove the top layer, which does not succumb to standard methods.

This can be done by gently picking up the upper part at the junction of the sheets. A spatula or knife is useful for such work. Pull on the loose textile edge and peel it off of the paper base. Then, as in the case of ordinary paper wallpaper, water will come to the rescue.

We remove the cullet properly

Despite the formidable name, removing glass is not as difficult as it seems. In this case, it is necessary to use the method already described for vinyl and non-woven, but with a couple of subtleties:

• To start, cut the wallpaper on the ceiling.
• After that, pull off the top edge and try to unfasten it from the wall.
• If this is not possible, apply through cuts on the wallpaper sheet and fill in the liquid. In the case of cullet, it is better to use special compounds that are available in construction stores.
• Do not tear off the cullet in an array, it is better to act gradually, removing individual sheets.

Liquid Wallpaper: Removal Technique

Durable liquid wallpaper is not so easy to remove from the walls in their original dry state. But they are simply scraped off, being well saturated with moisture. Therefore, it is easiest to remove them, armed with a large amount of hot water and a spray gun. It is necessary to saturate them with moisture as much as possible, and then completely remove them with a wide spatula.

If the liquid wallpaper was applied too thick, you can repeat the procedure, removing them part by part.

How to remove wallpaper from drywall

It should be noted: all the above methods are good only for walls of major buildings or for surfaces covered with plaster. If you need to clean the wall from a material such as drywall, there are few options, because with standard wetting, not only the coating sheets become wet and deformed before removal, but also wall. The only trick: instead of aqueous solutions, take a primer for walls.

It is easiest to interact with drywall, if before gluing it was carefully covered with putty - then conventional methods can be used easily. If the wallpaper was applied to an untreated surface or, even worse, with dense adhesives such as acetyl acrylate or PVA, do not risk the wall, it is easier to sand the old wallpaper layer and make it on top pasting.

Special wallpaper remover

In construction supermarkets and stores today a large selection of auxiliary finishing products is presented, including specialized liquids for removing wallpapers. According to their chemical composition, they can be very different: some remove purely wallpaper coatings, others can be used to dissolve plaster or old cladding.

If you need to remove the cleanest possible old wallpapers pasted on strong glue with a dense multilayer composition or simply pasted previously in several layers, ordinary water may not cope. And then industrial chemistry will come to the rescue. Most often on the shelves there are funds of brands Metylan, Cleo, Dissoucol. Each of them gives a good result, but it is extremely important to fully comply with the instructions for use and not violate the dosage.

Removing old wallpaper is not as difficult as it seems, even if you are waiting for a large-scale front of work throughout the apartment. Approach the process wisely, choose methods suitable for a certain type of trellis and take your time: the removal process may take time, but with careful and consistent execution the result will be simple great.