How to remove old wall covering

Removing old wall covering or wallpaper is usually a very unattractive task, and knowing some tricks that could make it easier might be of invaluable help. Although leaving the old wall covering often seems tempting, doing so might end up causing you to have double work at the end, since new coverings or even painting do not adhere well to it. This way, removing old wall covering is a task that should not be avoided, and therefore the best option is doing it having in mind tips that might help us finishing it as fast and easily as possible.

The first thing you should do is find out if your wallpaper is strippable or not. Some wallpapers, mostly the fabric-baked or vinyl kinds, can be easily strippable, but you might have to do a test to find out for sure if it is or not. To discover if the wallpaper is strippable, you should grasp the a tip of the paper at a corner, with the help of a knife if necessary, and then try to pull it down maintaining it very close to the wall in order to avoid tearing it. If it does peel away steadily, then it is strippable wallpaper, but if it doesn't then you will have to follow some special tips since the work will be more difficult.

If you need to remove old un-strippable wall covering, you will have to steam or soak it to be able to peel it off. In order to do this, you should start by making horizontal slits on it with a paper stripper or a utility knife; each slit about 10 inches from the other. This will allow the liquid paper remover or soapy water you use to go between the paper and he wall.

Once you have finished the slits on the wall covering, you should apply paper remover or warm water to the first strip and wait a few minutes. Meanwhile do the same to the second strip. Then go back to the first and repeat the same action, and wait again a few minutes, continuing with the second until you are able to start stripping the first.

When the first strip is ready to be peeled off, you should use a flexible blade wall scraper to push the edge of the paper. Once you do this, the wall paper should start coming off, and then you will be able to go on with the stripping. If it does not come off after the first attempt, apply more paper remover and wait some more minutes until trying again.

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