How to remove wallpaper from the walls correctly and without torment

Gusevsky Andrey Anatolyevich

Instructions on how to remove the wallpaper

In the life of every person, sooner or later, the question will become how easy it is to remove wallpaper from the wall. This is not an easy task for anyone, but for someone a mere trifle. To remove the old wallpaper was not some kind of horror in the life of an ordinary family who has a house or apartment, you need to know a few simple rules.

Small instruction

The rules that need to be guided in matters of how to properly remove wallpaper from the walls before gluing new ones:

• You need to have at least some idea of ​​how to clean the walls of old wallpaper
• Make Wallpaper Tools
• Prepare an apartment (room). To do this, you need to take out all the furniture so that nothing would interfere, and there was free access to the wall
• Invite assistants or contact professionals. Everyone understands that you can remove the wallpaper quickly and efficiently. But it will not be cheap. Therefore, in order not to bother, many simply ignore the quality of wallpapering, thinking that this is not an important point and take up work on their own.

Note. This is fraught with the fact that without special knowledge and skills, we can conclude that the new wallpaper will be glued poorly due to the fact that the old ones were poorly torn off.

We clean the walls

Cleaning the walls of old wallpaper is not an easy task for those who have never done this.

Mistakes that are often made when removing old wallpaper from the walls:

• In a hurry, people can, without peeling off the old layer of wallpaper, paste a new one on it (see How to glue wallpaper on wallpaper correctly). This will lead to pimples and an uneven surface.
• And it may happen that the next day after gluing, the pieces of wallpaper will disappear altogether.
• Also, stains may appear on new wallpapers, which is not at all desirable. Such a room will look ugly and the work will have to be redone.
• Using rough pointed tools. This can lead to the fact that a layer of putty and primer will be stripped along with the wallpaper.
• Scratches and uneven surface walls will require a new layer of putty (see How to putty walls under the wallpaper yourself) And if this is not done, then the new wallpaper will look ugly.
• Completely ignoring the removal of old wallpaper. Anyway, the time will come, and the wallpaper will peel off, because such a repair technology is not effective and is used only by lay people.

Note. So, we can conclude that the old wallpaper must be removed. And you need to rip them off as much as possible so that there are no traces of old wallpaper left on the walls.

Necessary tools

Regardless of what material the wallpaper is made of, such tools and improvised tools are almost always necessary.

So, how to remove the wallpaper from the walls:

• Warm (hot) water.
• Rags.
• Spatulas with sharp sharpened edges.
• Rollers.
• Bucket.
• Paint knife.
• Steam appliances.
• Working hands.

Types of modern wallpaper

Today, there are a lot of wallpapers on the market. This is not only about the color scheme, but also about the composition.

The quality of the wallpaper, of course, is affected by the price. The more expensive the wallpaper, the better they are:

• Therefore, when buying wallpaper in your apartment, it is better to think a hundred times, but is it worth saving on this?
• After all, wallpapers are not glued for six months, but for several years, so it is better to choose high-quality wallpapers. Well, in each case, everyone thinks for himself.
• So, the simplest wallpapers are paper ones.They are cheap and everyone can afford them for redecorating.

Taking such wallpapers is quite simple:

• To do this, wet rags and a sharp spatula are needed.
• It is necessary to wet the walls gradually from top to bottom, without pouring a large amount of water, because in this case it can drain onto the floor and does not give the desired result - it will not wet the walls.

With the sharp end of the spatula, you need to pry the wallpaper at the junction after they get wet. Then rip off, starting from the top and gradually moving to the bottom of the wall.

Work with vinyl wallpapers

Next, consider vinyl wallpaper (washing).

These are wallpapers that are not afraid of moisture, therefore, in order to peel them off, it is necessary to take some measures, how to remove washing wallpapers from the walls:

• Make cuts along the entire surface of the wall with a sharp knife.
• Wet a layer of wallpaper with wet rags.
• Wait for the water to soak. Wallpaper will begin to swell.
• After that, they are ready to be easily torn off.

Non-woven wallpaper - Wallpaper, consisting of two layers.

You can use two options:

• Remove both layers of non-woven wallpaper.
• Remove only one - top paper layer. The bottom can be left, as it is stronger and will serve as the basis for future new wallpapers.

Note. The top layer is easily removed with water. And the lower one will have to be torn off with a spatula. This is painstaking work, but after removing both layers, the wall will be completely clean and ready for gluing

How to remove liquid wallpaper

Liquid wallpaper is a wallpaper that looks more like a beautiful putty.

So:

• This wallpaper needs to be well moistened with water, and then scraped off with a spatula (see How to remove liquid wallpaper from the wall: instructions) They are not separated by stripes, like ordinary wallpaper, so you need to get rid of them longer and harder.
• But nothing is impossible if you make a little effort and have a desire.
• There is also plasterboard wallpaper, which is difficult to remove without special tools.
• In construction stores, you need to purchase chemical fluids that will help to cope with this type of wallpaper.
• First you need to moisten the surface with a wet rag, then wait until the water is absorbed.

But first it is necessary to make incisions along the entire surface with a spatula or knife so that the liquid penetrates into the layers and soaks the wallpaper.

A few tips to clean your wall from wallpaper

We clean the wall

Wallpaper is better removed if the walls are moistened with hot water:

• Instead of water, you can take a glue solution or special means
• Using rags is very simple and cheap, but it is better to use special rollers and cans with a spray so that the liquid is evenly distributed over the walls
• Do not rush, but do the job efficiently. Otherwise, as they say, in such a case, you hurry - you make people laugh
• Use steam appliances that quickly remove old wallpaper from the wall using hot steam

The degree of complexity of removing wallpaper from the walls, given the price and quality of wallpaper:

Tips for removing old wallpapers

Before you begin, you need to prepare well.

After removal of furniture and appliances, you need to cover the floor with film or paper to ensure cleanliness:

• All sockets and switches must be sealed with a special tape so that moisture does not get there, and there is no short circuit.
• After the wallpaper is ready to be removed, it is better to remove it in stripes, starting from the top, while helping with a stationery knife, if in some place, the wallpaper is stuck. You can optionally wet the removable layer with water.
• After removing the old wallpaper from the wall, it should look as if it had just been putty.
• After the new wallpaper is safely pasted, you need to smooth the entire surface gradually with a roller or dry cloth to remove all the pimples.

If you approach the work seriously and wisely, it will not be difficult to remove the old wallpaper with your own hands without the help of professionals.

Note. It should be noted that the quality of the glue on which they were once pasted depends on how long and easily the wallpaper is taken.

If it was expensive high-quality glue, then you need to try so that the old wallpaper can be removed without residue. So, using all the above tips for removing old wallpaper from the walls, we can conclude that the work is hard, responsible and very necessary. And for more information, we recommend watching the video in this article.