Wallpaper Removal Best Practices and Assessment Guide

Before choosing a removal method, assess your wallpaper type, adhesive condition, and wall substrate to select the most effective approach and avoid costly damage.

How It Works

Different wallpaper types, adhesives, and wall conditions require different removal strategies. Taking 10 minutes to assess the situation before starting saves hours of frustration and prevents wall damage. This guide helps you identify what you are dealing with and choose the right method.

Step 1: Identify Your Wallpaper Type

• Dry-strippable / peelable: Try lifting a corner at a seam. If large sheets peel off cleanly, you have strippable wallpaper. Use the dry-strip method
• Vinyl or vinyl-coated: Shiny, smooth surface that repels water. Requires scoring before any wet method will work
• Traditional paper: Absorbs water readily. Responds well to any wet method without scoring
• Fabric-backed or grasscloth: Often the top layer peels off leaving a paper backing that needs separate treatment
• Painted-over wallpaper: The paint seals the surface, making it behave like vinyl. Requires thorough scoring

Step 2: Check the Wall Substrate

• Primed drywall: The best scenario. Adhesive releases from primer cleanly and the drywall is protected
• Unprimed drywall: The worst scenario. Wallpaper paste bonds directly to the paper face of the drywall. Removal risks tearing the drywall surface. Use the gentlest possible method (steaming) and work very carefully
• Plaster walls: Very forgiving. Plaster is hard and not damaged by water or scraping. Any method works well

Step 3: Choose Your Method

• Single layer on primed drywall or plaster: Hot water with dish soap or fabric softener is usually sufficient
• Vinyl wallpaper: Score thoroughly, then use DIF concentrate or a steamer
• Multiple layers: A steamer is the most effective tool. Consider renting one
• Painted-over wallpaper: Score aggressively, then use DIF gel or a steamer
• Wallpaper on unprimed drywall: Use a steamer on low settings with very short dwell times. Consider hiring a professional

Tips

• Always test a small, hidden area first before committing to a method for the entire room
• Turn off power to all outlets and switches in the room before using any wet method
• Have multiple scrapers: a wide 6-inch scraper for open walls and a narrow 2-inch scraper for tight spots around outlets and trim
• Keep a spray bottle of your solution handy to re-wet areas that dry out during scraping
• Garbage bags taped to the wall below your work area catch falling strips and reduce floor cleanup

Common Mistakes

• Jumping straight into removal without identifying the wallpaper type and wall substrate
• Using aggressive scraping on unprimed drywall, which tears the paper face and requires extensive skim-coating to repair
• Not turning off electrical circuits before spraying water on walls with outlets
• Attempting to paint over remaining adhesive residue instead of fully cleaning the wall, which causes paint adhesion failure