How to remove painted wallpaper. How to quickly remove old paper wallpaper - several effective techniques

When making repairs, you need to know how to quickly remove old wallpaper from the walls. This is not at all difficult to do if you follow simple recommendations.

The trowel removal process is sometimes extremely simple

Traditional ways

Smart tools greatly facilitate the unpleasant and time-consuming process

As you know, all wallpaper stretches when dry. Therefore, any unevenness, roughness can cause the backlog of their base. In addition, if the wall is covered in dust and has spots on the surface, there is a good chance that all this will be on the new coating. Agree, a stain or smudge that appears will not decorate the room after repair. You can't be sure that the new wallpaper sheets will stick well over the old ones. Water-based adhesive, softens the old layer unevenly. As a result of this, bubbles form in one place, and the coating will be firmly adhered in another. To avoid such a defect, it is better to play it safe by completely cleaning the wall.

Look for an old tag or roll label. It must show symbols that indicate the type of removal: “Remove without residue”, “Remove wet”, “Delaminate when removed”, “Embossing does not deform”, “Double with top embossed layer”. If there is no label left, then you can use universal methods.

The scratches caused by the “wallpaper tiger” make them much easier to remove

For a quick process of removing the old repair, prepare two spatulas: narrow and wide. It is important that their edge is sharp, so it will easily enter into the joints. The edges of the spatula can be sharpened with emery. You will need a special liquid, but you can use ordinary warm water. A household steam generator (steam mop) can greatly facilitate the work. To perforate the surface, you need a knife, a wallpaper tiger or a roller with needles. As auxiliary materials, you may need masking tape, plastic wrap, a drywall knife, a sponge and a bucket, a paint roller 15-25 centimeters wide. The list of tools will differ depending on the scope of work and the type of wallpaper.

Before starting work, take care to protect the floor from wet and sticky pieces of paper. To do this, glue the plastic film to the baseboard around the entire perimeter of the room. It is best to do this with masking tape, as it holds well, and does not leave marks when peeled off. Switches and sockets are also recommended to be sealed with masking tape so that water does not get into them. Having prepared the room, you can get to work.

Wallpaper removal technology

Before removal, you can use a spiked roller

It is more hygienic to remove wet. So dust will not form, and with a strong layer of old glue, the plaster does not crumble, it is easier to remove glue residue from the wall. For wet removal, a special solution is required. After application, the wallpaper is removed from the surface without difficulty. Tap water can be used for quick removal. Wet them with a garden sprayer or sponge. The liquid should be well absorbed. If necessary, repeat the procedure. Wait approximately 20 minutes. During this time, the water should soak the dried glue, the wallpaper will easily lag behind the surface. Places where they have not lagged behind must be moistened again.

If you do not moisten too much, the water will quickly soak in, dry out without having time to soak the glue. And if the surface of the canvases is wetted very abundantly, then the liquid flows onto the floor, due to which the surface of the walls does not have time to get wet, as it should. Soak the canvases gradually, moving from one place to another, periodically checking how far the finishing material has moved away from the wall. It is better to tear off from the seam. If they dry out, wet them again. Particular care is needed when removing old wallpaper around sockets, switches, electric meters, knife switches, and other electrical equipment. Observing safety precautions, turn off the power supply, then loosen the fasteners.

Roller with spikes and a long handle is used in hard-to-reach places, in rooms with high ceilings

In order to work faster, use not cold, but hot water. Separate pieces of old coatings will need to be removed with a scraper. Do this carefully so as not to damage the top layer of plaster. In order for moisture to better penetrate to the paper base, small scratches and cuts should be made on them. A wallpaper tiger is best suited for this. This tool allows you to quickly perforate large areas, thanks to the soft wheels, putty or plaster is not damaged. After removing the canvas, no scratches remain on the wall. Compliance with simple tips will help speed up the work on the internal repair of the premises.

How to remove non-woven wallpaper

They consist of durable synthetic fibers, have a waterproof layer, so cuts or holes must be made on the surface. After that, the wall is wetted with water using a sponge or spray. After 15 minutes, the glue swells, the wallpaper begins to move away from the wall.

How to remove vinyl wallpaper

Vinyl wallpapers are usually easy to remove, but making sure the surface is thoroughly cleaned is still necessary.

These are very easy to remove. The covering represents the strong vinyl film connected with a paper basis. To remove them, you need to scratch the surface with a knife, spatula or wallpaper tiger. When enough cuts appear on them, moisten with water, wait 15-20 minutes. During this time, moisture will penetrate under the polymer layer, dissolving the adhesive. Then make a horizontal cut at the top, separate the edge by gently pulling the canvas. Polyvinyl chloride is a durable material, so the wallpaper does not tear into pieces, but is separated by solid strips. If fragments of the paper layer remain on the wall, they must be moistened and removed with a spatula.

Sometimes vinyl panels can be heavy, making removal difficult. In this case, it is better to remove them in layers. You will need a wallpaper tiger, a metal brush, a needle roller. After removing the moisture-resistant protective layer with a tool, you must use a film remover equipped with self-sharpening discs. The device, in contact with the wall, perforates the outer layer without damaging the wall.

How to remove washable wallpaper

They are made up of two layers. The top one comes off quite easily, while the bottom one stays firmly glued to the wall. The panels are not afraid of moisture, so removing them in a simple way (soaking) will not work. You will need a toothed roller or scraper. Using tools, make notches, and then moisten the entire surface. Water must penetrate well under the coating. Wait a while, try to remove them. If the water has not soaked the adhesive well, use a steam remover. After steaming one area of ​​the surface, press the steam soleplate against another. For quick removal, you can use a conventional steam iron, which will replace your steam generator.

How to remove liquid wallpaper

The successful removal of liquid wallpaper by hand is based on pre-abundant wetting and subsequent thorough rinsing of the old coating.

Don't rush to peel off this long-lasting all-purpose coating. Perhaps it will be enough just to repaint the room with water-based paint. But if you decide to take them off, first you need to figure out what kind of canvases they are. They can be "reusable" with pieces of rayon that are easy to soak. If they look like decorative plaster, use an industrial hair dryer or grinder. The disadvantage of an industrial hair dryer is low performance and high energy consumption.

You can remove them manually. This requires warm water, a scraper and a spatula. Having soaked them well, you can proceed with dismantling. You can facilitate the work with a proven method: add Ceresit ST-17 primer to the liquid and apply to the surface. After 5-10 minutes, you can begin to remove with a spatula. If bumps remain on the wall, putty the wall.

How to remove wallpaper on drywall

Wallpaper of any type can be removed using chemical products that save time and effort

Drywall is used for interior decoration. Thanks to him, you can even out all the defects and irregularities. But, it has a drawback - it is difficult to remove old coatings from it.

The process of removing canvases from drywall is quite complicated. Drywall is covered with a paper layer on top, which must not be damaged. If putty is applied, it is best to use chemicals that dissolve the wallpaper paste. Do not use large amounts of water as this will damage the outer layer of drywall.

One of the most convenient ways is cheap glue. Dilute the cheapest wallpaper paste, apply on the wall. It dries for a very long time, as a result of which the materials swell, pull back. Now they can be easily removed with a spatula. In some cases, a primer is used. It impregnates paper well, does not evaporate as quickly as water. Using this method, you will also prime the surface. When removing adhesive residue with a spatula, be extremely careful not to damage the drywall sheet.

How to easily remove wallpaper from several layers

Sheets glued with high-quality glue in one layer are easy to remove. But what about old paper wallpaper that has been pasted several times? Wet the surface well with hot liquid before starting work. It is better to do this not with a spray, but with a sponge or rag. Wet them gradually, one at a time. You do not need to immediately pay attention to the whole room, because. during this time, the walls will have time to dry, and excessive moisture can damage the plaster layer.

If some areas could not be removed, use a special tool. Zinsser, ATLAS ALPAN, QUELYD DISSOUCOL have proven themselves to speed up the adhesive removal process. Wallpaper remover is effective and safe.

In the process of changing the interior, before sticking a new finish, the question arises of how to remove the old wallpaper most quickly and efficiently, using the tools and tools at hand. Depending on the adhesive used and the material of the wall, not all sheets will peel off easily and will have to be peeled off with some force in those places where the sheet is firmly glued. It is necessary to carefully remove old wallpaper from the walls, since they will not be a solid foundation for new layers - under the influence of moisture, the old glue will simply unevenly lag behind the base.

First stage

Very often, at home, it is required to decide faster, so as not to delay the repair work and the associated inconvenience in the living rooms. There are certain rules in handling wallpaper material that allow you to predict the result and remove old wallpaper from the wall, choosing the method that is easier than the others.

Adhesive influence

If you have to remove old paper wallpaper from a surface plastered with a conventional cement composition (followed by putty and primer), and if, in addition, the usual type of wallpaper glue was used, then the procedure will not take much time. With a sufficiently strong canvas, water will soften the dried layer in a few minutes and you can quickly remove old wallpaper with almost whole sheets. This is due to the fact that the compositions for gluing roll materials are made on the basis of starch with various additives. They quickly become liquid, even after many years with enough moisture.

An example of the declared main binders and additives in adhesive compositions for various types of wallpaper is given in the table:

Here's how to quickly peel off old wallpaper from concrete putty walls, after pre-wetting (photo):

A more difficult option is how to tear off thin wallpaper from the wall, which at one time was pasted on PVA, CMC, carpentry glue or Bustilat. In this case, the removal of old wallpaper turns out to be a very laborious process, since the whole canvas cannot be peeled off evenly.

For all these cases, there are proven ways to clean the wall and remove not only Soviet-made paper wallpapers, the use of which greatly facilitates the dismantling of old wallpapers of any kind (paper, liquid).

Training

Starting to remove old wallpaper yourself from the walls is necessary with careful preparation. Then all stages of the process will pass quickly and easily. For this you need:

• if possible, completely remove the furniture from the room (the remaining items are covered with foil or matting);
• cover the floor with film / oilcloth;
• turn off electricity at sockets and switches (glue with polyethylene and adhesive tape);
• make a barrier from dirt and dust to other rooms (wet rags in doorways):
• prepare all the necessary tools at the work site so as not to waste time searching.

While it is not known how the sheets will be torn off (in whole or in small fragments), it is better to prepare a wide range of available tools, auxiliary materials and personal protective equipment.

An approximate list of necessary equipment is as follows:

• ladder;
• hard spatulas, sharp scrapers of various widths, a metal brush;
• construction knife;
• sponge, rags, roller, sprayer, bucket of warm water;
• gloves, goggles, headwear, comfortable clothing;
• bags/garbage bags.

Warm water allows you to quickly remove the wallpaper than cold liquid, more actively softening the glue and the paper base of the rolled canvases. After that, they are conveniently removed with a regular spatula, as in this photo:

Main work - spatula

In the event that it is necessary to peel vinyl products, it is preferable to prepare additional tools before tearing off old wallpaper:

• steam generator;
• needle roller or wallpaper tiger;
• liquid special means for cleaning walls from wallpaper.

In the absence of a steam generator, craftsmen use an iron and a piece of cloth to heat the surface layers.

If high-quality materials were previously used, the glued sheets cannot simply be torn off. At the same time, the coating must not be allowed to peel off, damaging the base (plaster, wooden or concrete wall, drywall).

This is especially true in old buildings and apartments. The materials will crumble, crumble, holes and shells will remain, which means that additional time and money will have to be spent on leveling (putty, primer) walls for a new finish coat. It is better to spend some time removing the wallpaper without undue effort on the surface of the walls.

Wallpaper removal technique

For each type of roll finish coating, there is the most optimal way to quickly remove old wallpaper from the walls, without significant damage to the base (if it is in good condition). Wallpaper products are removed faster or slower, depending on the basis on which the front layer is applied. It can be paper or non-woven (modified cellulose). The front surface can also be paper (non-woven) or washable waterproof film. It is necessary to determine the type of products before tearing off the wallpaper in the chosen way.

You can see paper or other types of wallpaper from the walls using a combination of conventional tools in this video:

Paper

With a hygroscopic front coating, the sheets are removed by mechanical action after abundant wetting (moisture penetrates the entire area in order to remove the old paper wallpaper). It takes from 5 minutes to 7 minutes to soak into thin paper stamps. For a product with 2 layers, this process will take about 10 minutes.

After large areas (80%) have already been peeled off, the remaining (20%) paper bundle is removed from individual fragments, as in this photo:

Before removing the residues, rewetting them with warm water.

washable

Before tearing off wallpapers that do not allow moisture to pass through, it is necessary to make cuts on their entire surface that penetrate the film, or pierce holes with a spiked roller.

After this treatment, the wall is moistened with water from a sprayer or manually with a sponge. After 15 minutes, the dried glue will swell, the old wallpaper will begin to move away from the wall. Further, they will be removed according to the same principle as their paper counterparts were torn off.

If the adhesive has not sufficiently dissolved, moisturizing should be repeated several times at 15-minute intervals.

Vinyl

Vinyl products are a structure made of a polymeric front layer (polyvinyl chloride) on a paper basis. Thanks to this combination, they are not only easy to glue, but also durable, perfectly protect wall materials from internal moisture in some rooms of the house. In addition to this, the top polymer coating can have different (additionally given by the manufacturer) characteristics: decorative with silk thread, textured, foamed, chemically resistant to solvents, so vinyl wallpaper sheets are not always easy to remove with plain water, like paper sheets.

To ensure water access to the adhesive layer, in order to, without gaps, process the entire surface of the wall with a wallpaper tiger, as in this photo:

Using a sprayer, a rag, a roller, moisten 1 sheet, every 5 minutes - 2, 3 sheets, and so on. With a spatula, pry off the upper cut of the wallpaper strip, and gently pull it down. The remaining small pieces of the base are rewetted and go to the 2nd lane. After the 3rd sheet is removed, it is necessary to return to the place where work began and remove the remaining scraps manually with a spatula.

The next three lanes are passed in a similar order. A simple sequence of how to remove old wallpaper, combining the time to absorb water and the operation to peel off the wallpaper, takes approximately 30 minutes to 45 minutes.

When the repair time is running out, you can solve the problem of how to remove wallpaper from the walls using a special steam remover or wallpaper remover.

Steam puller

A specialized device consisting of a perforated steam-generating sole and a water container. It can work both from electricity and from heating with bottled gas. Steam has an increased penetrating power compared to water, and due to this property, the steam stripper significantly saves the time spent on quickly peeling off the old coating.

As correctly shown quickly in this photo:

An industrially manufactured steam generator is much more efficient than folk devices such as a household iron, which steamed the glue from the removed panels by stroking the walls through a damp cloth.

Wall paper remover

Chemical compositions with a special formulation quickly penetrate the structure of the wallpaper to the hardened adhesive. These products do not contain substances hazardous to health and can be used indoors in the presence of people. Prepare the solution strictly according to the factory instructions. Strengthen the current effect, you can mix the composition with wallpaper glue. The resulting jelly-like mass is applied in a continuous layer on the wall decoration, and after about 3 hours the wallpaper takes on the form.

A folk recipe for chemical additives to water suggests adding vinegar, a synthetic detergent, or an air conditioner used in washing clothes. To do this, dissolve 2 tablespoons of any of these products in boiling water, and then apply to old wallpaper. Next - took and tore.

Re-wallpapering is the quickest and most economical way to completely change the look of a room. With their help, you can quickly turn a boring room into an elegant girl's bedroom or a strict office.

The modern market offers a mind-blowing selection of all kinds of wallpapers for any purpose. And so you bought the treasured rolls and want to quickly transform your home, but what about the old wallpaper? Remove or glue over? You definitely need to get rid of old wallpaper, and in this article we will tell you how to remove old wallpaper as quickly and easily as possible.

Preparatory work

Before tearing off old wallpaper, it is necessary to carry out some preparatory work that will greatly facilitate the process.

Room cleaning

Removing old wallpaper is a rather dusty and "garbage" procedure, so before starting repair work, take all the furniture out of the room, roll up the carpets and remove everything that can get dirty - decorative interior items, appliances, flowers, etc.

If the floor is covered with linoleum, after removing the old wallpaper, it will be easy to clean it. But in the case of parquet or carpet, problems can arise. Therefore, cover the floor under the walls with oilcloth or old rags. The width of the cover must be at least 1 meter. In the process of removing the wallpaper, all the dust and small particles of the wallpaper will fall on it, so after the completion of the work you will only have to shake out the rubbish, avoiding a major cleaning.

Removing Fasteners

When the furniture is taken out, and the floor is covered with oilcloth, carefully inspect the walls. Surely there were paintings or panels in the room, shelves or decorative attributes hung. It is necessary to examine each area and remove all nails, screws and other fasteners. Firstly, an accidentally missed carnation can ruin the look of future wallpapers. Secondly, you can seriously injure your hands by scratching yourself on the sharp edge of a nail. Therefore, it is better to play it safe and dismantle everything from the wall that can bring problems.

Removing old wallpapers

Removing old wallpaper from the walls is quite easy if you know a few nuances. So, the strategy of your actions should depend on the type of wallpaper. For example, in the days of the USSR, before covering the wall with wallpaper, it was pasted over with a newspaper, they say, it would be better to hold on. Undoubtedly, in some apartments such wallpapers are “alive” to this day. But what if the interior fashion of the last century is already bored, and you can’t peel off the old wallpaper, tightly glued to the newspaper layer? Below we will look at ways to remove various wallpapers.

paper wallpaper

Old paper wallpapers need to be taken by "starvation". Wet the surface methodically with warm water using a sponge or spray bottle. If unscrupulous owners lived in front of you, who pasted the wallpaper over the old ones, you will have to remove the coating in layers - there's nothing to be done.

To remove old wallpaper from the walls as easily and quickly as possible, start from the bottom, picking up the bottom edge of the coating with a knife or spatula. Gently pull a piece of wallpaper up, if necessary, helping it to peel off the wall.

The remaining pieces of wallpaper also need to be removed. Special care is required here, because if you damage the wall, you will have to plaster holes and bumps.

Moisture resistant wallpaper

If you are lucky enough to deal with moisture-resistant wallpaper, you won’t go against them with plain water - the water will simply slide down the hydrophobic layer to the floor. Knowledge of the structure of the wallpaper will help here. Usually water-repellent wallpapers are multi-layered, and by removing the top protective layer, you can get to plain paper, which, as you already know, is removed with water.

If the water-repellent wallpaper is solidly glued, then it is not necessary to remove the bottom paper layer at all - it will become an excellent basis for gluing new wallpaper, providing excellent adhesion. If you still decide on a complete removal, remove the water-repellent layer by carefully picking up the wallpaper with a spatula and stretching it from bottom to top. Remove the remaining paper coating with a damp sponge and clean with a spatula.

Non-woven wallpaper

But in some cases, moisture-resistant wallpapers do not behave so well and do not exfoliate. In such a situation, you will have to tinker pretty hard, cleaning the top protective layer with a spatula. Non-woven wallpaper is the only way to remove it, but there are a couple of tricks that will make your task easier.

If the area is small, use a hard metal brush (construction or dish washing). If you have to clean a large room, it is better to use a power tool, such as an angle grinder with a metal brush. But even here everything is not as smooth as we would like - the top layer is made of synthetic materials and quickly clogs the brush of the device, so it will have to be cleaned quite often. However, perfectionism is useless here, and to remove non-woven wallpaper, you only need to scratch the surface well, and not completely clean the wallpaper. After that - water, a spatula and already familiar manipulations.

How to remove old wallpaper from walls pasted on water-polymer adhesive

Gluing wallpaper on water-polymer glue, or simply PVA, is probably the most unfortunate idea. And by “lucky chance” in the generous Soviet times, such builders quite often came across, gluing wallpapers with the then popular “Bustilat”. Why is PVA not suitable for wallpapering, because it holds really well? That's the problem - it holds too well. After hardening, the water-polymer adhesive cannot be soaked and dissolved with water, so it will be very difficult to remove such wallpaper.

If you are faced with wallpaper pasted on PVA, you should seriously think about other ways to finish the wall. You won't be able to remove old wallpaper without damaging the wall surface. Of course, you can spend money on plastering and sticking new wallpaper, but it is worth considering less time-consuming options. For example, sheathe a wall with drywall, which will save a lot of effort, time, and give a better result. Drywall will insulate the walls, provide sound insulation and allow for any repairs, from gluing new wallpaper to artistic mosaics.

But back to removing wallpaper pasted on PVA. Soak them will not work, no matter how hard you try, so be patient and tools. You will literally have to peel off the wallpaper centimeter by centimeter with a sharpened spatula or scraper. If possible, use a clean-up router, which is designed specifically for cleaning pasted or painted surfaces.

How to peel off old wallpaper from drywall

The difficulty of working with drywall is that during the removal of wallpaper, the paper layer on the surface of the material may suffer. For this reason, ordinary water is not enough here. Use special means for dissolving wallpaper glue, which can be found in specialized hardware stores. You can wet the wallpaper with water, but not abundantly - so as not to soak the drywall. If the wallpaper is pasted on PVA, the drywall will have to be completely changed.

Useful trick: Once someone tried to remove old wallpaper instead of water using hot steam, and it worked! Iron the “difficult” places with an iron with a steam function or a steam generator, and the wallpaper will peel off quickly.

Why you shouldn't wallpaper old wallpaper

If it seems to you that sticking new wallpapers on old ones is a good idea that will save time and effort, we recommend that you think about the consequences for a second. What is wallpaper? This coating, which for several long years was in contact with things, human skin (sweat, dirt), absorbed various odors, microbes during illnesses ... Now imagine that under your beautiful new wallpaper there will be such a dirty harmful layer, but new wallpapers will become the same over time. Old wallpaper increases the humidity in the room and can provoke infection with fungi and mold.

Removing your wallpaper is inevitable, so get over it and use one of the methods above. Easy repair!

Why and how to quickly remove old wallpaper from the walls? Paper wallpapers turn yellow and age over time. They are left with gray spots of dust, faded from the frequent touch of color and traces of dead insects. Find an old roll from a previous renovation and compare it to what you currently see in the room. Is the difference noticeable? Now put the edge of the unused roll against the wall and you will understand what guests see when they enter your house.

A simple solution would be to try to wash the old wallpaper, but this only works if you have purchased a more expensive option that is suitable for wet cleaning, otherwise you will get a terrible swollen stain on the wall. The last option left is to change the wallpaper. Now there are many programs on the Internet that allow you to simulate a room and see what texture of wall coverings will suit you. You can simply take a set of samples, and applying them to the wall, choose the appropriate sample.

The second stage is the cleaning of surfaces from the remnants of the old repair. But this stage needs to be prepared. Move all furniture away from the walls or move it outside the room. Anything you don't want to clean, cover with plastic wrap or rags.

Do not cover a lamp or chandelier, the heat from incandescent bulbs can cause a house fire.

Put on a hat, gloves, change into work clothes, this will help to avoid tedious washing.

Removing wallpaper for painting

Moisten the old paper with water, and wait 10-20 minutes for the wallpaper to be thoroughly saturated with the liquid. During this time, prepare a spatula or some kind of scraper. After some time, try prying off the edge of the wallpaper with a spatula. If they are easily removed in whole canvases, then everything is correct, and if this does not happen, make notches with a knife or spatula to the very stone, and once again moisten the walls with water. Your task is to remove all the paper, since pieces of paper will immediately be noticeable when painting. Feel free to apply force, if pieces of plaster are removed along with the paper, then let them fall, it is better to remove them now than to watch your new repair pour in later.

It is most convenient to remove the wallpaper by moving the scraper from right to left (left to right for left-handers) or from bottom to top, but in the latter case, falling sheets may interfere a little. If the first layers were glued to a special glue, and the paper was thoroughly saturated with water, even children can do this work. To make it seem like fun to them, you can let them pre-paint them. After cleaning the surfaces, you can proceed to the next steps.

Removing wallpaper from drywall

When removing wallpaper from drywall, it is strictly forbidden to wet them with water! Excess liquid will damage the cardboard and the walls may begin to crumble. If you still decide to remove them at any cost, or before gluing you have been impregnated several times before sticking, do it at your own peril and risk. Otherwise, do not risk it, try to remove them “dryly”, that is, with a spatula, or with a wallpaper remover solution.

With a new renovation of a room, an urgent issue often arises, which consists in removing old wallpaper. This task is relatively simple and accessible to absolutely anyone. The main thing is a patient attitude to repair work and compliance with some recommendations.

In the article, we will consider the following points:

Why is it necessary to remove old wallpaper?
There are several main reasons:

1. The old layer of wallpaper is usually very loose on the walls and can quickly peel off. When applying glue to old wallpaper, they soften, become damp, and begin to peel off.


2. When pasting over the old layer, the drying time of the new wallpaper will increase.


3. When both layers of wallpaper (old and new) are completely dry, wrinkles, bumps and bubbles may form on the outer surface. As a result, the finish may turn out to be imperfect and ugly.


4. The level of adhesion (adhesion of surfaces) is significantly reduced. New wallpapers will look much better and last longer if they are glued to a clean and even wall.


5. Finally, quite a lot of dirt and bacteria accumulate under the old wallpaper over the years, which also actualizes the issue of their removal.

• spatulas (narrow and wide);


• stationery knife;


• scraper;


• high table (or stepladder);


• warm water to moisten the wallpaper;


• masking tape;


• paint roller;


• polyethylene;


• water tank;


• special liquid for removing wallpaper (if necessary);


• sponges, rags, rags;


• steam generator or household iron (if necessary);


• needle roller (or a special "tiger" for wallpaper).

Preparation for repair
It is necessary to free the site from unnecessary pieces of furniture and household items, and it is also advisable to cover them with a film, if any, remain in the room. Also cover the floor covering with a film and fix the polyethylene around its perimeter with masking tape. An important nuance - if you plan to use water, then be sure to turn off the power to the room. In addition, make sure that water never gets into the socket, switch or other dangerous places. It is necessary to remove the covers of switches, sockets, etc. and paste them over with adhesive tape in advance.

Ways to remove old wallpaper

Manual way

If the old wallpaper is already very weak or was poorly glued, then we pry off the upper edge or corner of the wallpaper with a clerical knife, scraper or spatula and tear it off from top to bottom. Traditionally, this method is used for old paper wallpapers that have been glued to a concrete or cement base, although it can be chosen for other types of wallpaper. It all depends on the properties of the adhesive, the type of base surface, the quality of the previous wallpaper, etc.

With the help of water

The most common way to remove previous wallpaper. To do this, wet a section of the wall with warm, or even better, hot water. Use a rag, a soft sponge, a roller (foam rubber) or an ordinary sprayer for these purposes. Especially well soak the corners and edges of the panel. In order for water to penetrate the wallpaper better, it is first recommended to make cuts or scratches with a clerical knife, a sharp spatula, a needle roller or a special “tiger” wallpaper, and only then proceed to soaking.

It is best to moisten one small area of ​​wallpaper first and test it experimentally - if they move away well, then you do not need to scratch them first.

Usually, non-woven wallpaper and some types of vinyl wallpapers are wetted and torn off without problems (although sometimes you have to cut them in area). But old paper wallpapers, most two-layer vinyl wallpapers, glossy or washable wallpapers with a strong water-repellent layer - it is advisable to cut well on the wall before wetting.

Depending on the quality of the wallpaper, its thickness, the characteristics of the adhesive, as a rule, after 5-15 minutes. the old layer swells, bubbles and can be removed with a spatula, scraper, knife and hands. You need to pull off the wetted wallpaper slowly and with some effort.

A couple of additional tips for the "water" method:

1. Do not dampen the wall with copious amounts of water, as the inner layers of plaster or putty in the wall may be damaged.


2. Previous paper wallpapers can be cut, moistened, and then treated with a constantly damp sponge and spatula, so they will come off faster. If the paper wallpaper is not torn off in large pieces, then after impregnation for removal, in addition to a spatula, you can also use a special brush.


3. Do not wet the entire wall with water at once in one pass, otherwise, by the time you get to its other end, the wallpaper will have completely dried there. It is better to moisten the surface in relatively small areas.


4. Vinyl wallpaper: first remove the top layer of polyvinyl, then proceed to the bottom paper layer (remove it like paper wallpaper).


5. Quite often, it is advised to remove the wallpaper with a soap solution or washing powder. We would not recommend doing this, since detergents can ruin putty or plaster, and later, upon contact with glue, worsen its properties when gluing new wallpaper.


6. Don't flood your neighbors. Do not allow too much water to drip onto the floor.

Special funds

More effective than water, special chemicals. In hardware stores, you can easily get a special chemical liquid for removing wallpaper (say, Atlas Alplan or Quelyd Dissoucol). It penetrates the old layer faster and deeper than ordinary water. These products are very effective, while not damaging the wall and absolutely safe for health. Such liquids, as a rule, can be diluted in a certain proportion with water, and then applied with a roller or sponge to the wall. The technology of work is the same as with the "water" method. Sometimes a little wallpaper glue is added to the liquid, a kind of jelly is obtained, with the help of which the old wallpaper leaves extremely easily (this method is especially good when the old wallpaper is pasted in several layers). The only disadvantage of this option is the additional cost of purchasing liquid.

Steam generator or iron

It happens that old wallpaper does not want to peel off. Then you need an iron (preferably with a steam option). Through a damp cloth, you need to iron the unyielding sections of the old wallpaper, and then remove them. Of course, only small areas can be treated with an iron. The iron will not “pull” the entire wall and deteriorate. For large surfaces, as well as to improve the quality and speed of work, it is better to use an ordinary household steam generator.

The most difficult case
Rarely, but there are especially difficult situations when the old wallpaper is already completely “oak” - absolutely not amenable to peeling. Perhaps they were fixed with PVA glue (and even on drywall) or wood glue. Then neither water nor steam will help, but will only make things worse. Here you must either patiently scrape off the entire wall with improvised tools and sandpaper by hand, or use a small drill with the right nozzle or even a grinder. We put on a respirator, goggles - and for repairs. But be prepared for the fact that after the puncher you will have to apply much more conditions for puttying and priming the walls, when preparing them for new wallpaper.

Good luck with your renovation and beautiful walls!