Wallpaper is making a comeback, and now with the luxury of removable wallpaper, which can be temporarily hung in any room. It’s even being used as accent pieces in homes. However, there’s a difference between the look of chic, stylish wallpaper and the look of dingy, peeling wallpaper, which can diminish the look of your home. Whether you’ve just bought a fixer-upper or need to redo a dated room in your home, you can easily remove wallpaper with the use of a few simple steps and a handful of wallpaper removal tools. With help from Blain’s Farm & Fleet, you can remove wallpaper in a snap.
1. Take everything off the walls and remove as much furniture and decor from the room as possible. If you need to leave anything in the room, cover it with drop cloth or towels as you don’t want wet chunks of wallpaper to get on your furniture. Also, cut power to the room and remove any switch plates or outlet covers.
2. Line the baseboards of the room with old towels, and cover the towels with plastic drop cloths. This will help keep wallpaper scraps from getting on your floor and wallpaper stripper from seeping through.
3. Using a scoring tool, score the wallpaper. The scorer makes tiny holes in the wallpaper, which let the wallpaper stripping solution get through to the adhesive on the wall.
4. You can use a store-bought wallpaper solution or you can make your own by mixing equal parts fabric softener and hot water together. Pour the mixture in a spray bottle to easily apply to the wall.
5. Saturate the walls with the solution and let it soak in for a few minutes. You’ll know the wall is ready to be stripped when you can easily peel it off with your fingernail.
6. Start at a bottom corner and carefully pull the paper upward. Use a putty knife to make it even easier to remove the wallpaper. Continue steps 5 and 6 until all the wallpaper is removed.
7. Once the wallpaper is removed, clean the walls with warm water and a sponge to remove any sticky residue.
After you’ve cleaned up, you’ll have a blank slate to work with. Depending on the condition of your walls, you may need to patch the drywall or you may be set to start priming and painting. Either way, you’ll find everything you need for your DIY masterpiece at Blain’s Farm & Fleet.
