Steam and Remove Wallpaper Layers

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How to remove wallpaper. Tips removing wallpaper with a steamer.

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What happens here

Once the steamer is ready, begin the removal process. Typically, wallpaper has two layers: an outer vinyl layer and an inner paper layer with the adhesive. Apply the steamer plate to a section of the wallpaper, holding it firmly against the wall to allow the steam to penetrate and soften the adhesive. After a short period (allowing the steam to work), use a putty knife (either the 2-inch or 4-inch, depending on the area) to gently scrape and pry up the outer vinyl layer. Once the vinyl layer is removed, continue applying steam to the remaining paper layer. Hold the steamer in one area until the paper feels nice and soft, then use a putty knife to carefully scrape off the softened paper and glue. It's important to be patient; wallpaper removal is often a long task. When using the putty knife, ensure it is held flat against the wall to avoid gouging or marking the wall surface. If too many gouges are made, you may need to re-texture the walls later. You can alternate hands when scraping to prevent fatigue. Use the X-Acto knife to carefully cut wallpaper that is behind baseboards or trim where the steamer and putty knife cannot easily reach. Continue this process of steaming and scraping, patiently working your way across the wall, refilling the steamer with water as needed (the steamer has an indicator to show the water level). Only use plain water in the steamer; do not use chemical wallpaper strippers or scoring tools, as these can damage the walls and lead to more repair work.

Goal: Systematically remove all layers of wallpaper from the wall.

Tools and materials

2-inch Putty Knife Unspecified — Scraping off softened wallpaper
4-inch Putty Knife Unspecified — Scraping off softened wallpaper from larger areas
Ladder Unspecified — Reaching high areas of the wall
Tupperware Container/Pitcher Unspecified — Refilling the steamer
X-Acto Knife Unspecified — Cutting wallpaper in hard-to-reach areas
Water N/A — Creating steam

What they say

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behind to actually remove it. During the process of removing the wallpaper, typically most wallpaper is going to have two two layers of wallpaper. You're going to have a vinyl layer. You can see on the video here, there's a dark layer and then underneath that is the paper layer that's actually has the glue adhesive onto the wall. And you use the steamer in a process. Heat up the wallpaper, pull the vinyl layer off, and then you're going to begin taking off the glued layer. You want to keep the drop cloth up against your baseboards at all times, so the steam and water that's running down will actually be absorbed into the drop cloth and not the carpet. You got to be patient. You just hold the steamer in one area and it's going to actually steam, soften up the glue, soften up the paper. You begin scraping that area and then move your steamer over. Removing wallpaper is um a long task. Takes patience. Doesn't come off fast. Doesn't come off easy. Typical 10 by 12 walls take approximately 2 hours. This has been about an hour and 45 minutes on this wall here. When you're using a potty knife, you want to make sure the paper is nice and soft. Use the putty knife when you put it up against the wall. Make sure it's flat so it doesn't gouge the walls. If you make too many gouges and marks, you're going to have to retexture the walls. About 50% of the walls that you remove wallpaper from, you're going to have to retexture the walls. That's pretty common. See, she's holding the rough paper removal tool with one hand, taking the paper off with putty knife with the other hand. She'll switch it back and forth. Use both hands. That way you're one hand doesn't get tired doing all the work picking the paper off. You can see the dark layer is the vinyl layer. The lighter layer is the paper layer that has the glue on it. If you patiently remove the wallpaper, the wall should look nice and clean just like this. the steamer. Once you load the steamer wrap with water, it'll take about 15 minutes for it to heat up. So, as soon as you get to the job site or or where you're going to remove wallpaper, you want to actually fill up the steamer with water. We use just a little Tupperware container that we fill up with water. Then, you empty it into the steamer. The steamer itself has a black cap on the top right here. This black cap will just unscrew. Just fill it up with water and then you just plug it in to any 110 outlet. Actually has a full marker. We actually go a line to show it…

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