Are you looking for a new look on the walls of your living room, perhaps to complement your new sofas or coffee tables?
To remove existing wallpaper from a wall, you will need to soak the wall with water. Before you start, cover the floor to protect the carpet and turn off the electricity if there are wall sockets nearby.
Use a bucket of warm water with a little detergent and soak the wall using a sponge. After a few minutes use a scraper to try and remove the paper from the wall.
Make sure not to dig into the wall as this will pull the plaster off and you’ll have to re-plaster the wall before you can repaper it or paint it. If you start bringing the paper off at a seam, it will come off easier.
Keep re-soaking the wall as you go and if the paper has a coating, score it with a knife as this will allow the water to get through it. Be careful not to score the wall underneath. Sometimes coated wallpaper can be difficult to get off and in this case you can use a steam stripper; the heat will be beneficial in getting the paper off the wall.
To use the stripper, fill the tank with water. After a few minutes, the machine will have heated up and will be ready to use. Hold the plate against the wallpaper and let the steam loosen it from the wall. You may need to do this more than once for coated wallpaper. When loose, you will be able to pull the wallpaper from the wall using the scraper. Always start at the bottom and work upwards. When the tank is empty – refill.