How To Remove Wallpaper

As you can see, the next step in our Kitchen Mayhem is prepping the walls for our nickel gap slats of shiplap. The plan is to use plywood to make our faux shiplap. This means we will have true gaps that show the wall in between them. We need to get that red plaid wallpaper off of there, so I thought I would share my process of how to remove wallpaper with you guys!

The Tools That You Need

Years ago I went to the trouble of renting a wallpaper removal steamer from a local rental company to tackle my dining room. This time I decided to save the money and just tackle it by hand. All I needed this time was a spray bottle of warm soapy water and a couple of putty knives in various sizes and shapes. Sometimes it takes a little trial and error to find the right one that is comfortable in your hand.

The Technique

I have found that warm to hot water with a little dish detergent mixed in works pretty well compared to the big rental unit that steams the paper. I simply used one of my Grove Collaborative glass spray bottles and filled it with warm water and a little dish soap. Spray small areas at a time to saturate the paper and let it sit for a minute or two. I should probably also note that my walls are plaster. Since they are not drywall, the saturating did not affect them at all.

Once the paper has had a minute or two to absorb the water, I took a putty knife and started to scrape. Some areas can be pulled off in strips and some areas required quite a bit of scraping. I never said it didn’t take a little bit of elbow grease! My best advice on how to remove wallpaper- -Ask Alexa to play your favorite music and everything seems just a little bit more enjoyable!

The Time

I’m not going to lie, this project took a whole day and a half for me to complete. I started on Saturday late morning and worked until past my usual bedtime. I picked back up on Sunday and finished it up with about another half days work. It was very time consuming for me, but I had lots of areas that were pretty stubborn. I honestly don’t mind this type of tedious work every now and then. It’s very different than what I’m used to dealing with working in healthcare. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do and taking care of people, but sometimes its just nice to focus on some mind-numbing, boring task. A task where you just tune everything out and get lost in your own thoughts as you work. It’s almost therapeutic!

I hope this helps you to not be afraid of tackling that old wallpaper you’ve been dying to get rid of. You really can do it with just a few thing you probably already have around your house. You don’t have to go rent those big steamers. All it takes is some time and the courage to take the first step. Again, thanks for visiting with me for my latest updates on my Kitchen Mayhem and How To Remove Wallpaper. You can check out both Part 1 and Part 2 with these links. You can even look at my connected Powder Room Makeover mood board, our demo in process, and our Ceiling Removal update post. Things are moving right along and I’ll be posting more updates soon!

mrslittlebylittle