When re-gluing, you should very carefully remove the old layer of wallpaper, without leaving even small fragments. It is such a clean surface that will allow you to stick a new layer without blisters and bumps.
In 90% of cases, it is enough to use the simplest way to remove the wallpaper, and we will talk about it later, but if you are in the 10% of the "lucky ones" and the sweat is already flowing in a stream, and your nerves have begun to fail, scroll down the article, there we will talk about emergency situations.
The easiest and fastest way
- Empty the room of all furniture or arrange it in the center of the room and cover it with cellophane or newspapers.
- For safety reasons, turn off the electricity in the apartment. Cover outlets and switches with masking tape to keep dirt out. And now the dirt will appear, believe me.
- Prepare the following tools and materials:
- a bucket of hot or warm water;
- wide roller (can be old);
- narrow and wide spatulas;
- stopwatch.
- With a wet roller, dampen 2-3 strips of wallpaper from top to bottom. Please do not flood the neighbors - pouring water excessively is not necessary.
- Record 20 minutes. During this time, the material and glue will absorb enough moisture.
- With a spatula, pry off the corner of the wallpaper and separate it from the wall. Clean up small pieces with a spatula.
- Go back to step 4 and say goodbye to all the remaining canvases.
It can take two hours to clean the walls of a 20 square meter room. More time may be needed in cases where the old paper wallpaper is glued to the conscience, and even worse, on PVA glue. It will also take longer to process materials with a water-repellent layer, such as vinyl wallpaper.
Tip: Cleaned walls should dry. At least a couple of hours. Only then proceed to the new finish.
Life hacks and folk remedies
To make the wallpaper removal process even faster and more efficient, read what additional magic tools you have at hand. It's time for them to bring real benefit to humanity.
Difficult cases at work
What to do if you got vinyl or non-woven wallpaper
We act, as we described above, by exposure to moisture, but before water procedures, walk with a sharp knife or a wallpaper tiger (the main thing is something sharp) over the old wallpaper and make cuts. Water will penetrate under the vinyl film into the paper and it will not be difficult for you to finish your work on time.
What to do if old wallpaper is glued to drywall
Drywall consists (attention!) of gypsum and cardboard. For obvious reasons, the last of the components cannot be wetted with water. Therefore, in this case, it is best to either carefully use a spatula, or, in extreme cases, buy a special solution for removing wallpaper.
What to do if the wallpaper is glued to PVA glue
Brace yourself. This is the most difficult case. Jewelry work. Water, even with an admixture of diamonds, will not help you. Take a sharp spatula and, forgetting about the plans for the whole evening, clean centimeter by centimeter. Or ask your neighbors for a grinder (grinder) and buy a nozzle with hard bristles - the process will go faster.
Watch this video - the need for invention is cunning:
If the old wallpaper is still on the wall
Guys, let's be honest, if you have read the article up to this point and the old floral wallpaper is still intact on your wall - either you are doing something wrong and it is better to read the article slowly from the very beginning, or - you know what - leave this venture . If, with such inhuman efforts, you still failed to separate paper and stone now, then, believe me, they will never part again, and under no circumstances.
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 should display 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.
New wallpaper can transform the interior and even radically change it. They need to be glued on a previously prepared surface, from which the remnants of old wallpaper have been carefully removed. The previous layer can distort and spoil the new one over time, so it must not only be torn off, but removed in accordance with all the rules. Only in this case, the new wallpaper will lie on the surface well, without flaws and swelling.
If you do not remove the previous layer, then after a while it will be possible to find out how old wallpapers can harm. Spots, bumps and peeling off of fresh wallpaper is inevitable if old ones are not removed. To quickly remove old wallpaper from the walls, you need to remember how they were glued. If ordinary glue was applied to primed walls, old wallpaper can be easily removed. They have not lost their strength and easily lag behind the surface. If the product itself is thin and torn at hand, you should not count on a quick solution to the problem. But subject to the basic rules, any layer can be removed.
Tools for removing any kind of wallpaper
To figure out how to quickly remove wallpaper from the walls, you need a little time and some equipment. You will need the following tools for removal:
- two sharp spatulas of different sizes
- soapy water or effortless wallpaper remover
- steam mop or iron with a piece of cotton fabric
- perforation roller
- ladder
- knife, plastic wrap
- insulating or adhesive tape
It is more correct and hygienic to remove wallpaper from the walls in a wet way. This will generate less dust and the removal process itself will take less time. But if the canvas moves away from the wall well, then you can limit yourself to the usual option.
Wallpaper removal options
How to quickly remove old wallpaper from the walls, if there is no experience in doing such work? First of all, you need to turn off the electricity or close up sockets and switches. To quickly remove old pieces of canvas from the walls, it is enough to touch the edge with a spatula and pull it, prying and correcting intractable places. If this is not enough, then you need to soak the old wallpaper. To do this, you need to walk over the entire surface with a sponge moistened with warm water and soap, wait a few minutes and repeat the procedure.
In addition to soap, you can add dishwashing liquid or fabric softener to the water. In this case, it is necessary to use a sufficient amount of water. If it is not enough, then it will dry quickly and will not have time to soak the glue, so it will be problematic to tear off the old wallpaper. If there is a lot of liquid, then it can drain along the surface of the canvas or from the walls, which also will not give the desired effect.
How to quickly remove old wallpaper from the walls if there is a steam generator? This option will be less labor intensive. The steam that the device gives out will quickly soften both the paper base and the glue underneath. Old paper wallpapers that could not be removed the first time are removed with a spatula. The steam generator is only suitable for removing wallpaper, so it is often used exclusively by specialists. An analogue can be a steam or regular iron with a steam function. They will facilitate the removal of wallpaper on large surfaces and significantly save both time and effort.
If you do not know how to remove old wallpaper from the walls, or if you are doing this work for the first time, it is better to use special liquids to remove wallpaper. Usually a bottle is enough to tear off the wallpaper on the square up to 100 square meters. The liquid will quickly penetrate under the paper layer and effectively soak the glue. Such products are much more effective than ordinary soapy water, it can be used when working indoors. It is mixed with water and sprayed over the entire area of the old wallpaper. After a few minutes, the old layer can be easily removed with a spatula. Such a tool lends itself to paper, textile, vinyl and other wallpaper canvases.
Removing wallpaper with applied PVA glue
How to remove wallpaper from the walls if water-insoluble PVA glue was used to paste these decorative elements? Such work will have to be done manually and use a sharp spatula. Before you quickly remove the wallpaper sheets that were glued to the paper surface in the form of a newspaper, it is necessary to check the adhesion strength on a small segment. After that, it is better to choose a convenient withdrawal option.
You can also use a grinder. It will help to quickly remove old remnants and large pieces of wallpaper from the walls. Such a device can leave furrows and stripes on the wall after work. The plaster is damaged, so in the future, after the old wallpaper has been removed, it will be necessary to level the surface.
If special equipment is used, then it is necessary to take care of the equipment and use a protective face mask. Grinding creates a lot of dust in the work, from which you need to protect yourself. Using such tips, wallpaper removal will be quick and harmless.
Types of wallpaper that are used in modern interiors
Before you tear off the old canvases, you need to understand the types of this wall covering. There are the following types of wallpaper:
- vinyl
- non-woven
- liquid
- glass wall paper
- washable
Removing vinyl wallpaper
Below is information on how to remove vinyl wallpaper from walls. They are easier to remove than others, because the film is the main component in their composition. Vinyl wallpaper is removed after moistening quite simply and leaves in whole strips. The edge of the canvas is touched with a spatula and gently pulled down. The paper component on a flat wall may remain in some places, but it can be easily removed.
Vinyl wallpaper can often be heavy, so it's best to remove it piecemeal or in layers. Those who are not familiar with how to remove vinyl wallpaper from the walls can remove the canvases with a spatula. This option of removing vinyl wallpaper from the walls is possible, but it is more laborious. For the first time, the process may not be so simple, but over time it will be possible to quickly remove vinyl or any other wallpaper from the walls. Since the removal of vinyl wallpaper does not damage the surface and is easy to carry out, more and more people are using this option.
Removal of non-woven, washable and liquid wallpaper
Before you remove the wallpaper on a modern non-woven base, they must be perforated. It is desirable to do this in such a way as not to damage the lower non-woven layer, which serves to strengthen the wall. If there is no need to save it, then the removal will occur with minimal effort. This fabric is durable and easy to remove. As in the version with paper sheets, it is enough to use a spatula.
To remove washable old wallpaper, one use of water or special liquid will not be enough. The top layer of the canvas can be removed quite simply, and for the lower tier of wallpaper it is better to take a roller or scraper. A good helper in this matter will be a steam generator or a regular steam iron.
How to tear off wallpaper that has a liquid structure is given below. Such canvases consist of a mixture of cellulose, cotton and a water-soluble adhesive. If the old wallpaper has such a basis, then to remove it, it is enough just to wet them with warm water. After swelling, it’s easy enough to figure out how to quickly tear them off. With a spatula, the mass can be removed at once. It is noteworthy that liquid wallpaper can be reused.
Removing wallpaper from drywall
How to tear off old wallpaper if they are stuck on a plasterboard wall? With this work, it is important to leave the top layer, which is made of paper, intact. Special liquids, applied in a metered amount, will dissolve the adhesive and help remove any vinyl or paper wallpaper. In some cases, removal is also difficult with the use of special tools, so abrasive materials or machines are used to remove the wallpaper web.
Before you start removing old wallpaper from the walls, it is important to protect yourself and follow these tips:
- it is better to remove all the furniture from the room or cover it with a special film, remove the curtains and remove everything that can get dirty
- stock up on the necessary tools for removing wallpaper from the walls
- when removing old wallpaper from the walls, it is necessary to take a certain amount of liquid
- old wallpaper near the switches must be removed with care
There is nothing difficult in quickly removing wallpaper from the walls. It is quite possible to cope with such work on your own. It is enough to stock up on the necessary tools, equipment and patience. As a result, anyone will know how to quickly shoot wallpapers with different components. Any canvas of wallpaper with a skillful approach will easily move away from the surface.
If you do not want to waste your time and carry out the time-consuming procedure yourself, you can turn to experienced craftsmen. Qualified specialists know how to quickly remove any type of wallpaper.
With any repair, the first item is getting rid of traces of the old, including boring wallpaper. It is extremely important to remove the old coating from the walls, because it is possible only on a completely cleaned and leveled surface, ready for a “new life”. And if it is not so difficult to remove heavy vinyl or voluminous interlining, then how to peel off old paper wallpaper is a more difficult task, and clear instructions are needed to solve it.
Those who have had to rip off a vinyl or non-woven coating from the walls know that it is not so difficult - you just need to wet the canvas using a special technology, and the wallpaper will be removed quickly and easily entirely.
There are many ways to clean the walls of the old coating for a new finish.
With paper coating, the situation is more complicated - it is very thin, easily torn, and it will take a lot of time, effort and nerves to remove the wallpaper from the walls. The main thing is not to succumb to the temptation and not leave pieces of the old coating - this can nullify all further repair efforts.
Why can't you leave old wallpaper on the walls?
If you glue a fresh coating without removing the old one and without cleaning the surface, the wall will be covered with ugly bumps and pits. Especially strongly such a dubious relief will appear under a thin paper sheet, plain non-woven or vinyl “for painting”, silk-screen printing.
Important!
When you stick new wallpaper over the old ones, the weight of the coating increases, the old glue dissolves under the influence of moisture, and there is a big risk that the beautiful wallpaper will come off the wall along with everything that was on it, including plaster. The risk is especially great if during the previous repair the logic of the owners was similar, and several layers of paper have already settled on the walls.
When pasting wallpaper over existing ones, under the influence of wet glue, fungi and mold can form under the old paper. Not only are they seriously harmful to health, but they can also significantly spoil the appearance of the wall.
What you need to remove old wallpaper
Before clearing the wall of paper wallpaper, some preparation is needed. For "destructive" work you will need:
- a bucket of warm water or ready-made store-bought liquid to get rid of old wallpaper;
- a rag, sponge or foam roller (from 20 cm wide);
- a pair of spatulas of different sizes, always with sharp edges, or a special scraper;
- construction needle roller or wallpaper tiger - for perforating (piercing) a paper surface;
- steam generator, steam mop or powerful iron with hot steam function;
- masking tape and a large piece of polyethylene.
The process of peeling off the already obsolete paper coating is very dirty, so you need to protect the floor and sockets from pieces of wet paper and plaster. To do this, it is necessary to attach the film with adhesive tape to the skirting boards around the perimeter, seal the sockets with masking tape, and ideally also de-energize the room so that water does not accidentally splash onto the bare wires.
After all the preparations, you can proceed directly to peeling the wallpaper. There are several basic techniques, depending on the condition of the walls, your time, and the resources available.
You can remove old wallpaper with a spatula
Method One: Manual
To do this, simply take the corner of the old piece from below with your hand and remove the entire wallpaper. Remove the remaining pieces on the walls with a spatula or scraper. With this technology, there is one danger: the old canvas can be torn off along with the plaster, so cover your head with a cap or scarf and protect your nose and mouth from building dust with a mask.
Method two: plain water
Plain warm water is the most popular and effective way to remove old paper wallpaper in an apartment. To enhance the effect, you can add vinegar, the cheapest fabric softener or liquid dishwashing detergent to a bucket of water.
Then, with a roller, rag or sponge, we apply the liquid to small sections of the wall, wait 5-10 minutes for everything to be absorbed, and scrape off the paper with a spatula (scraper). Do not immediately pour water over the entire piece of the old roll - while you peel off one section, the thin paper will dry out and you will have to start all over again. If separate (small!) areas do not absorb liquid, you can try ironing them through a damp cloth with a hot iron - this will enhance the effect.
You should not overdo it either - if you flood the wall with water, this can soften the plaster and putty, and then the surface will have to be leveled and cleaned for a long time.
Method three: chemicals
If you want to know how to peel off old paper wallpaper the fastest and easiest way, you can take the advice of repair specialists and purchase a special liquid for removing old paper covering from walls.
Half a liter of such a product, depending on the brand, will cost about 200-300 rubles, and enough for 2-3 rooms, depending on the area. It is very simple to use: dilute in accordance with the instructions (for a greater effect, you can pour wallpaper glue), apply it to the walls and wait until it dries. Wallpaper liquid penetrates the paper and dissolves the glue, while the canvas itself remains intact. After drying, the pieces of the old roll move away from the surface entirely.
The use of such a tool will significantly save time - it will be possible to clean paper wallpaper from the walls with a scraper and a spatula in just a couple of hours. The only drawback is an unpleasant chemical smell, but it quickly disappears, and the “drug” itself is harmless to both people and pets.
On sale there are many chemicals that will facilitate the process of removing old wallpaper from the walls.
Method four: hot steam
If you don’t want to spend money on a cleaning agent, but you have a steam generator or a powerful iron at home, it will be much easier to tear off the wallpaper.
First, provide access to the outlet: if you have de-energized the room and closed the sockets, you can bring an extension cord from the next room. Then we process the wallpaper pieces one by one with hot steam and wait 3-5 minutes. Paper and old glue swell quickly when exposed to hot, moist air, and it is not difficult to remove the old coating.
Method five: special tools
If several layers of paper have accumulated on your walls or a two-layer wallpaper coating (duplex) was pasted during the last repair, it will be very problematic to remove the wallpaper. Too old wallpaper glue, PVA or bustilat can complicate the process even more. Dissolving such a mixture is quite difficult, and you will probably have to scrape everything by hand.
For these works, you will need a roller with needles or a more gentle tool - wallpaper tiger. The tool must be walked over the entire surface to make holes, moisten the wallpaper with hot water: in this case, the liquid quickly penetrates under the paper. Pieces of the old canvas are torn off with a sharp spatula or scraper, but you have to be careful: the sharp edges of the tool easily leave grooves and dents on the wall, and then you have to further level it.
If liquid and perforating tools are powerless against the wall covering, you can use more serious equipment: a drill with a wallpaper stripping nozzle (round brush) or a grinder with a coarse-grained brush. Such work is very dusty, and the wall can be significantly damaged - leveling the surface with putty is inevitable.
You can clean the walls of the old coating with a drill with a special nozzle
How to get rid of paper wallpaper on drywall
If you need to remove the paper coating not from an ordinary wall, but from drywall, you need to go to business delicately. Drywall is covered with a thin paper layer that cannot be torn or scratched.
The best option in this case is to use a chemical tool to remove old wallpaper pieces or hot steam. Experts do not recommend using water here. If the old wallpaper is very thin, smooth and stuck to the drywall tightly, you can prime and glue new ones on top. It is better to use embossed foam vinyl for this, which will hide possible irregularities.
There are a lot of ways to peel off old paper wallpapers from the walls, and choosing the right one will not be difficult. But if you got a very problematic apartment, and the old coating just merged with the wall, you can use the services of professionals. Today, craftsmen have many special tools, and they can easily remove all the former beauty from the walls without damaging the surface.
It is not difficult to remove the old finish, planted on ordinary wallpaper paste, from the plastered surface. It is more difficult to cope with thin paper wallpaper glued to PVA or paste. So that the removal of old wallpaper from the walls does not give you trouble, we will consider the options for dismantling the main types of finishes on paper, non-woven, liquid-based, as well as vinyl-coated.
Getting rid of Soviet wallpaper - water and special tools
The most difficult thing is to remove old wallpaper from the walls of the Soviet type, and everyone who has tried to do this at least once will agree with this statement. There are several reasons for this. The structure of the wallpaper, the use of durable CMC, Bustilat, PVA wood glue, which "tightly" glue the rolls. It is impossible to tear off the wallpaper with a whole layer, they peel off in small areas. Complicate the process of dismantling old wallpaper, pasted on top of each other in several layers and on a newspaper. This finish has to be removed in layers.
To quickly remove old wallpaper from the walls, prepare the following set of materials and tools:
- dishwashing detergent or liquid soap;
- sprayer or bucket of water;
- foam sponges;
- wallpaper tiger;
- needle roller;
- spatula with a sharp blade;
- masking tape;
- polyethylene film.
Before you remove the wallpaper, take care of the safety rules. Turn off the electricity in the apartment, cover sockets and switches with masking tape to prevent water from entering. Also insulate protruding wires. To make it easier for you to clean up, glue plastic bags at least 0.5 m wide along the baseboard, which are usually used for packing things and furniture. Cleaning after dismantling will be faster, the floor will not be splashed with water.
Take a sprayer or bucket of water, add a couple of drops of dishwashing liquid or soap. Moisten a small area of the wall and wait 10-20 minutes for the water and degreaser to soak into the base and soften the adhesive. To make the wallpaper swell faster, it is better to use hot rather than cold water. Soak the area gradually. Repeat wetting as it dries, do not try to moisten the wall abundantly at once. For better penetration of water into the layer, use a knife. Make several longitudinal notches.
In hard-to-reach places and on the ceiling, use a needle roller to make slits. An alternative option for making scratches would be a wallpaper tiger. This tool allows you to process a large layer of wallpaper without damaging the concrete coating and plaster, thanks to soft rollers.
We begin to tear off the wallpaper from the corner of the room, from top to bottom. We clean the finish with a sharp spatula, preferably with a long handle. We act carefully around sockets, switches and other electronic devices, using a narrow spatula.
Washing and steaming - the fight against complex wallpaper
Modern manufacturers have come up with tools that make it easy to remove old wallpaper - chemical washes. Among the well-known brands on the market, QUELYD DISSOUCOL, Zinsser, ATLAS ALPAN are popular. They penetrate deep into the structure of the wallpaper and destroy the adhesive layer. The use of a wash is not difficult. We dilute the composition according to the manufacturer's recommendations, distribute the liquid evenly with a sponge or through a spray bottle. After swelling of the finish, it is easily removed along with all the remnants from the wall.
Another effective option for dealing with difficult wallpaper is steaming. For these purposes, you can use a steam mop or steam cleaner, and if they are not at hand, a regular iron and a wet cloth will do. We turn on the steaming mode, lean a wet cloth against the problem area of the wall and direct steam from the iron through it. Under the influence of steam, the glue will collapse, and you can quickly tear off the old wallpaper from the walls. You just need to do this while they are still hot. We clean the small pieces left after steaming with sandpaper, a metal scraper or a grinder.
Finishing on a non-woven backing - how to deal with it?
The main advantage of non-woven wallpaper is the substrate, which can not be torn off the wall, dismantling only the top layer. It reinforces the wall and ensures a good fit of the new finish. If you still want to completely clean the walls of old wallpaper, follow the instructions below.
We take a wide sharp spatula, hook the edge of the canvas and pull it from top to bottom. The remaining pieces in hard-to-reach places are removed with a narrow spatula. If the canvas does not fit well, tear off the wallpaper, wetting the area with thermal water. In order for the water to penetrate deeper into the base, we use a wallpaper tiger. After 15–20 minutes, the non-woven wallpaper will swell. Soaked finish is simply removed with a scraper or spatula. If this is not enough, add a couple of drops of dishwashing detergent to the water and re-moisten the remaining area with water.
Features of dismantling the washable coating
Vinyl or washable two-layer wallpaper. They consist of a paper or non-woven base, which is attached to the wall covering, and covered with vinyl on top. It prevents moisture from getting under the wallpaper, allows you to wash the finish when dirty. It is not necessary to completely remove washable non-woven wallpaper, it is enough to dismantle only the outer vinyl layer. However, if the base began to lag behind, play it safe and remove the entire finish.
Remove washable wallpaper, using only wetting the surface with water, will not work. The vinyl coating is resistant to moisture, and in order to remove it, notches must be made on the surface of the material using a needle roller or scraper. Only after that we wet the area. When the water has penetrated well into the base, the finish will begin to bubble and it will not be difficult to remove the washable wallpaper from the wall. If some area does not peel off well, use a steam mop or iron. After steaming one section, we move on to another, prying off the remnants of the finish with a spatula until they have cooled.
We remove liquid wallpaper and reuse
It's easy from the walls. They quickly soak under the action of moisture, leaving no marks on the surface. If you do not paint and other decorative coatings, dry them after dismantling and use them for decoration in another room. Liquid wallpaper with varnish impurities and paint are completely recycled and not reused. Depending on the final finish, such a coating is removed in several ways. If you covered the surface of liquid wallpaper with varnish or paint, then use a building hair dryer or a grinder with a nozzle to remove it from the surface. In the absence of a building hair dryer, use a regular household hair dryer. True, with him the work will be delayed. A steam iron will also be effective in removing.
Standard uncoated liquid wallpaper is removed in a familiar way using warm water, a metal scraper and a sharp spatula. To increase the efficiency of work, we recommend adding a couple of caps of Ceresit ST-17 primer to the water. After wetting the surface, leave the composition to soak for 10 minutes, open windows and doors to create a draft in the room and speed up the process. The layer is swollen and softened, we rip it off. We clean the small remnants of liquid wallpaper with a scraper, grind the surface with sandpaper.
We dismantle the finish from drywall
Drywall partitions are increasingly found on construction sites and residential buildings. The peculiarity of removing the old coating from drywall is the careful handling of the coating. If the top paper layer is damaged, drywall loses its quality characteristics. To easily peel off the wallpaper, we recommend chemical washes that penetrate deep into the structure of the adhesive, allowing the base of the finish to quickly lag behind the surface. This method is especially useful if the drywall is plastered and you do not want to damage the leveling layer with sharp movements of the spatula. In the absence of a primer on the walls, the use of a chemical wash is also the best option. To quickly strip old wallpaper from drywall, scratch the surface with a spiked roller or wallpaper tiger before applying chemicals.
An alternative and budget option for removing wallpaper from a drywall partition is to apply cheap wallpaper glue to the finish. Due to the fact that such glue dries for a long time, the wallpaper swells, begins to bubble, stretch and lag behind the surface. Carefully pry off the torn layer with a sharp spatula, use a paint knife to work in hard-to-reach places.
A primer is also suitable for impregnating wallpaper. Compared to water, it evaporates more slowly, therefore, it acts on the material longer and penetrates deeper into the structure. After soaking, remove the finish with a metal scraper or spatula. Having finished dismantling, we check the walls for irregularities. If necessary, remove small residues with sandpaper, putty and prime the surface.
