Eventually we will need to remove old wallpaper, but with proper methods, it should be easy to remove. Wall coverings can make our room look beautiful, but they already become torn, dirty and old; a plain painted wall is still a better thing to have. When we go to the local hardware store, we could purchase unsuitable tools to remove and install new wallpaper. As an example, we could get the wrong wetting agent and even get inaccurate advices. Wallpaper removal and installation is a time consuming task. Some people don’t want to work hard and they simply install new wallpaper over the old one. In many cases, this will only make the situation looks worse. By using the proper method, we will be able to avoid frustration and wasting time. Wallpaper is easy to take down, if we know how to do it.
However, safety is the most important factor and we may need to turn off the electricity, because we will likely to work around wall sockets and fuse box. Obviously, electricity and water don’t mix. We will also need to have a bucket of water, so we should be careful not making the floor slippery with spilled water. Before beginning this project, we should read safety warning of the products. Some removal products could damage our wall. There are different wetting agents that make it easy to remove wallpaper. Some people use vinegar and other homemade concoctions; but it is usually less effective and will only drip to the bottom of the wallpaper. We may use more effective solutions, such as dif liquid concentrate. It is a clear liquid that will be better absorbed by old wallpaper. We will need to wait for the liquid to get absorbed, before we attempt to remove the wallpaper.
We also need to determine the proper direction to pull off the paper. The difference can be between easy and hard, depending on where we pull the wallpaper. The proper way to do this is by pulling the old wallpaper from the baseboard up and it should be wet. If it still doesn’t remove easily, it is possible that the wallpaper hasn’t properly absorbed the wetting agent. We may need a scraper to lift a corner of the wallpaper. If we lucky enough, we may have an old wallpaper that can be removed easily even when it is dry. But most of the time, the backing of the wallpaper will have to be dry.
One of the trickiest things is how to properly apply the wetting agent. Pump-action sprayer allows us apply the wetting agent cleaner and much faster. For a house-wide project, we shouldn’t use that cheap, dinky handheld sprayer. This can be eventually painful for our hands and it will waste so much time. Pump sprayer is easier and quicker to use. This is the kind of tool that can speed up the time needed to remove the paper. We can spray the paper and let the liquid to get absorbed in about 20 minutes.