How to Remove Wallpaper: A Step-by-Step Guide

Step-by-step

1. Protect the room and cut power to the wall

   Lay down drop cloths, remove outlet and switch covers, and turn off power to any outlets or switches on the wall you're stripping — you'll be applying water near them.

2. Test a small section to identify your wallpaper

   Try peeling a corner dry. Strippable wallpaper comes off in sheets with no water needed. If it tears and leaves backing behind, you have a paper- or paste-backed type that needs to be soaked.

3. Score the surface if it doesn't peel dry

   Vinyl-coated or non-peelable paper has a water-resistant top layer — run a scoring tool over it lightly so water and remover can reach the adhesive underneath. Avoid pressing hard enough to gouge the wall.

4. Apply water or a wallpaper removal solution and let it soak

   Spray or sponge on hot water mixed with a wallpaper removal solution (or a little fabric softener as a home remedy), and let it sit for 10–15 minutes so it can soften the adhesive.

5. Scrape gently, working from the seams

   Use a wide putty knife or wallpaper scraper at a low angle, starting at a seam. Re-wet any spots that resist rather than forcing the scraper — gouging the drywall creates far more work than a slower second soak.

6. Wash the wall and let it dry fully

   Once all the paper is off, wash the wall with warm water to remove leftover paste residue, then let it dry completely before priming or repainting — trapped moisture under new paint or paper causes bubbling later.

Removing multiple layers

Older homes sometimes have two or three layers of wallpaper hung directly on top of each other. Treat each layer as its own job — soak and scrape the top layer completely before starting on the one beneath it, rather than trying to soak through all of them at once. It's slower, but attempting to remove multiple layers in one pass usually just smears wet paper and paste into a mess that's harder to scrape cleanly.

Drywall vs. plaster

Drywall's paper facing can tear and lift along with stubborn wallpaper if you scrape too aggressively or let water sit too long, so work in smaller sections and keep your scraper angle low and shallow. Plaster walls are generally more forgiving of water and scraping pressure, but older plaster can have hairline cracks that trap moisture — let plaster dry longer than you think you need to before priming.

Common mistakes

• Skipping the test-peel step and scoring wallpaper that would have peeled off dry.
• Over-soaking one spot while the rest of the wall dries out — work in soakable sections instead of the whole wall at once.
• Scraping at a steep angle, which digs into drywall paper instead of sliding under the adhesive.
• Priming or repainting before the wall is fully dry, which traps moisture and causes bubbling later.