How to Remove Wallpaper With No Sizing on the Walls

Chemical Removal

• 1

  Roll a wallpaper scoring tool diagonally across the wallpaper surface. This tool will create small tears in the wallpaper that will allow for chemical stripper to seep in and dissolve the adhesive.

• 2

  Dilute chemical wallpaper stripper with water per product instructions. These chemicals generally come in a concentrated form, so follow all dilution instructions. Pour diluted solution into a spray bottle.

• 3

  Lightly spray a small area of the wallpaper with the chemical stripper. Allow the solution to work for about five minutes, unless otherwise directed by your chemical's specific instructions.

• 4

  Scrape away as much loosened wallpaper as you can with a putty knife or wallpaper scraper. You may scratch or gouge the wall in some places; you can repair this later with spackle. Continue to spray and scrape until you have removed the majority of the wallpaper.

• 5

  Moisten the wall with a sponge dampened in clean water. Sand the entire wall with coarse-grit sandpaper to shave away residual adhesive, wallpaper and chemical remover.

Steam

• 6

  Score the wallpaper surface to create small holes for steam penetration.

• 7

  Hold the hotplate on the steamer's hose against the top left corner of your wallpaper, until you see the wallpaper soften or start to shrivel. Move the plate across the wallpaper surface, dissolving glue with the heat and steam as you go.

• 8

  Scrape loosened wallpaper from the wall with a putty knife or razor scraper. Go back over areas with the steam as necessary to dissolve all adhesive for removal. Scrape away as much wallpaper as you can with this method.

• 9

  Moisten the wall with a sponge dampened in clean water. Sand the entire wall with coarse-grit sandpaper to shave away residual adhesive, wallpaper and chemical remover.