How can I peel wall pepper without demanding the wall?

Nooshin Almasi
by Nooshin Almasi
  7 answers
  • Kathy O'Malley Kathy O'Malley on Mar 24, 2018

    i use a combination of fabric softener and water.. spray on to wet the entire surface .. do a small section at a time till you get the hang of it.. then us a putty knife and start peeling .. don;t forget to wash down the walls when wallpaper is removed.. there will be some glue/ paste residue.. hope this helps .. it really is easy.. there are two layers to wallpaper the first layer comes off fairly easy..


  • Ken Ken on Mar 24, 2018

    Cute. I can see spell check is not your friend. From any paint store purchase wallpaper remover. You mix it with water and apply to the wallpaper. It will soften the wallpaper adhesive allowing easy removal.

  • William William on Mar 24, 2018

    I use a 50/50 mix of vinegar and hot water in a spray bottle. Wet the wallpaper and let the mixture do it's job. Don't let it dry out. Putty knife and start peeling it off. Use the same mixture to wash down the glue residue.

  • Rebecca Anglin Rebecca Anglin on Mar 24, 2018

    Rent a wallpaper steamer. Just remember to not saturate it to the point that the sheetrock is damaged.

  • Lydia Weikel Cox Lydia Weikel Cox on Mar 25, 2018

    I've used plain water in a spray bottle, a rented steamer and a purchased solution in spray bottle. It rather depends on how many layers of wallpaper are being removed, whether any were painted over, and what the wall is made of underneath. If there is only one or two layers, never painted over, and the wall underneath is plaster, then it is easy to do with plain water to wet the wallpaper, wait for it to soak into the paper and wallpaper paste, then scrape off with a metal or plastic "putty knife." I often use a wider bladed one that isn't as likely to gouge the wall underneath, and a plastic tool may also prevent wall gouges. Wash walls well with vinegar water to remove the glue, changing water frequently & checking again after walls dry that ALL glue is gone. It may be necessary to wash walls down more than once. If the wall paper has a vinyl, "washable" coating, or if it has been painted over, you may need to try scoring that vinyl layer or peeling the top vinyl layer off, then spraying the paper backing with whatever solution you are using to remove the wallpaper backing. I struggled for days trying to remove multiple layers of wallpaper over a plastered wall, with only one or two layers at a time getting moist enough with my spray bottles to be scraped off. Then I heard about the rental steamer & decided to try that. It did make the job easier as far as removing more layers of paper at once, but the machine was heavy, hot, and needed water refills often--though perhaps they have improved since later 1980's! Plus there was the expense and it couldn't fit into all spaces. Be very careful removing wallpaper from sheetrock/drywall unless it has been painted well before wallpaper was applied. It is too easy to soak the cardboard and gypsum of drywall/sheetrock while spraying wallpaper to remove it, and doing damage to the drywall/sheetrock when removing wallpaper. Good luck!

  • Christel Christel on Mar 25, 2018

    DIF or a wall paper steamer both work well.

  • Johnavallance82 Johnavallance82 on Jul 15, 2021

    Hello, Use a steamer!