How can I remove wallpaper from walls?

Judy Rodak
by Judy Rodak
I need suggestions for removing wallpaper from walls that were not primed beforehand. We removed wallpaper from a bathroom and a lot of the sheetrock stuck to the paper so we had to go and refinish the walls. Help!!
  6 answers
  • Johnchip Johnchip on Mar 17, 2017

    Bad news...You know what it is. But the more you heat and soak, the better chance you can remove more paper without wallboard. Prepare to joint compound and just get it over with. You will apeciate the hard work when it is done.

  • William William on Mar 17, 2017

    This may help, but since you already had a problem with walls that were not prepared properly, consider just priming with a stain blocking primer like Zinsser 123, then painting with your color over the wallpaper.


    http://www.hometalk.com/search/posts?filter=remove%20wallpaper

  • Kelly Foor Kelly Foor on Mar 18, 2017

    Mix fabric softener with warm water and spray on wallpaper with spray bottle or put in a bucket and use a sponge if it doesn't matter if the floor gets wet. Let sit for 5-10 min and peel off. I used a plastic putty knife to make it faster. Sometimes the top thicker part of the paper will come off and leave the thinner paper behind. Just spray that with more of the mixture and gently scrape off. I've used this method on several different surfaces and it's always worked great. It's easier than I'm explaining it even. works like magic!

    Use about 1 oz fabric softener to every 8 oz water. Cheap, easy, and very effective.

  • Melodie Majette Melodie Majette on Mar 20, 2017

    I have a clothes steamer that I used to remove wallpaper. Just plug it in, steam rises, pass it over the wallpaper a few times and it just melts off! Good Luck!!!

  • Dustin Dustin on Mar 24, 2017

    If the wallpaper is well-adhered to the walls (or at least mostly), it can be much less hassle to just cover it. It's a little bit of a multi-step process, but the results will be much nicer without having to replaster your walls after struggling to remove paper.


    1. If you have any paper that is peeling, however slightly, glue it down.
    2. Using a clear silicone caulk, run a thin line anywhere the wallpaper meets un-wallpapered walls, ceilings, trim, and for good measure, in the corners between walls. Use a simple tool or your finger to make sure the caulk is smooth and as unobtrusive as can be. This will basically seal down the edges of the paper, and keep them from curling.
    3. Next, examine the seams between the wallpaper sheets. You'll want to get a tube of that spackling compound, and some kind of scraper. Even if you think the gaps between the paper sheets are thin, just run some of the spackle in the gap (filling and covering it). Make sure it's smooth with your scraper (an old credit card, rewards card, or a melamine countertop sample chip all work well). Like the caulk, this will prevent the paper from curling up when it gets wet.
    4. Now, use an oil-based shellac primer and paint over the wallpaper. Your first coat should be thin... the idea is to seal down the wallpaper. Give it time to dry - 4 hours is probably good.
    5. Do a second coat of the primer. Especially if you are covering up dark wallpaper. Effectively, you're creating a new wall surface here! Let this dry, at least 4 hours, but better yet, overnight.
    6. Now, paint with your latex paint!


    Here are some before and after photos:

  • Judy Rodak Judy Rodak on Mar 24, 2017

    Thank you so much. I will definitely check out this process.