How to remove old wallpaper from drywall. How to remove old wallpaper from drywall without extra effort

Perhaps the most popular type interior decoration apartments or houses - covering the walls with plasterboard sheets. Therefore, for many cosmetic repairs your home begins with the question: how to remove wallpaper from drywall without damaging its surface?

If you act carelessly, removing the old coating may be accompanied by deformation of the gypsum board surface, the appearance of scratches, chips and cracks, which will subsequently have the most Negative influence on the quality of gluing new sheets. The article will tell you how to remove wallpaper from drywall.

Reasons for removing old coatings

When planning a do-it-yourself apartment renovation, many are interested in the question: is it necessary to remove old wallpaper that adheres perfectly to the wall?

Pasting new wallpaper onto old ones is much faster, but after a few days after the repair is completed, the following troubles may begin to occur:

New wallpaper lies unevenly, with defects such as bubbles and other troubles;
Old layers of coating may begin to fall away along with part of the plasterboard sheet under the weight of new sheets and a layer of glue;
Under the wallpaper, especially if indoors high level humidity, microorganisms that are dangerous to human health often nest and reproduce, which have bad smell dampness and leave ugly stains on the walls and ceiling. After removing the old coating, the infected areas should be treated with antiseptic agents, but they must be safe not only for people, but also for animals.

Tip: With a high-quality old coating, which is one piece with drywall, a layer of primer should be applied to it to increase the adhesion strength of the new wallpaper. After final drying, you can begin gluing the surface.

Problems when removing the coating

Drywall is quite fragile and rough removal of wallpaper can lead to damage to the surface. Removing the coating from plastered surfaces is quite simple, but how to remove wallpaper from drywall without damaging it? The complexity of the process is associated with the features of its design.

A standard gypsum board sheet consists of a base or pressed gypsum sheet covered with cardboard on both sides. Therefore, before removing wallpaper from drywall, you should keep in mind that you will have to carefully separate two sheets of paper glued together.

A big problem is created by decorative finishing, for which moisture-resistant versions of materials were used, using polyvinyl chloride or film for their production. vinyl wallpapers. This coating has excellent performance characteristics.

These include:

Excellent moisture resistance, which allows you to wet clean walls with synthetic detergents;
PVC protective film prevents dirt from penetrating into the decorative layer;
Protection of surfaces from external physical factors.

How to tear wallpaper off drywall?

Based on the above, we can conclude that there are different ways to remove old wallpaper from drywall, which can be:

Paper;
Non-woven;
Liquid;
Washable: acrylic, vinyl, glass wallpaper.

The easiest way to remove paper coverings is to purchase tools and materials that will help prepare the walls for further repairs without damaging the drywall.

Important factors to consider when removing wallpaper are:

Duration of operation of the old coating;
Adhesive characteristics of drywall and wallpaper;
Wallpaper glue used, its quality;
Thickness and uniformity of application of the adhesive layer. Because of this, in some places the coatings can be easily removed without effort, while in others the surface will need to be impregnated with special chemicals.

It is especially difficult to remove wallpaper with your own hands that was glued to drywall two to five years ago. In this case, the coatings retain their qualities, and the glue has not yet lost its adhesive properties.

Tools and materials for work

Before stripping wallpaper from drywall, you should purchase the materials and tools presented in the table:

Name	What is it used for?
	Spatulas are selected different sizes. They are needed to pry up the edge of the covering and remove difficult to tear off fragments of poorly wetted fabric.
	A construction or stationery knife is used to cut strips, cutting through the material in some places to make the wallpaper easier to remove.
	The device is used to destroy the outer layer of wallpaper. At the bottom of it there are toothed rollers that pierce the waterproof coating on the wallpaper, preparing the material for getting wet.
	A foam roller or sponge is used to wet the surface.
	Container for ease of work
	For guard electrical outlets used masking tape, it is better to cover the floors with polyethylene.
	A steamer or steam mop is used to facilitate the removal of the coating.

Preparation for work

Before removing wallpaper from drywall, you need to prepare the room:

Disconnect the network;
Remove curtains from windows;
Remove paintings, tapestries;
If possible, remove the furniture;
Cover the floor and remaining pieces of furniture with plastic wrap;
Buy a stable, wide stepladder with a comfortable platform. This will make working under the ceiling easier and less safe.

There are several ways to quickly remove wallpaper from drywall, reducing the adhesion of wallpaper sheets and gypsum board walls:

The use of special liquids to remove wallpaper from walls;
Wetting the canvases with water and then removing them;
Perforating the surface of the sheets, and then wetting and removing them.

The method of removing wallpaper from drywall depends on the coating material.

Paper wallpaper on plasterboard is not the best option when removing them. Especially if the canvases were glued to drywall, which was not previously coated with putty or PVA glue was used to secure it to the wall.

Cardboard surface of gypsum board and paper base The wallpaper can become so stuck together that it is impossible to separate them.

Advice: To save putty, only non-woven wallpaper should be glued to the gypsum board.

The only option when using paper sheets is to use the steaming method, as in the photo. In this case, it is better to purchase a special wallpaper steamer that performs two functions simultaneously: moisturizes and warms the wall surface.

If there is no such device, you can use:

Iron with steam function;
A hairdryer, setting it to supply the hottest air, combined with irrigation of the surface from a spray bottle;
Steam mop.

The devices allow moisture to penetrate evenly into the structure of the existing coating, moisturizes old dried adhesive composition without causing damage to the underlying base. If steaming does not give the desired result, there is only one way out of this situation - to re-prime the old wallpaper and stick new ones on top.

Removing vinyl wallpaper

This is the simplest case. Removing vinyl wallpaper is not difficult. They are removed as a single, solid piece.

Process instructions:

Carefully and very intensively, scratches are applied to the wall using a needle roller or wallpaper tiger. Appearance large quantity through holes opens the way for water to inside canvases coated with glue; composition.
After covering all surfaces with through holes, they are moistened with a roller or sponge with water. This can be ordinary water or a solvent remover, but when using a special remover, the cost of repair increases;
After a short period of time, the liquid begins to penetrate through the formed holes to the layer of adhesive composition and softens it;
After about 15 - 20 minutes, the wallpaper will come away from the gypsum board on its own or with a little help from you;
The areas that remain firmly held after treatment with liquid should be treated again with a needle roller and moistened with liquid.

Tip: To make it easier to remove the old coating from drywall, wallpaper should be glued to the plaster.

How to remove non-woven wallpaper from drywall? The process of removing such canvases, liquid or washable wallpaper is similar to the process of stripping vinyl coverings. After making holes or making scratches, the wallpaper is thoroughly moistened with a special liquid or water, left for about 30 minutes and peeled off. In this case, liquid wallpaper is easiest to remove.

How to remove wallpaper from drywall - which method to use and what means, everyone decides for himself. And to better learn about all the problems that arise during the work, you should watch the video in this article.

Renovating is fun! If only because the tenth time you run a roller across the ceiling in the hope of achieving perfect evenness, you are no longer able to say the most terrible words - you can only laugh.

Especially the most unbridled laughter comes when it turns out that you don’t know how to remove wallpaper from drywall. After all, if you “tear” it with force, the drywall falls off in pieces along with the old strips of wallpaper.

Get wet? Will the plaster exposed to moisture deteriorate? We think about this even when we are going.

So, it's time to ask the experts,

How to remove wallpaper from drywall?

Construction and renovation specialists offer us four (!) methods for this simple task.

option 1

Buy special solutions (removers) for wallpaper. And your problems will be left behind and you can continue repairing happily!

option 2

Pay attention to whether this is non-woven wallpaper. If the answer is yes, then you are incredibly lucky - when you rip them off the walls, the top layer is easily removed, and a thin film remains on the drywall - forever.

option 3

option 4

Pick up a spray bottle or damp cloth. You already understand what to do - once the old wallpaper gets wet, it should come off the drywall. “Should” is the point. How will your wallpaper behave with you?

People often ask me how to remove wallpaper from drywall without damaging it. In fact, if everyone listened to competent advice and puttyed the surface completely, then this problem would not arise at all. But many listen to the recommendations of would-be craftsmen and only putty the seams; as a result, when the time comes to change the wallpaper, problems arise that negate all the savings on finishing.

In our article we will look at how to deal with the consequences of a short-sighted decision to glue wallpaper to drywall and keep the surface intact when removing the old coating.

In the photo: in order not to worry about removing wallpaper and not ruining drywall, you need to know a few little tricks

I will tell you only about those methods that I tried myself, maybe if you know others effective solutions– tell readers in the comments. Each option is good for a certain situation and for certain type wallpaper, so I advise you to first read the entire review and only then make a decision, and not read a little and immediately run to try this or that method.

But first of all, I want to advise you to remove the wallpaper without additional operations. Sometimes the adhesive composition does not hold them very tightly, and the work can be completed with little sacrifice, although such luck does not happen often.

Sometimes wallpaper comes off easily and without additional operations

Method No. 1 - soaking the surface

This is the simplest option that is suitable for ordinary paper wallpaper. To work we need the following:

Capacity with warm water and a sponge for applying it;
A spatula, or better yet two different widths To separate wallpaper, you should not use a scraper, as it can damage the drywall coating.

As practice shows, it is best to remove wallpaper from drywall with a spatula.

Now let's figure out how to remove wallpaper from drywall:

First you need to wet the surface with warm water and sponges. It is important here not to overdo it and not to wet the base too much, so as not to damage it. protective layer drywall To do this, you need to move the sponge from top to bottom in order, so you will moisten the material and remove excess water from the surface, preventing it from becoming waterlogged;

The amount of water should not be excessive

Next, you need to wait 5-10 minutes and you can start removing the coating. Paper wallpaper comes off in pieces, so you will have to spend a lot of time tearing off small pieces of material with a spatula;

Paper wallpaper lags very, very poorly

If at one time the material is not soaked or separate areas There are pieces of wallpaper left, then the treatment needs to be repeated. Do not moisten the entire wall at once; it is much wiser to moisten the surface in parts as you remove the old wallpaper.

If you have vinyl wallpaper, then soaking it will be much worse; in order to thoroughly moisten the material and the adhesive composition underneath, you will have to slightly modify the technology:

To prevent moisture from draining from the surface and penetrate it better, you need to add wallpaper glue to the water (about a third to a quarter of the norm).

That is, you need to prepare the composition for soaking in advance, this will significantly simplify and speed up the work; The composition must be liquid for good penetration

into the material
Application is carried out in the same way as in the option above, but due to the dense structure, processing 2 or even three times may be necessary. It all depends on the quality of the wallpaper; the denser it is, the longer it will take to get wet. It is worth moistening the wallpaper in rows, moisten each sheet from top to bottom, this is important; Next you just need to make a cut construction knife at the point where the coating adjoins ceiling plinth and carefully pry the edge of the wallpaper sheet with a spatula. Vinyl wallpaper is very solid foundation

, so they are separated as a single piece, you just need to pull the sheet, and it will separate from the wall in one piece - much easier and faster than the paper version;

Vinyl wallpaper comes off very easily, the main thing is that it is well saturated with moisture

If, after removing the main part, pieces of the wallpaper base remain on the drywall, then you need to moisten those places and finish the work using a spatula.

Method No. 2 - water and mechanical treatment

This option is suitable for non-woven wallpaper and washable coverings; these options absorb moisture very poorly, so you are unlikely to cope without prior preparation. Vinyl options can be removed in the same way; although they get wet better, if you work using this technology, the process will speed up.

Before removing wallpaper from drywall, we will need to gather the following set of materials and tools. unusual instrument which is called wallpaper tiger

What do you need	Description
Wallpaper tiger	This is the name of a special device, in the lower part of which there are toothed rollers, which, when moving, pierce the moisture-proof coating of the wallpaper, thereby preparing the surface for moisture. The configuration of the tool may differ, it is important that it is a wallpaper tiger and not a toothed roller or something else
Sponge or roller	You can soak the surface with either a sponge or a roller. Take what you have on hand, or purchase the option that is more convenient to work in your case. Naturally, you should also have a convenient container with warm, clean water on hand.
Spatula and construction knife	Using a spatula, we will pry up the edges of the sheets, remove individual remaining sections and help the coating separate where it is poorly wet. A knife is necessary for making cuts in the wallpaper in separate places to simplify their separation from the drywall

Do not use toothed rollers, knives or other devices to cut through wallpaper. You can damage not only the coating, but also the base of the drywall and ruin all the walls. In our case, we need a wallpaper tiger that carefully breaks through the top layer.

A wallpaper knife will allow you to cut the coating in the right places to make it easier to remove.

The work instructions consist of the following steps:

As you can see, the workflow diagram is not complicated

First of all, you need to treat the surface with a wallpaper tiger; to do this, take the tool and move it in a chaotic manner over the entire surface. Do not press the device too hard to avoid damaging the surface. The more times you walk over the wallpaper, the faster it will get wet, so try to ensure that the entire surface is treated evenly;

The wallpaper tiger penetrates the moisture-proof coating, helping moisture penetrate the adhesive layer

Treatment with water is carried out in the same way as in the case described above; you need to carefully, but without excess, distribute the moisture using a roller or sponge. If the glue does not soften at one time, then you need to repeat it one or two more times - until the coating begins to move away from the wall. There is no need to rush, it is better to process the wallpaper again and then remove it easily and efficiently;

Moisture should thoroughly saturate the base of the wallpaper

When the base is wet, you can start removing the wallpaper; personally, for me, they almost fell off the wall, as soon as you cut it from the top or bottom and pull it towards you. When you pull, do not be too zealous; if the canvas is holding somewhere, you can help yourself with a spatula or wet certain areas again;

Thick wallpaper is separated in whole sheets

If there are pieces of wallpaper left in certain areas, they must be carefully moistened and removed after 10-15 minutes using a spatula. It is important to work carefully here so as not to damage the paper coating of the plasterboard sheets.

If you have non-woven wallpaper, then only the top layer will be separated from it, and the base will remain on the wall. There is no need to remove it - this is an excellent basis, both for new wallpaper and for applying putty.

When removing non-woven wallpaper, its base remains on the wall

Method No. 3 - using special tools

Water cannot always moisten the adhesive layer under wet wallpaper, so you can use special remedy for removing wallpaper, in our case it will be “Methylane”, the price of a 500 ml bottle costs about 300 rubles and is enough for about 200 square meters coverings. Compositions of this type allow you to carefully and accurately remove the coating from drywall without damaging the finishing material itself.

Special tools greatly simplify the process

Let's figure out how to remove old wallpaper from drywall using the compositions described above. The technology combines all the options described above:

To begin with, it is advisable to walk over the surface with a wallpaper tiger, this will simplify the penetration of the composition and speed up its action;
Next you need to prepare the product, all proportions are indicated in the instructions on the package. You should not add too much so as not to damage the surface. You must work with gloves and prevent the composition from getting into your eyes and mucous membranes;
The surface is treated with the finished product and left for 15-20 minutes, this is exactly how long the composition needs to soften the adhesive layer;
Lastly, using a knife, spatula and hands, the coating is removed from the surface, and most often the wallpaper comes off in whole sheets.

Vinyl wallpaper can be removed much better than paper wallpaper after treatment with the composition.

Don't listen to the smart guys who say that soaking will damage the drywall and it's better to just tear the wallpaper off the walls. If the glue holds well, and on such walls it most often does, then you will not only tear off the protective layer from the sheets, but you can also damage the putty on the seams. Below is the result of the work without preparation, so that you can see with your own eyes what the advice of pseudo-experts leads to.

This is what happens if you just try to peel wallpaper off drywall

Method number 4 - using a wallpaper steamer

When removing old coatings, professional specialists use special tool, which is called a steamer and is equipment powered by household electrical network and consisting of a steam generator and a special working part connected to the main unit through a hose. It’s not worth buying such a device specifically because of its considerable cost, but in many cities you can rent it.

This is what it looks like professional tool for removing all types of wallpaper

As for the work process, you can do it yourself, but bring gloves and safety glasses for the job. Still, hot steam is used, and the risk of getting burned is still present.

Instructions for using the steamer look like this:

First you need to prepare the room: move away from the walls everything that could create interference and provide free access to all surfaces. If the outlet is far away, then it is better to stock up on an extension cord so that you can move freely and not switch equipment to different points;
The work process begins with steaming small area surface, you just need to move the working part over the coating for literally 10 seconds, after which you need to pry off the edge of the canvas with a spatula and continue working;
Then you can steam the surface with one hand, and with the other carefully remove the wallpaper from the wall, everything is quite simple and fast, in just a couple of minutes you will understand the essence of the process and will carry out the work quickly and efficiently.

The steamer does a great job even on thick wallpaper.

Don't worry - the steam won't damage the drywall and the coating will come off easily and quickly. This method is the most convenient in my opinion, so if possible, use it. Some people use a regular steamer or even an iron for the job, but you need to pay attention to safety.

Conclusion

We figured out how to remove wallpaper from drywall different ways, you need to choose the one that will do the job best. The video in this article will tell you in more detail about some aspects of the work described above, and if you still have questions, write them in the comments below, we will sort them out and find optimal solution Problems.

If you want to express gratitude, add a clarification or objection, or ask the author something - add a comment or say thank you!

Covering walls with plasterboard sheets today is perhaps the most popular type of interior decoration of a home.

A wide range of gypsum boards allows them to be used for any premises, creating a wide variety of decorative and technical designs from them.

GKL sheets can be painted, plastered, puttied and wallpapered. The gypsum board surface provides excellent adhesion to any composition, including wallpaper glues, therefore, during repairs, the question very often arises: “how to remove wallpaper from drywall without damaging the gypsum board.”

Origins of the problem

The plasterboard sheet is quite fragile and rough removal of the wallpaper can damage the surface.

Unlike the procedure for removing wallpaper from plastered surfaces, removing it from plasterboard sheets is quite difficult. It's all about the peculiarities of their structures.

A standard gypsum board sheet has the following design: its base is a pressed sheet of gypsum, which is covered with cardboard on both sides, so when removing wallpaper from walls covered with gypsum board, you will have to, in fact, try to carefully separate two glued sheets of paper.

The problem may worsen if decorative finishing At one time, moisture-resistant versions of wallpaper were used, made using polyvinyl chloride film - the so-called vinyl wallpaper.

Such wallpapers have excellent performance qualities. First of all, it has excellent moisture resistance. This property allows for wet cleaning of walls using synthetic detergents.

Also protective film made of PVC prevents the penetration of contaminants into the decorative layer and protects it from external physical influences, but when dismantling moisture-resistant vinyl or non-woven materials, you may encounter big problems– removing them from a plasterboard wall can be far from easy.

If the old wallpaper does not come off the walls, you can paste new wallpaper on the old base

Removing wallpaper from drywall can also be difficult for the reason that often, to strengthen the wallpaper composition, PVA construction adhesive is added to it, or the canvases are completely glued to PVA.

Most often, this method is used when gluing dense multi-layer wallpaper.

Thick multi-layer wallpaper does not peel off easily

After this, it can be almost impossible to tear off the canvas from the gypsum board without damaging the cardboard surface of the sheet.

That is why many finishing craftsmen in this case advise ignoring all the recommendations of building regulations and gluing new wallpaper onto the old ones.

The only condition for this is that old layer firmly adhered to the plasterboard sheet, forming almost a single whole with its cardboard covering. Otherwise, you cannot glue new canvases onto old ones. This can result in a waste of effort, time and materials.

If this option does not suit you, then before removing the wallpaper from the drywall, you will need to make appropriate preparations.

Methods for removing wallpaper from walls

There are several ways to reduce the adhesion of wallpaper and gypsum plasterboard walls.

wetting the wallpaper with water and then removing the loose sheets;
use of special liquid formulations for removing wallpaper from walls;
perforation of the surface of the canvases followed by wetting and removal.

Wetting with water

The cloth moistened with water is left for 10 - 15 minutes.

This method is the most common: before removing old wallpaper from drywall, its surface is thoroughly moistened with water using a sponge.

After this, the wallpaper is left for 10 - 15 minutes so that it is properly saturated with moisture.

After this time, the wallpaper should move away from the base of the wall quite easily.

Wetting with water is used before removing wallpaper that does not have a PVC waterproofing layer.

When using this method, it must be taken into account that gypsum does not tolerate excessive dampness very well. If, when removing wallpaper from brick and concrete wall If you don’t need to worry too much about waterlogging the base, then when working with gypsum you need to take precautions.

Otherwise, the sheets may swell and become deformed, and then all attempts to “carefully” remove the wallpaper will be useless. The wallpaper can be thrown away along with the plasterboard base and the wall can be re-covered.

The ease of peeling of the canvases is also affected by whether they were glued to putty sheets or directly to the top cardboard layer. In the first case, water can easily soften the wallpaper glue to such a state that its adhesion to the wall weakens to a minimum, especially if water-soluble compounds were used for puttying.

It is more convenient to peel off wallpaper applied to a plastered surface.

When gluing wallpaper directly onto a cardboard surface, problems may arise - to separate the canvases and plasterboard, an amount of water will be required that is unacceptably large for a gypsum base.

In this case, it is best to use the second method - wetting the wallpaper with a special liquid.

To speed up the dissolution process of wallpaper glue, it is recommended to use warm water.

Wallpaper remover

The product dilutes the starch base of the glue

This composition was developed specifically to facilitate the removal of wallpaper from the wall. When creating a liquid for removing wallpaper (also called “removal”), a special organic solvent, liquefying the base of wallpaper adhesives.

The main binding component of the wallpaper adhesive composition is starch, modified in laboratory conditions, therefore, in order for the glue to lose its properties, it is enough to simply liquefy this starch base, which is what wallpaper removers do very well. 10 minutes after its application, the canvas can be easily removed using a spatula.

Among the advantages of this method, it should be noted that a small amount of the product is quite sufficient for effective peeling of the fabric. This makes using wallpaper remover liquid excellent option in relation to plasterboard walls.

The disadvantage of this technology is the same as the previous one - it cannot be applied to wallpaper with a moisture-resistant, “washable” coating. Also, when working with such solvents, it should be taken into account that they can be toxic if they come into contact with mucous membranes and skin, so when working with them you must use by individual means protection, especially with safety glasses and gloves.

Perforating canvases

Waterproof material is more difficult to remove

Moisture-proof varieties of wallpaper are multi-layered canvases covered with a thin layer of paper. polymer film from PVC. Such wallpapers are called “vinyl”, although they can be based on non-woven fabric, paper, acrylic, etc.

In addition, other types of wallpaper painted with oil-based or waterproof polymer paints may also be waterproof. The peculiarity of such models is that they absolutely do not allow moisture to pass through. In one case this is a definite advantage, but in relation to our version it will be a clear disadvantage.

To clean a gypsum board wall from “washable” wallpaper, you should use another technology - perforation. The perforation technique involves violating the integrity of the water-repellent layer of waterproof wallpaper.

For this purpose, a special tool is used - needle rollers and wallpaper tigers. At first glance, the needle roller strongly resembles its plastering and painting counterpart. However, instead of the usual woolen or foam “coat”, he is wearing a roller with long and sharp needles.

A needle roller can tear the old coating to shreds

By rolling the surface of the canvas with such a roller, you leave many through holes on it. This opens a path for water or “wash” to the inside of the canvas, lubricated with an adhesive composition.

Wallpaper tiger - a tool specially designed for perforation various surfaces, first of all, wallpaper. It is a body with a handle and three or four wheels equipped with sharp needles. With its help, you can literally tear an entire wall covered with wallpaper to shreds in a matter of minutes.

You should use the wallpaper tiger on a plasterboard wall carefully so as not to tear the cardboard layer of the gypsum board sheet - in this case, you will open the way for water or solvent directly to its gypsum base.

After the entire surface of the wallpaper is covered with through holes, they are moistened with a roller or sponge with water. In this case, you can use either ordinary water or a solvent remover.

Later a short time the liquid will penetrate through the punctured holes to the glue layer and begin to soften it. After 15 - 20 minutes, the wallpaper will either move away from the plasterboard base on its own, or with a little help from you. For an example of working with a needle roller, see this video:

If after treatment with liquid there are still areas that are firmly attached, they should be perforated again and treated with liquid.

other methods

Steamed wallpaper comes off in one piece

In addition to these three main methods of removing wallpaper from plasterboard walls, there are several more “home” methods.

Thus, it was noticed that non-woven wallpaper covered with a protective vinyl film, delaminate quite easily.

It is enough to peel off a corner of the canvas with your fingernail and pull the top PVC film so that it slides off the non-woven base.

For more information on how to remove non-woven wallpaper for painting, watch this video:

After this, you can treat the wallpaper backing with solvent or water so that it moves away from the wall.

Steam cleaners, which are usually used for cleaning clothes - removing various contaminants from them by steaming, have also proven themselves to be good at removing wallpaper. With its help, they pass the entire area of the wall, removing the “steamed” sheets using a spatula.

So, where the wallpaper is held especially firmly, you can carry out enhanced steam treatment, but, again, we should not forget that under the wallpaper we have not at all concrete monolith And brickwork, but a material quite vulnerable to steam.

Wallpapering is one of the possible options decorating the room. Its advantages lie not only in cost-effectiveness and variety graphic solutions, but also the opportunity to do all the work yourself. However, creating a high-quality coating is impossible without removing old decoration. In such conditions, the question arises of how to remove wallpaper from drywall. The answer to this depends on the type of coating and the conditions of its initial gluing.

Return to contents

Removing old wallpaper: the purpose of the process and its varieties

Before applying new wallpaper, it is customary to remove the old coating. Such an action is more a necessity than a whim. The presence of outdated coating has a bad effect on quality new finishes. Often cracks or blisters in the plaster are hidden under old wallpaper. As a result, the updated coating will not have the proper appearance and will be a waste of money.

When working with plasterboard structures, such difficulties are extremely rare - only at seams and transitions. However, they can also occur. In addition, the outdated finish (especially if it was too colorful or dark) will be almost 100% visible through the new wallpaper. Therefore, before gluing a new decorative material the old coating is completely removed, and the plasterboard surface is re-prepared and covered with putty.

Removing them is not as easy as it might seem at first glance. Especially if the drywall was without putty or its gluing was carried out in violation of the technology. However, even in the most difficult cases, it is possible to clean the ceiling or walls. There are 4 ways to deal with tightly glued wallpaper:

soaking the surface;
use of special means;
using a steamer;
tiger wallpaper treatment.

How to remove old wallpaper from drywall? The above options are the most effective among the variety of methods for removing coatings from plasterboard sheet(GKL). Their use allows you to achieve positive results in as soon as possible.

In this case, it is extremely important not to damage the outer paper layer of the sheet during the work, since violation of its integrity will inevitably affect the load-bearing qualities of the entire plane. Return to contents

Soaking a drywall surface: tools and step-by-step instructions

How to remove wallpaper from drywall? The simplest and most effective method for removing outdated finishes is soaking. It is produced using ordinary water, which is evenly distributed over the entire surface of the wall. When saturated with moisture, the wallpaper glue gradually dissolves, which allows you to freely remove the wallpaper strip by strip. In this case, you should not wet the surface too much, since the top layer of cardboard covering the plasterboard base can also become wet and deformed.

Wetting the wallpaper

To carry out work on soaking the coating, you must prepare in advance:

bucket or bath for water;
sprayer or roller;
brush;
putty knife.

These four tools are more than enough to fully soak the surface. The surface cleaning itself is carried out using the following technology:

Water is poured into the bath or filled into a sprayer.
Using a roller or spray, the liquid is applied to the entire surface of the strip.
The corners and top points of the strip are carefully worked out;
The treated surface is kept for 10–15 minutes, during which the coating should be completely wet.
To increase the effect, the liquid application procedure must be repeated 2-3 times.
Soaked wallpaper can be removed by hand, especially difficult places cleaned off with a spatula.

How to remove vinyl wallpaper from drywall? A similar sequence of actions is followed for any type of coating. Soaking especially makes it easy to clean up paper wallpaper. It shows good results in relation to vinyl or non-woven covering.

Removing wet wallpaper with a spatula

Due to their special structure, when wet, such materials separate into 2–3 layers. As a result top part It is easily separated from the wall, and the lower one, consisting of a thin film, remains on the surface. You don’t have to remove it and immediately proceed to preparing the surface for applying new decor.

October 9, 2016
Specialization: master in construction plasterboard structures, finishing works and styling floor coverings. Installation of door and window units, finishing of facades, installation of electrical, plumbing and heating - I can give detailed advice on all types of work.

In our article we will look at how to deal with the consequences of a short-sighted decision to glue wallpaper to drywall and keep the surface intact when removing the old coating.

Workflow Options

I will tell you only about those methods that I have tried myself, maybe if you know other effective solutions, tell the readers in the comments. Each of the options is good for a certain situation and for a certain type of wallpaper, so I advise you to first read the entire review and only then make a decision, and not read a little and immediately run to try this or that method.

Method No. 1 - soaking the surface

This is the simplest option that is suitable for ordinary paper wallpaper. To work we need the following:

A container with warm water and a sponge for applying it;
You should not use a spatula, or preferably two of different widths, to separate the wallpaper; you should not use a scraper, as it can damage the drywall coating.

Now let's figure out how to remove wallpaper from drywall:

First you need to wet the surface with warm water and a sponge. Here it is important not to overdo it and not to wet the base too much, so as not to damage the protective layer of drywall. To do this, you need to move the sponge from top to bottom in order, so you will moisten the material and remove excess water from the surface, preventing it from becoming waterlogged;

Next, you need to wait 5-10 minutes and you can start removing the coating. Paper wallpaper comes off in pieces, so you will have to spend a lot of time tearing off small pieces of material with a spatula;

If the material is not soaked at one time or pieces of wallpaper remain in certain areas, then the treatment must be repeated. Do not moisten the entire wall at once; it is much wiser to moisten the surface in parts as you remove the old wallpaper.

If you have vinyl wallpaper, then soaking it will be much worse; in order to thoroughly moisten the material and the adhesive composition underneath, you will have to slightly modify the technology:

To prevent moisture from draining from the surface and penetrate it better, you need to add wallpaper glue to the water (about a third to a quarter of the norm).

into the material
Next, you just need to make a construction cut at the junction of the covering and the ceiling plinth and carefully pry off the edge of the wallpaper sheet with a spatula. Vinyl wallpaper has a very reliable base, so it comes off as a single piece; you just need to pull the sheet and it will come off the wall in one piece - much easier and faster than the paper version;

Vinyl wallpaper comes off very easily, the main thing is that it is well saturated with moisture

If, after removing the main part, pieces of the wallpaper base remain on the drywall, then you need to moisten those places and finish the work using a spatula.

Method No. 2 - water and mechanical treatment

What do you need	Description
Wallpaper tiger	This is the name of a special device, in the lower part of which there are toothed rollers, which, when moving, pierce the moisture-proof coating of the wallpaper, thereby preparing the surface for moisture. The configuration of the tool may differ, it is important that it is a wallpaper tiger and not a toothed roller or something else
Sponge or roller	You can soak the surface with either a sponge or a roller. Take what you have on hand, or purchase the option that is more convenient to work in your case. Naturally, you should also have a convenient container with warm, clean water on hand.
Spatula and construction knife	Using a spatula, we will pry up the edges of the sheets, remove individual remaining sections and help the coating separate where it is poorly wet. A knife is necessary for making cuts in the wallpaper in separate places to simplify their separation from the drywall

Do not use toothed rollers, knives or other devices to cut through wallpaper. You can damage not only the coating, but also the base of the drywall and ruin all the walls. In our case, we need a wallpaper tiger that carefully breaks through the top layer.

The work instructions consist of the following steps:

First of all, you need to treat the surface with a wallpaper tiger; to do this, take the tool and move it in a chaotic manner over the entire surface. Do not press the device too hard to avoid damaging the surface. The more times you walk over the wallpaper, the faster it will get wet, so try to ensure that the entire surface is treated evenly;

Treatment with water is carried out in the same way as in the case described above; you need to carefully, but without excess, distribute the moisture using a sponge. If the glue does not soften at one time, then you need to repeat it one or two more times - until the coating begins to move away from the wall. There is no need to rush, it is better to process the wallpaper again and then remove it easily and efficiently;

When the base is wet, you can start removing the wallpaper; personally, for me, they almost fell off the wall, as soon as you cut it from the top or bottom and pull it towards you. When you pull, do not be too zealous; if the canvas is holding somewhere, you can help yourself with a spatula or wet certain areas again;

If there are pieces of wallpaper left in certain areas, they must be carefully moistened and removed after 10-15 minutes using a spatula. It is important to work carefully here so as not to damage the paper coating of the plasterboard sheets.

If you have non-woven wallpaper, then only the top layer will be separated from it, and the base will remain on the wall. There is no need to remove it - this is an excellent basis, both for new wallpaper and for applying putty.

Method No. 3 - using special tools

Water cannot always moisten the adhesive layer under wet wallpaper, so you can use a special wallpaper remover to help you, in our case it will be “Methylane”, the price of a 500 ml bottle costs about 300 rubles and is enough for about 200 square meters of coverage . Compositions of this type allow you to carefully and accurately remove the coating from drywall without damaging the finishing material itself.

Let's figure out how to remove old wallpaper from drywall using the compositions described above. The technology combines all the options described above:

To begin with, it is advisable to walk over the surface with a wallpaper tiger, this will simplify the penetration of the composition and speed up its action;
Next you need to prepare the product, all proportions are indicated in the instructions on the package. You should not add too much so as not to damage the surface. You must work with gloves and prevent the composition from getting into your eyes and mucous membranes;
The surface is treated with the finished product and left for 15-20 minutes, this is exactly how long the composition needs to soften the adhesive layer;
Lastly, using a knife, spatula and hands, the coating is removed from the surface, and most often the wallpaper comes off in whole sheets.

Method number 4 - using a wallpaper steamer

When removing old coatings, professional specialists use a special tool called a steamer, which is equipment powered by a household electrical network and consisting of a steam generator and a special working part connected to the main unit through a hose. It’s not worth buying such a device specifically because of its considerable cost, but in many cities you can rent it.

As for the work process, you can do it yourself, but bring gloves and safety glasses for the job. Still, hot steam is used, and the risk of getting burned is still present.

Instructions for using the steamer look like this:

First you need to prepare the room: move away from the walls everything that could create interference and provide free access to all surfaces. If the outlet is far away, then it is better to stock up on an extension cord so that you can move freely and not switch equipment to different points;
The work process begins with steaming a small area of the surface, you just need to move the working part over the coating for literally 10 seconds, after which you need to pry the edge of the canvas with a spatula and continue working;
Then you can steam the surface with one hand, and with the other carefully remove the wallpaper from the wall, everything is quite simple and fast, in just a couple of minutes you will understand the essence of the process and will carry out the work quickly and efficiently.

Conclusion

We figured out how to remove wallpaper from drywall in different ways, you need to choose the one that will do the job best. The video in this article will tell you in more detail about some aspects of the work described above, and if you still have questions, write them in the comments below, we will sort them out and find the optimal solution to the problem.

It is one of the possible options for decorating a room. Its advantages lie not only in the cost-effectiveness and variety of graphic solutions, but also in the ability to do all the work yourself. However, creating a high-quality coating is impossible without removing the old finish. In such conditions, the question arises of how to remove wallpaper from drywall. The answer to this depends on the type of coating and the conditions of its initial gluing.

soaking the surface;
use of special means;
using a steamer;
tiger wallpaper treatment.

How to remove old wallpaper from drywall? The above options are the most effective among the variety of methods for removing coating from plasterboard sheet (GCR). Their use allows you to achieve positive results in the shortest possible time.

Soaking a drywall surface: tools and step-by-step instructions

How to remove wallpaper from drywall? The simplest and most effective method for removing outdated finishes is soaking. It is produced using ordinary water, which is evenly distributed over the entire surface of the wall. When saturated with moisture, it gradually dissolves, which allows you to freely remove the wallpaper strip by strip. In this case, you should not wet the surface too much, since the top layer of cardboard covering the plasterboard base can also become wet and deformed.

Three ways to remove outdated wallpaper from drywall and their characteristics

If the technology for initially gluing wallpaper is followed, it should be easily and quickly removed from the wall or ceiling. In turn, a coating glued directly onto a paper base without putty comes off very poorly.

Moreover, the use of strong adhesives makes the process of removing them extremely painful. In such conditions, it is very important not to damage the main paper layer covering the plaster.

How to remove wallpaper from drywall without damaging its base? The use of such techniques is the best option when working with drywall. Moreover, each of them is guaranteed to bring good results. The most effective is a steamer, which allows you to clean the surface of any type of coating. The simplest is to use wallpaper tiger and ordinary water, but you must work with it extremely carefully.

Conclusion

Before gluing new wallpaper onto drywall, the old coating should be completely removed. Can water be used to remove it? The paper base of plasterboard is very difficult to wet through. Moderate exposure to moisture is absolutely harmless to the material.

Therefore, to remove old wallpaper, 4 main methods are used, based on dissolving the adhesive. Each of them has its own characteristics and scope of application. The most effective is steaming, which makes it possible to remove any type of old coating, such as liquid, vinyl, paper, washable and non-woven wallpaper.

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