Preparation

Tape plastic drop sheet to the floor.

When removing wallpaper the first thing you should do is try to remove the paper without any water or stripper. If the paper peels off easily then continue until it’s all removed.

Spray

If the wallpaper is very difficult to remove then fill up a weed sprayer with hot water and spray the walls. This will help release the wallpaper paste from the backing paper. Before you do this, tape over any power sockets, or turn off the fuse to the room.

Start spraying at the top of the wall and work your way slowly around the room, ensuring it soaks in.

Once you have sprayed the wallpaper try to remove it. Start at a top corner and peel away slowly, using the spatula to help assist the paper removal.

If it is not coming off  very easily then you may have to spray the walls again.

In some situations there may be a backing paper glued to the wallboard under the wallpaper, so repeat the same process by wetting and pulling off.

Remove

Ensure to not gouge out the wallboard. You do not want to remove any of the surface paper of the plasterboard as this will compromise the structural integrity of the board. Using a spatula with rounded corners will help.

If you find that hot water is not doing the job then you could try using a wallpaper scour to puncture the face of the wallpaper so the hot water can penetrate though to the wall board.

In some situations you may need to use a wallpaper steamer, combined with a scour. Place the steamer on the wall for a few seconds and peel off with the spatula. Ensure not to leave the steamer on the wall for too long, as you don’t want to soften the wallboard cover paper.

Wallpaper stripper can also be used if some areas are very difficult, alternatively you can use fabric softener in a bucket of hot water.

Once all the paper has been removed, use a sponge with warm water to remove the wallpaper adhesive residue from the wall.

You can now start prepping the wallboard for whatever your desired finish.