How to remove wallpaper without damaging the plaster

What you need

• Wide scraper 10-15 cm and a paint scraper
• Scoring tool or spiked scraper
• Spray bottle or large sponge
• Wallpaper steamer (hire from Leroy Merlin or Bricodepot, optional)
• Bucket, cloths and gloves
• Sander or sanding block with 120 grit
• Stepladder and an FFP2 mask
• Lukewarm water with a few drops of washing-up liquid, or liquid wallpaper stripper
• Plastic sheeting and cardboard for the floor
• Masking tape (Tesa 4334 or similar)
• Smoothing filler for repairing plaster
• Water-based sealer (Bruguer, Montó or Titan)

Step by step

1. 1

   Switch off the power and protect

   Turn off the room's circuit at the consumer unit. Cover sockets and switches with masking tape and the floor with plastic and cardboard, which will get soaked with water and paste. Put on gloves and goggles.

2. 2

   Test the type of paper

   In a corner, lift the paper with the scraper and pull gently. If it comes off whole and dry, it is non-woven: pull off everything in long strips. If not, go on with the water or steam method.

3. 3

   Score the paper

   Run the scoring tool in gentle circles over the whole drop. The holes let the water through to the paste. Do not press too hard: you must not mark the plaster.

4. 4

   Wet it in sections

   With the spray bottle or sponge, soak a 1 m² area with lukewarm soapy water and wait 10-15 minutes. If you use a steamer, hold the plate against each area for 20-30 seconds.

5. 5

   Scrape at a shallow angle

   With the wide scraper almost parallel to the wall, lift the paper from the bottom up. If it resists, wet it again and wait. If it starts pulling off plaster, stop and give it more time.

6. 6

   Remove the paper backing

   With vinyl papers, once the vinyl layer is off, the paper backing stays stuck. Soak it in the same way and scrape until the wall is clean.

7. 7

   Wash off the paste

   With a sponge and lukewarm water, rub the wall until nothing feels tacky. Change the water often. Dry paste stains new paint.

8. 8

   Leave it to dry for 24 hours

   Ventilate with the windows open, without a heater. The wall must be dry to the touch with no dark stains. If you see mould, stop and treat it first.

9. 9

   Repair and sand

   Fill holes and scratches with smoothing filler and leave it for 1 to 3 hours depending on thickness. Sand with 120 grit, wearing your mask, and vacuum up the dust.

10. 10

    Apply sealer

    Roll on one coat of water-based sealer and leave it for 4 to 6 hours. The wall is then ready to paint or to paper again.

What paper you have and which method to use

How you remove wallpaper depends on its backing. Do a test in a corner or near a socket: lift a corner with a fingernail or the scraper and pull slowly.

If the paper comes off whole and clean, it is non-woven (TNT): it comes off dry, in long strips, without water. If it comes off in two layers, the vinyl is separating from its paper backing, which stays on the wall and has to be wetted. If it tears into small pieces, it is traditional paper with a lot of paste, which needs water and patience.

Three methods: dry, with water or with steam

Dry works for non-woven. Lift a corner with a scraper, pull the drop downwards at a low angle, almost parallel to the wall, and let it come off whole. If it will not give, do not force it: change method.

With water is the most common. Score the paper with a scoring tool or spiked scraper, without pressing too hard so you do not mark the plaster, and spray on lukewarm water with a drop of washing-up liquid or a wallpaper stripper. Leave it to soak for 10-15 minutes and scrape with a wide scraper. Work in areas of 1 m² so it does not dry out.

With steam is the option for vinyl papers, painted-over papers or those with many layers. A wallpaper steamer can be hired at Leroy Merlin or Bricodepot for about €25-40 a day. You hold the plate against the wall for 20-30 seconds and the paper practically falls off. Use gloves: steam burns.

• Switch off the power to the room at the consumer unit (fuse box) before wetting near sockets and switches, and cover them with tape.
• Always start in an inconspicuous spot, to check the method does not damage the plaster.
• If the plaster is old or loose, use less water and more time.

Common mistakes when removing wallpaper

These are the slips that leave the wall in a worse state than it was in:

• Scraping hard when dry. It tears off layers of plaster and leaves holes and lumps that then need filling.
• Soaking the wall. The plaster absorbs water, goes soft and comes away. Wet only what you need, section by section.
• Leaving paste residue. If you paint over it, the paste stains and the paint does not grip. Wash with water and a sponge until nothing feels tacky.
• Painting before it is dry. The wall must be dry for 24-48 hours before you sand and paint.
• Not checking for damp. If there are black stains under the paper or the wall is cold and damp, it is mould or water ingress. See how to remove mould from a wall before going on.
• Forgetting the consumer unit. Water in live sockets can cause a short circuit or an electric shock. Switch off the power and protect them.

When to call a professional

Removing wallpaper is slow work, many hours rather than hard. It is worth calling us if there are several rooms, high ceilings, paper with several layers or painted over, walls with plaster in poor condition that then need smoothing, or if you want the wall ready to paint or to paper again.

Our painters service strips wallpaper and leaves the wall ready. There is no fixed rate per m² because it depends on the layers and the condition of the plaster. We quote by the hour: €35-45 for the first hour and €28-35 per hour after that. Afterwards, painting walls in white costs €6-8/m², and a 12 m² room comes to €180-300. You will find all the figures in how much it costs to paint a flat. If you would rather we only strip the paper and you paint it afterwards, we do that too. We arrive in 20-45 minutes in Valencia, Alicante, Torrevieja and Benidorm, with a 6-month written guarantee.

Damp, salt air and old paint: precautions on the coast

On the coast, wallpaper acts as a barrier and traps moisture. It is common to find black stains, white salts and soft plaster behind the paper on the seafront, on ground floors and on north-facing walls. If you see mould, treat it before painting or papering again. And if the plaster is crumbling, it has to be repaired with filler or repair mortar before you carry on; how to fill holes in a wall gives you the method.

One more precaution: in buildings from before 1980, the old layers of paint under the paper may contain lead. Do not sand dry or without an FFP2 mask: dampen, scrape carefully, collect the debris with a damp cloth and do not use a sander without dust extraction. If there are children or pregnant women at home, ventilate and keep them out of the room until it has been cleaned. Once the wall is ready, how to paint a wall without streaks explains the finish.