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How to Remove Wallpaper

Home/Resources/Paint & Walls/Removing Wallpaper
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Written & researched by Priya Anand DIY & Tools Editor
Updated August 2026
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Removing wallpaper is a straightforward but patience-heavy DIY job — no special skills, no permit, just time and a willingness to soak instead of scrape. An average room takes a day; older, painted-over, or multi-layer paper can stretch to a weekend. Materials cost under $50: a scoring tool, a sprayer or steamer, scrapers, and a stripping solution you can mix from hot water and vinegar. The only thing that separates an easy job from a miserable one is discipline on the soak. Dry-scraped wallpaper tears into confetti and wrecks the wall; properly soaked paper slides off in sheets.

Ultimate Wallpaper Removal Tutorial — How-To and DIY Guide

Step-by-step: stripping wallpaper

  1. Prep the room. Turn off power to the wall's outlets, tape over the boxes, and lay drop cloths — this is a wet, messy job. Test a corner first to see if the paper is strippable (dry-peels in a sheet) or needs soaking.
  2. Score coated or vinyl paper. Run a scoring tool in circles to perforate the surface so water can reach the adhesive. Press lightly — deep scoring cuts into the drywall.
  3. Mix and apply the solution. Hot water with a squirt of dish soap or a cup of white vinegar per gallon works well. Apply generously with a pump sprayer, sponge, or steamer, working a few square feet at a time.
  4. Wait for it to work. Give it about 15 minutes to dissolve the glue. Re-wet if a section dries out. This soak is the whole job — do not shortcut it.
  5. Scrape at a low angle. Slide a 4- to 6-inch broad putty knife under a seam and peel. Keep the blade shallow so it does not gouge the drywall face. Re-soak anything that shreds.
  6. Remove all the adhesive. Wash the bare wall with hot soapy water or adhesive remover until it no longer feels slick when dry. Rinse with clean water.
  7. Let it dry, then repair and prime. Fill any gouges with joint compound, sand smooth, and prime before painting. Bare, once-papered drywall almost always needs primer.
Wide environmental view of a person rolling fresh paint onto an interior wall, in warm late-afternoon light

Tools and materials

You need a scoring tool, a pump sprayer or a wallpaper steamer, a 4- to 6-inch putty knife, sponges, and drop cloths. A steamer is worth renting for a whole house of old paper. Once the wall is bare and repaired, a stain-blocking primer is essential before paint will bond — and the paint you finish with should be one that levels smoothly over a wall that has been through a lot, which our interior paint picks address. If you tape off trim and ceilings before priming, a clean-release painter's tape keeps the edges sharp, and a fresh roller lays the finish evenly.

Close-up detail of the material being worked in a paint & walls project, in warm late-afternoon light

Mistakes that make it harder

Low-angle view of a person rolling fresh paint onto an interior wall, in warm late-afternoon light

When to call a pro

This is safe DIY, but call for help if you uncover multiple painted-over layers glued to unprimed drywall that shreds no matter how long you soak — a plaster or drywall pro can skim-coat a badly damaged wall faster than you can fight it. In homes built before 1978, old paint layers may contain lead; keep surfaces wet, avoid dry sanding, and follow lead-safe practices.

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More from this hub: Paint & Walls · Hanging wallpaper · Priming a wall · Skim coating a wall · Best interior paint · How we rank

Straight Answers

Frequently Asked

What is the easiest way to remove wallpaper?

Soak it thoroughly and let the water do the work. Score the surface lightly if it is coated, then saturate it with hot water mixed with a little dish soap or white vinegar, wait 15 minutes for the adhesive to dissolve, and the paper peels off in sheets rather than shreds. A garden pump sprayer or a wallpaper steamer applies the water fastest. The single biggest time-saver is patience on the soak: dry scraping tears the paper into confetti and gouges the wall, while a proper soak lets it release cleanly.

Do you have to remove the wallpaper glue after taking off the paper?

Yes, always. Leftover adhesive dries to a glossy, slightly tacky film that will not let primer or paint bond, and new paint over it will bubble and peel within weeks. After the paper is off, wash the wall with hot water and a little dish soap or a dedicated adhesive remover, scrubbing with a sponge until the surface no longer feels slick or sticky when it dries. Rinse with clean water. Run your hand over the dry wall: any drag means glue is still there and needs another pass.

Can you paint over wallpaper instead of removing it?

Sometimes, but removal is almost always the better result. You can paint over wallpaper that is firmly stuck with no lifting seams, is not a heavy textured or vinyl type, and is sealed first with an oil- or shellac-based primer so water-based paint does not loosen the adhesive. But any loose edge, seam or bubble will show and worsen, and you can never fully hide the seams. If the paper is peeling, textured, or you want a smooth wall, take it off. Painting over it is a shortcut with real limits.

How long does it take to remove wallpaper from a room?

Plan on a full day for an average room, and possibly a weekend if it is old, painted over, or glued directly to unprimed drywall. Strippable modern paper on a properly primed wall can come off in a couple of hours. The variables are how many layers there are, whether the wall behind it was sealed, and how stubborn the adhesive is. Older homes with several papered-over layers and no primer underneath are the slow cases. Budget generously; rushing the soak is what turns a one-day job into a frustrating three.

How do you remove wallpaper without damaging drywall?

Keep the paper wet and the scraper shallow. Water-soften the adhesive fully before scraping so you are peeling, not prying, and hold a broad putty knife at a low angle so the corner cannot dig in and tear the drywall face paper. If the wall was never primed before papering, the face paper is fragile and any dry scraping will gouge it, so extra soak time is essential. Use a plastic scraper on soft spots, work gently around outlets and corners, and stop to re-wet any section that starts to shred.