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How do you take wallpaper off a wall?

Take wallpaper off by softening the paste and lifting the paper in strips, then washing the old paste off the plaster. Stop if the plaster is coming away with the paper, or if you find a textured coating, because those are different jobs.

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By the QuoteZila editorial team. Editorial policy.

How is stripping different from hanging?

Hanging a length on a straight wall puts paper on. This guide takes it off. Planning a paperhanging job is what you do before a new roll goes up, including whether the wall needs lining. Leaving the paper and painting it is the choice to skip stripping. Read the one that matches the decision you have already made.

Stripping a bedroom in Crewe is the same sort of mess as stripping a hall in Nantwich or a dining room in Sandbach. Cheshire rooms throw up the same wet mess. Anyone in the UK can post the stripping instead of doing it.

What should you do to the room first?

Paper comes off wet, and the paste splashes.

  • Move furniture out, or into the middle and cover it. Paste stains fabric.
  • Protect the floor. Wet paper is heavy and it sticks to floorboards.
  • Turn radiators off if they are against the wall you are stripping, so you are not working against heat you do not understand. Do not remove a radiator yourself.
  • Cover sockets with care, and do not open them. If a faceplate has to come off, that is an electrician. Electrical Safety First says that, apart from some minor tasks, electrical work is reported to building control or done by a registered electrician [S3]. Electrical Safety First: find a registered electrician; NICEIC; NAPIT. QuoteZila is not affiliated with this organisation.
  • Keep a bucket and a bag for wet strips. Wet paper left on a carpet is a second job.

How do you lift ordinary paper off a sound wall?

Stay on the floor. Test one small patch before you commit the whole room.

  1. See whether a vinyl face will peel dry. If it does, peel the face and leave the backing.
  2. Wet the backing or the plain paper. A sponge or a pump sprayer is enough. Add a drop of washing-up liquid only if you are happy to rinse it all off later. This guide does not print a mix.
  3. Let the water sit. Paste needs time. Scraping dry paper is how you gouge plaster.
  4. Lift a strip from a seam with a broad scraper held flat, not upright like a chisel.
  5. If the paper comes away and the plaster stays, continue. If plaster comes with it, stop.
  6. Wash the wall when the paper is gone. Old paste left on the wall can react with the next coating or the next paper.
  7. Let the wall dry before anyone hangs or paints. This guide does not print a number of days.

A steam plate can speed a stubborn backing. Keep it moving. Parking steam in one spot on soft plaster is how a hole appears. If the first steamed patch looks furry or hollow, stop and call a plasterer. See our plasterers page.

When must you stop?

Stop, and do not "just finish this wall", when:

  • the plaster face is coming off with the paper
  • you can see a textured pattern that was hidden
  • the wall is damp and the paper was holding the damp in
  • you are above a stair or on a ceiling
  • you are tired and the scraper is starting to dig

HSE includes textured coatings, for example Artex, among materials shown on its diagrams of where asbestos can be found in a building [S4]. On the locations page it says work on textured coatings is low-risk and can be carried out by non-licensed workers, but they must be trained to recognise and work safely with asbestos [S1]. Higher-risk removal, for example wet abrasive blasting, needs a licensed contractor [S1]. Health and Safety Executive (HSE). QuoteZila is not affiliated with this organisation.

A ceiling is above floor level, which HSE counts as working at height. Walking up and down a permanent staircase is not included in that definition [S2]. HSE: work at height. QuoteZila is not affiliated with this organisation. Hire the ceiling, and any wall you cannot reach from the floor. Painters and decorators are the trade for the paper. A plasterer is the trade if the wall fails.

What do you do with the bare wall?

A bare wall is not automatically ready for new paper or for paint. Wash it, let it dry, and look.

  • Powdery plaster needs a plasterer, not another bucket of water.
  • Deep gouges need filling by someone who can say whether the wall is sound.
  • A wall you want painted is the new-plaster painting guide only if the surface is new or bare plaster that is sound. A wall full of scraper marks may need a skim first. Setting up a skim is that conversation.
  • A wall you want papered again should be agreed with the hanger, including whether a lining goes on first. That planning sits in the wallpapering guide.

Jobs you might post

These are examples, not taken from real job posts.

  • "Bedroom, two walls of plain paper on plaster that seems sound. Please strip, wash the paste off, and leave the wall bare for us to paint later. Feet on the floor, no ceiling."
  • "Vinyl in the hall is peeling. Please peel and strip the backing. If the plaster starts to come off, stop and tell me before you continue."
  • "One corner shows a textured pattern under the paper. Please do not scrape it. Quote to advise, and do not sand it."

Posting the stripping

Say how many walls, and whether the ceiling is included. It should not be, unless you are hiring the access. Up to five matched local businesses can send a quote [QZ2]. QuoteZila is free for customers and local businesses [QZ1].

Honest status: QuoteZila is new. We're starting in Cheshire, beginning with Crewe, Nantwich and Sandbach, and growing area by area. Anyone in the UK can still post a job or register a business. How fast you get quotes depends on how many local businesses have joined near you. Businesses can register and receive jobs straight away. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire.

Posting a job is not open yet

What else are people asking?

Should I soak the paper or peel the face off first?

Vinyl often lets you peel the plastic face and leave a backing paper. Soak that backing. A plain paper usually needs water from the start, because there is no face to peel. Read what you have. Forcing a dry scraper across a plain paper digs the plaster.

Is a steam stripper safe on old plaster?

Steam softens paste. On a sound modern wall that is useful. On soft old plaster, steam and a scraper can pull the face of the plaster off with the paper. If the first strip brings plaster with it, stop and ask a plasterer. This guide does not tell you to keep steaming a failing wall.

What if I find swirls under the paper?

Stop. HSE says textured coatings were used to produce decorative finishes on ceilings and walls, and that trade names have included Artex. Work on those coatings can be done by non-licensed workers who are trained to recognise and work safely with asbestos. Do not sand or scrape that coating to get the last of the paper off.

Can I strip a ceiling this way?

Not as a home method. A ceiling is above floor level. HSE says you are working at height if you work above ground or floor level. Walking up and down a permanent staircase is not, on that page, work at height. Hire someone for a ceiling, and for any wall you cannot strip while standing on the floor.

Does QuoteZila check the decorators?

No. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire. You can report a quote or a business from your job page.

This page is general information, not professional or legal advice. QuoteZila does not check Gas Safe, WaterSafe, NFRC, NICEIC or other registrations against the register on your behalf: look them up yourself.

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Related pages

  • How to Wallpaper a Straight Wall. How to hang wallpaper on a straight wall you can reach from the floor: plumb line, paste, booking and joins. Stairwells and stripping are other guides.
  • Painting New Plaster: What to Do First. How to get new plaster ready for paint: drying, dust, the first coat the tin describes, and what to ask a decorator. No mixing ratio is printed.

Sources

  1. QZ1: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila home and FAQ copy.
  2. QZ2: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila FAQ How does getting quotes work.
  3. S1: Where asbestos can be found, textured decorative coatings, HSE. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/location-materials.htm
  4. S2: Work at height: frequently asked questions, HSE. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.hse.gov.uk/work-at-height/faqs.htm
  5. S3: Building regulations, Electrical Safety First. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/find-a-registered-electrician/building-regulations/
  6. S4: Where asbestos can occur, diagrams, HSE. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/diagrams.htm