A steamer uses boiling water to soften the glue between the wallpaper and the wall.
What to use to remove vinyl wallpaper.
Removing it to paint or repaper however is not so easy.
It may come away in small strips or the vinyl may become soft making it harder to strip off of the wall.
Washable vinyl wallpaper is a durable and easy to clean wall covering found in many homes.
It s not hard but be prepared for a mess.
The paper will pull away easily in one direction and tear in the opposite direction.
Hgtv expert steve watson shows how to remove vinyl wallpaper.
Start by peeling off the vinyl from the paper backing.
If you are removing vinyl coated wallpaper with a steamer you still have to use a scoring tool to punch holes in the paper so the steam can reach the glue.
Once the paper is soaked you can scrape it away from the wall.
Using either a putty knife or a specially designed wallpaper scraping tool try to lift off the wallpaper in one of the top corners of a wall.
Removing vinyl wallpaper can be a very difficult job if you don t take it off in the correct way.
The first step in removing this tough wallpaper is peeling off the actual vinyl which is the outermost layer.
Often the vinyl wallpaper has a grain.
Removing the paper is as simple as prying up a corner and pulling at a 10 to 15 degree angle.
Next spray liquid wallpaper remover onto the remaining paper then use a trowel to spread the liquid over the paper so it soaks in thoroughly.
It may work better.
If you are having trouble removing the vinyl from the top try working from the bottom up.