Things are getting steamy in the foyer. To recap, we have five rooms covered in wallpaper and we’re testing five different removal methods to find out what really works. For our first attempt we used hot water in a spray bottle, which surprised us by working quite well. This week’s Wallpaper Exposé focuses on a different approach: steaming. The steamer we borrowed is actually a clothing steamer (thanks to John’s sister), so we wanted to see how it performed on wallpaper.
But first, a moment of silence for the small blue flowers.
We started on the first section of the foyer. Our initial technique was for John to steam a broad area of wall and then for me to follow behind, peeling the paper off.
This approach worked pretty well. Some spots left the backing behind, which required re-steaming and a second peel, but overall it performed slightly better than the boiling-water/spray-bottle method. It seemed about 10% faster and removed a bit more of the backing on the first pass. That said, when you factor in the cost of buying or renting a steamer, the improvement felt marginal compared to the free spray-bottle method. In short: a steamer can make the job a little easier and faster, but whether that justifies the expense comes down to personal preference and the specific wallpaper.
Getting the tops of the walls posed a different challenge.
The clothing steamer’s hose wasn’t very long, so it couldn’t rest on the floor while we worked the upper areas. John spent a lot of time holding the steamer up high, basically lifting something the size and weight of a gallon of milk. It wasn’t a deal-breaker, but it did make the task more exhausting. If you plan to use a steamer regularly, consider renting or buying a proper wallpaper steamer with a longer hose and a design suited to vertical work.
About halfway through we switched tactics: instead of steaming a whole section and then peeling, John steamed a smaller area and I peeled immediately as he steamed. The process looked like this:
This immediate-peel method was excellent. In most cases it removed both the wallpaper and its backing in one go, leaving a clean wall underneath. We think the continuous heat on the active peeling area prevented the adhesive from cooling and re-bonding, which made removal more effective.
Another advantage: one person can do it alone. If you’re tackling a room solo, you can steam and peel as you go. It’s surprisingly manageable and even kind of fun.
I’d estimate this faster-peeling, steam-and-peel method is about 30% quicker and easier than the hot water spray bottle technique, especially over larger surfaces. Still, removing wallpaper from a foyer is more time-consuming than a small bathroom, so expect a decent time investment.
We hit a real obstacle: layered wallpaper.
For some reason, the entire front-door side of the foyer had two identical layers of wallpaper. That meant we essentially had to do that wall twice. It was tedious and there was some complaining, but we finished it. Our best guess is that an installer added a second layer to correct a mismatch or alignment issue.
We also had one mishap where the paper appeared to be heavily glued in one spot and the top layer of drywall came off with it.
My plan for that area is to skim-coat with spackle and sand it smooth so it blends with the rest of the wall.
After removing all the wallpaper, I wiped the walls down with a spray bottle containing a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water (room temperature) and used the abrasive side of a sponge to remove any remaining adhesive. Most of the adhesive came off with the backing, but a few tacky spots improved significantly after this cleaning step, so I’d recommend it as a final touch.
So that’s how we steamed the foyer—an efficient method overall, especially when peeling immediately behind the steamer. Below are a few more progress shots.
Obligatory before shot from our walk-through, for comparison and closure.
You might notice the closet and bathroom doors are off in the second-to-last image because we’re repainting them from blue to white. We’re also about 20% done with the blue trim, so there’s more to come—painting the trim required multiple coats, which has been slow going.
If you’ve used a steamer, did you peel immediately as you steamed or did you steam a section and return to peel afterward? We haven’t had to score the paper or rely on a spackle knife—hand peeling has worked well—so that’s a definite plus. Overall, the steam-and-peel method earns a solid recommendation, especially when you can work right behind the steamer and keep the adhesive warm.