Removing peel and stick wallpaper

Almost a year ago, I decided to spruce up my “everything white” rental apartment with something more colorful. I love the concept of peel and stick wallpaper as it saves a lot of time and makes no mess compared to traditional wallpaper or paint, so I chose peel and stick for my mini makeover.

Fast forward a year 

As my time at this apartment had come to an end, the wallpaper had to go too. It was the first time I had used this type of product and I wasn’t sure if everything would go as smoothly as described, so I was a little worried about it. After all, the adhesive is quite strong (which makes the wallpaper stay in its place perfectly) and it had been on the wall for a whole year.

Luckily, everything went super smoothly, and in 10 minutes all the panels were removed. Let’s take a look at some of the most important things to keep in mind when removing your peel and stick wallpaper.

Start at the corner of the wall

Start removing the panel from the corner of your wall. Grab a piece of the wallpaper and slowly start pulling it down. You will definitely feel some resistance, but just keep pulling, parallel to the wall. If the wallpaper doesn’t seem to come off at all, you can try to heat that part with a blow dryer to soften the adhesive a little bit. 

! When pulling the panel down, don’t overstretch it. Pulling it away from the wall too hard increases the chance of paint sticking to the wallpaper and as a result, damaging the wall. 

As you can see, the wallpaper left almost no adhesive on the wall. There were a couple of tiny spots here and there, but a quick wipe with a damp cloth was all it took to get rid of them. Altogether, it took me approximately 15 minutes to remove this wallpaper. Once I got the hang of it and found a good rhythm and way of pulling the wallpaper off the wall, it was really quick.  What’s not to like about peel and stick wallpaper, right?

Recycle, recycle, recycle

Last, but not least – remember to recycle your wallpaper! Fold it together and take it to the closest plastic recycling container. The environment will thank you later!

To sum up my experience with installing and removing peel and stick wallpaper, I highly recommend this solution for anyone who wants to add some color to their homes hassle-free, especially rentals. I didn’t want to invest a lot of money in redecorating and upgrading someone else’s property, but this little makeover really did the trick and made a house feel like a home for the whole time I was there!