Home improvement: the benefits of peelable wallpaper
Before you choose a pattern for your wallpaper, it is important to do some homework first. The first question to ask is how long will this paper be up? Peelable and strippable wallpapers are the easiest to put up, and to later remove. These are called self-adhesive wallpapers because you peel the backing from the paper, and apply the paper directly to the wall. Pre-pasted wallpaper requires you to dip the paper in water to activate the adhesive. Unpasted, or dryback, paper needs a separate adhesive applied.
Self adhesive and pre-pasted wallpaper is usually strippable or peelable. Unpasted wallpaper can be extremely difficult to remove once it is up.
The terms "peelable" and "strippable" as applied to wallpaper are sometimes used interchangeably, but they are two different products. Peelable paper can be peeled from the wall, leaving behind its backing. This smooth surface can be papered over with minimal preparation. Strippable paper can also be peeled from the wall, sometimes leaving behind small amounts of adhesive that need to be cleaned from the wall prior to repapering. Warm, soapy water and a sponge can be used to remove the residue from both types of paper.
If you are removing existing paper, the easiest way to see which type you have is to use a utility knife to pry up the paper at a seam or corner. Gently pull the strip away from the wall, and you will see what kind of paper you are dealing with. If the paper lifts easily, leaving little or no residue, you have strippable paper. If a thin layer of paper is left behind, it is peelable. If you tear the paper, or can't pry it up, you have a lot of work ahead! This may be a good time to decide if you can live with the paper after all.
Having owned several homes over the last 15 years, I have a lot of experience removing wallpaper. If you are planning on moving or redecorating soon, go with the strippable paper. The family room of the second home we owned had an extremely busy pattern above the chair rail. Since my husband swears by the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach to homeownership, we lived with that paper for far too long. When he finally agreed that it was time to paint the kitchen, we decided to do the family room too. I gently pried up a corner of the paper, and it practically stripped itself from the walls! All the paper was down within 10 minutes and left no residue behind. When it was time to convert the spare bedroom to a nursery, we had the opposite experience. The adhesive used to attach the paper refused to give. We ended up using a special tool to score the paper, then we needed a steamer to loosen the paper, and even then we had hours of scraping ahead of us. So remember, when choosing wallpaper, think how hard it will be to remove later, and then choose accordingly!