When a decision has been made to re-wallpaper the walls in a home, the old wallpaper will need removing first. It is best not to paint over old wallpaper, which over time, can buckle if coat after coat is applied. As with paint, any new wallpaper will not stick as easy to old wallpaper as it would to a well prepared wall. Luckily, wallpaper that has been applied with paste and water is, as a rule, not very difficult to remove, as long as the right materials and a decent amount of time have been given up for the job. Clear any furniture from the room, if that is not feasible just move it to the centre of the room and then cover with sheets for protection. Be careful when moving furniture and check if any accidental damage will be covered on your household insurance. Place sheets over the entire floor as this can be a messy job.

Look for a seam in the wallpaper and using a knife, lift up as much of the wallpaper from the seams as is possible. Slowly remove the wallpaper while trying to avoid tearing; this is because the more wallpaper that is removed with just the knife, the less mess will be created. The wallpaper that remains should be scored using a knife or wallpaper scoring tool. Be careful using a knife as the wall may be marked or scratched; a wallpaper scoring tool will not do this because of the design. Soak a sponge or even a paint roller in some warm water and apply to any stubborn sections of the wallpaper that remains. The idea is to get the areas of wallpaper left wet enough to loosen the wallpaper glue, be careful not to soak them. Remove the wet sections of wallpaper with a paper scraper; some stubborn areas may need to be wetted a few times before they will loosen enough to be removed

The old wallpaper has been removed but there will still be paste on the walls, and by removing this before starting with the new wallpaper, the room will appreciate the extra care and attention. Removing the old paste is both easy and messy so keep a few towels nearby to help clean up at the finish. Fill a bucket with water that is hot but not boiling and add a small amount of washing up liquid. The soap that this will create will be a great help. Using a sponge, simply wash the walls making sure the water remains fairly hot. For best results, when the water goes cooler, replace with hot water and continue to wash the walls with the soapy water.

After washing the wall, empty the bucket of soapy water and then refill it with some fresh, clean water. Using a clean sponge wash the walls again, this time the job is much easier as it is only soapy water that is being removed. Use some dry cloths to dry the wall and all the old wallpaper paste will have been removed, leaving the walls perfect for the new wallpaper.