How to Remove Wallpaper
How to take your wallpaper down
Our peel & stick fabric wallpaper is made to come off again. The technique matters more than the product: warm every section first, peel low and slow, and stop the moment anything resists.
Read this first
The honest version, before you touch a corner.
Our wallpaper uses a water-based, removable adhesive designed to release cleanly from properly prepared, fully cured walls. In the large majority of cases removal is clean and straightforward. There is one situation where paint can lift, and it is worth understanding before you start.
Walls are often repainted as a quick cosmetic refresh — rolled over existing layers without sanding back, without primer, and without a proper two-coat system. Over time those layers stop bonding properly to each other or to the plaster underneath. The wall looks perfectly fine on the surface; you cannot see the problem. But when anything adhesive is removed from it, the top layer of paint can come away too, because it was never firmly bonded to begin with.
This is a pre-existing wall condition, not a product fault. The same thing would happen with tape, a hook or any other adhesive product on that wall. The wallpaper simply reveals a problem that was already there — which is why we recommend testing an $8 sample on a hidden patch before you commit to a full wall.
What you'll need
Three things. The first one is not optional.
A hairdryer
On its lowest heat setting. A heat gun works too, kept moving and well back from the wall. This is the single most important tool in the job.
Something flat and soft
A fingernail or a flat plastic tool to lift the first corner. Never a metal scraper or anything with a sharp edge — it will mark the wall and tear the fabric.
The backing paper
Only if you plan to keep the panels. Have it laid out and ready before you start, along with a second pair of hands.
Step by step
Work one panel at a time, starting with the last panel you installed. Slow and warm beats fast and cold, every time.
Warm the edge first — always
Hold the hairdryer on its lowest heat over a 10–15 cm section of the panel edge for 30–60 seconds before you peel anything.
Warming softens the adhesive and takes the tension off the paint underneath. Never skip this step, even on the panels that feel like they'd come away easily without it.
Lift the corner gently
Once the edge is warm, use a fingernail or a flat plastic tool to ease the corner up. Start at the top corner of the last panel that went on, so you're unwinding the overlaps in the order they were laid.
Peel at a very low angle
This is the technique that decides the outcome. Peel the panel back almost flat against the wall — roughly 15–20°, folding it down on itself rather than pulling it towards you.
Pulling outwards at a sharp angle puts maximum stress on the paint, and it is the most common cause of paint lifting.
Think: peel back along the wall, not away from it.Work in small sections — warm, peel, repeat
Don't try to take a whole panel off in one pull. Warm 10–15 cm, peel 10–15 cm, warm the next section, peel again, working steadily down the panel.
Keep the pull as even as you can and don't stretch the fabric. Allow 20–30 minutes per panel — rushing is what causes damage.
Watch the wall as you go
Glance at the wall surface after each section. If you see paint starting to lift, or hear a faint crackling, stop immediately.
Put more heat on that spot for a full 60 seconds, then carry on very slowly. More heat and more patience is always the answer.
Clean any residue
Adhesive rarely stays behind, but if it does, dampen a clean cloth with warm water and rub the area gently in a circular motion. The water-based adhesive dissolves with moisture.
Don't reach for solvents — they'll do more damage to the paint than the wallpaper ever would.
Slow and warm. The people who rush — pulling panels fast, at sharp angles, with no heat — account for nearly all the paint damage we hear about. The people who warm each section and peel slowly almost always get a clean result, even on older rental walls.
Keeping your panels to use again
Our self-adhesive wallpaper can be taken down and rehung — as long as it never sticks to itself.
Back it as you peel
Line each panel up with its original backing paper, sticky side down, as you take it off the wall. A second pair of hands makes this much easier.
Smooth, then roll
Smooth the panel flat against the backing so there are no wrinkles, then roll it up loosely with the edges protected. Don't roll it tightly — that creases the fabric.
Store cool, dry and dark
Keep rolled panels somewhere dry and out of direct sunlight. UV will fade stored panels over time and leave you with a colour mismatch.
The short version
If you only remember two lists, make it these.
Do
- Warm every section for 30–60 seconds before you peel it.
- Peel at 15–20°, folding the panel back along the wall.
- Work in 10–15 cm sections, warming as you go.
- Start with the last panel installed and work backwards.
- Stop and add heat the moment you see or hear paint lifting.
Don't
- Don't peel cold. No heat is the number one cause of paint damage.
- Don't pull outward at a sharp angle, or straight off the wall.
- Don't use metal scrapers or anything sharp to lift an edge.
- Don't stretch or rip the fabric — it should come away, not tear.
- Don't use chemical solvents on residue. Warm water only.
Moving out of a rental?
Work through this list and you give yourself the best possible chance of a clean wall.
- Photograph the wall before you start. Document the paint surface as it is now — that's your protection if a pre-existing paint problem surfaces later.
- Work in daylight. Good light lets you see the wall clearly and spot trouble early.
- Use the hairdryer on every single panel. No exceptions, even if the first few lift easily without it.
- Peel at 15–20°, never outward. This is the technique that matters most.
- Allow 20–30 minutes per panel. Rushing is the main cause of paint damage.
- If paint lifts, stop and add more heat. Don't keep pulling and hope.
- Wipe the wall down afterwards with a warm damp cloth to lift any adhesive trace.
- Photograph the wall after removal for your records.
It is almost always a sign of pre-existing paint adhesion failure rather than a product fault — the paint was not firmly bonded to the wall before the wallpaper went on. Photograph everything and talk to your property manager calmly and factually. If you want to check your walls before you install, an $8 sample left on a hidden patch for 48–72 hours and removed slowly with gentle heat is the most reliable test available.
Disclaimer. These instructions are general guidance for do-it-yourself removal. Tiny Walls cannot guarantee the outcome, as wall preparation, removal technique and environmental conditions are beyond our control. Results depend on the condition of your paintwork: paint that is uncured, unprimed, patched or not fully bonded to the wall can lift with any adhesive product — sometimes in one area of a wall and not others — and no sample or test can rule this out across a whole wall. Paint lifting caused by the paint system is not a fault of the product and remains the homeowner's responsibility. If you're unsure about any part of the process, we recommend consulting a professional installer or an expert in self-adhesive wall coverings.
Not sure how it's going?
Send us a photo of your wall mid-removal and we'll talk you through it. We'd much rather hear from you partway through than afterwards.
hello@tinywalls.com.au