painting techniques for creative finishes

Ironing It Out: Strange Tricks For Hanging Wallpaper That Really Work

30 April 2015 by Bradley Davis

Wallpaper glue is practically unforgivable. If you hang a sheet of wallpaper and do not work fast to smooth it out, it ends up with air bubbles and wrinkles. If you work too quickly, you might hang the sheet crookedly. Many people would not bother to hang their own wallpaper at all and would rather have a commercial painter, like Decorators Service Co., Inc., do it. If you are still set on hanging your own wallpaper, there are a few tips and tricks to help you hang it straight, hang it without bubbles and wrinkles, and quickly rehang it if it becomes a mess sticking it to the wall.

Using a Clothing Iron to Remove Crooked Wallpaper

If you accidentally hang the wallpaper crooked, quickly try to pull it loose. If it begins to tear, take a clothing iron on its lowest steam setting and run it over the top of the wallpaper. It should pull free quite easily. (Do not try to rehang the same sheet of paper. You can save it for patch jobs, but it should not go back on the wall as a complete sheet.)

Using the Bottom-to-Top Method of Paper Hanging

Most people assume that you have to climb a ladder with your dripping sheet of wallpaper and hang it from the top down. However, if you start "hanging" it from the bottom of the wall, you can slowly walk the paper up the wall, smoothing it as you go. This will help you apply the paper in a much straighter line on the wall than trying to hang it the other way. It is also a much more effective technique for anyone who is short because you are not scrambling up and down a ladder to get the paper to stick.

Drying the Paper Faster

Bubbles and wrinkles form when extra moisture is trapped behind the paper. If you have done your best to smooth the paper out when you hang it, you can prevent the bubbles and wrinkles by decreasing humidity and increasing the temperature to create really dry air conditions. To do this, invest in a dehumidifier and place it in the room where you are hanging wallpaper. Close all the windows, crank the temperature in your house (as hot as you can stand it), and shut the door when you are done applying a wall of paper. Within less than a day of this environment, any extra liquid from the adhesive will evaporate, leaving behind mold-, bubble-, and wrinkle-free walls.

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