Wallpaper steamers are a great solution to this problem. They’ll dampen the surface, while providing a gentle heating effect too. That provides two benefits – firstly the paper softens, and secondly any adhesives that have been used over the years warm and become less stubborn. As a result, you’re able to scrape away the paper much more easily, to reveal just how many layers of paper need removing. It’s simply a case of repeating the process until you’re back to the plaster, and hopefully that remains attached the wall and is, on the whole, a flat and smooth surface.
Steamers are relatively inexpensive, which is great news if you’ve got a home improvement project in mind. Redecorating is tough enough to complete in a reasonable time frame, so it’s important to have tools like this to keep the momentum in progressing.
Best Wallpaper Steamers
Let’s have a look at some of the more popular steamers that you can get delivered quickly to your door by Amazon.
Earlex SS125UKP Warrior
The Earlex got our attention thanks to a combination of great reviews from previous customers, low price and fast delivery.
It’s a relatively unknown brand, but Earlex are quietly gaining momentum with their affordable solutions in the decorating industry. Also manufacturing heat guns and paint sprayers among other items, they’ve got this impressive solution to make removing wallpaper easy.
The Earlex SS125UKP is one of the most popular strippers on Amazon UK at the time of writing in June 2020, which reflects its suitability for residential use.
While this will work fine for professional painter decorators too, they might benefit from one of the slightly larger tank models below, as this one’s a four litre model. Of course, it can be refilled as required but if you’re at work all day stripping paper, a bigger model may be more suitable. For home decorating though, it’s a good size to be light enough to transport but get plenty done on each tank.
When you’re ready to go, just fill it up with water and plug it in, and allow ten to twelve minutes for it to heat up. The generous 3.5 metre hose means you’ll easily reach the top of most walls, without needing to move the tank around too much on the floor.
Under normal usage, once you’re heated up, you’ll get over an hour of use from a tank.
It doesn’t take long to get the hang of using this model, so you’ll be steaming in no time, stripping that old paper from the walls like a pro!
YESUK Direct LAPTRONIX MAS-WP002
If you’re looking for something with a slightly higher capacity, this steamer from YesUK might fit the bill. 25% higher than the Earlex above, this 5 litre model is described as a professional wallpaper stripper. That’s going to appeal to those with bigger jobs to complete, where carrying a heavier tank is outweighed by getting more done between refills.
The hose is slightly shorter, measuring in at 3 metres. If you’ve got very high ceilings to deal with, that might mean this model is less convenient than the Eirlex, so do keep that in mind when choosing your model.
Wagner W16
This Wagner W16 wallpaper stripper will give you over an hour of use on a single tank, with normal usage offering up to eighty minutes. as with the YesUK, it’s a five litre tank, but this one offers a 3.5m hose like the Earlex, so in a sense offers the best of both worlds if you’ve got high ceilings and a big job to do.
Of course, that means you might need to pay a little more, but the convenience it offers for those bigger jobs might make the extra investment worthwhile.
Where this model separates from the first two featured models is it includes plates of different sizes and shapes. That makes odd shaped areas much easier to deal with. Think areas around plug sockets, light switches and fittings and door frames, places where a large steaming plate won’t fit.
BLACK+DECKER KX3300T
While we’re happy to use lesser known brands and feature them on the site, we recognise that many of our readers will at least like to consider a well known name. Here’s one such product from Black and Decker, when comes in at a more premium price than some of the above alternatives.
With their wallpaper stripper, you get a four litre tank that will provide an hour’s use per tank. As a premium brand, there are extra safety features that might appeal to home users that aren’t as familiar with the technology as those in the trade. A great example is the boil dry protection on the Black+Decker model, which is built in to the KX3300T in order to prevent it burning out as a result of running out of water.
If you like a well known brand and the extra features, this would make a great choice, however the above choices are likely to cost less, and we all like a saving!
Nitaar 2000W 4.5L Heavy Duty Professional
The final selection is from Nitaar, with their two kilowatt 4.5 litre wallpaper stripper. It’s the only one we’ve listed that strays from the 4 or 5 litre capacity, giving you a middle ground option if you’re wanting a little more coverage per tank, but are also conscious of the extra weight from going up another entire litre to the larger models.
It’s not going to be a huge difference in weight, but this does offer a little more flexibility. You’ll also see on Amazon that this one gets some great reviews from previous customers, which is a nice way to round off our selections.
As you’ll see from the above examples, many of these products are very similar. They do a fairly basic job, but will make life a lot easier when you’re trying to get ready to decorate.