Wallpaper Problems and How to Fix Them
Bubbles, gaping seams, lifting edges and paper that will not stay up, what causes each one, how to put it right, and how to stop it happening again
Most wallpaper problems come from one of four things: a wall that was not clean or dry enough, paste that did not reach the edge of the length, paper that was stretched while it was being hung, or a room that dried too fast. Find your symptom below for the cause and the fix.
Before you do anything, give a freshly hung wall a full forty-eight hours. A great many faults that look alarming on the first evening have disappeared by the second morning.
Bubbles and blisters
What it looks like: raised pockets under the paper, anything from a fingernail to a hand's width.
Why it happens: air or excess paste trapped as the length went up, or paste that had not fully wetted the wall in that patch.
What to do: wait. Damp paper expands very slightly and pulls flat as it dries, and the majority of bubbles vanish within twenty-four to forty-eight hours. If one is still there after two days, slit it along a line in the pattern with a fresh blade, work a little paste behind it with a fine brush or a syringe, press it back from the outside in, and roll it gently.
Gaps at the seams
What it looks like: a thin white or dark line between two lengths, appearing as the wall dries.
Why it happens: usually the paper was stretched on the wall. Over-brushing a length pulls it a millimetre or two wider, and it shrinks back as it dries. A cold or draughty room, or drying the wall too fast, does the same thing.
What to do: for a hairline gap, dampen the two edges slightly to relax them, then ease them together with a seam roller. For a wider gap, lift both edges with a little fresh adhesive on a fine brush, push them together and roll gently. If the gap is more than a millimetre or two, the length needs replacing, which is one more reason to order a spare roll.
Next time: smooth firmly but do not scrub, keep the room at a steady, ordinary temperature while the wall dries, and on dark colourways paint a stripe of close-matching emulsion down the wall where each seam will fall.
Seams lifting or curling
What it looks like: the paper is holding across the wall but the edges have peeled back, often at a corner or near a radiator.
Why it happens: the paste did not reach the very edge of the length. Pasting only the width of the drop leaves a dry strip exactly where the join lands.
What to do: lift the edge gently, work a small amount of adhesive underneath with a fine brush, press it back and roll it. Hold it for a moment, and do not tape it.
Next time: paste an area wider than the length you are about to hang, and take the paste right into the corners and over the skirting line.
Whole lengths peeling away
What it looks like: a length comes away from the wall in one piece, usually with the paste still on the back of the paper rather than on the wall.
Why it happens: the wall. Paste sticking to the paper and not the wall means it never bonded, because of dust, because a silk or sheen paint was not keyed, because old adhesive was left on after stripping, or because the plaster was porous and drank the paste.
What to do: take the length off, wash the wall properly, let it dry, seal it if it is chalky or bare, and re-hang. Patching it back on will not hold.
Paper that will not stick at all
The same causes as above, plus two others: paste mixed too thin, or a wall that was still damp. Check the wall with the back of your hand, genuinely dry rather than just dry on the surface, before you try again.
Ridges where two lengths overlap
What it looks like: a raised line down the wall that catches the light.
Why it happens: the lengths were overlapped rather than butted. All our papers are butt-join, so the two edges meet exactly, with nothing on top of anything else.
What to do: once the wall is dry, very little. An overlap is a permanent ridge, and the honest fix is to re-hang the affected lengths.
Shiny or burnished marks
What it looks like: a glossy patch or a shiny stripe down a seam, usually on the heavy-grade paper.
Why it happens: too much pressure. The heavy-grade paper has a fine sand texture, and a seam roller pressed hard flattens it, which reads as shine under a side light.
What to do: nothing will bring the texture back, so treat this one as prevention. Use the seam roller lightly and let the adhesive do the work.
Paste marks on the surface
What it looks like: dull or slightly cloudy patches, most visible on a matte finish in raking light.
Why it happens: paste left to dry on the face of the paper.
What to do: take paste off the moment it appears, with a clean, slightly damp white cloth and a light touch. Never scrub, never use a coloured cloth, and never a soaking wet sponge. This is paper and ink, and it should be treated as such.
The pattern drifting off vertical
What it looks like: the design creeps upwards or downwards across the wall, so by the fourth length the match is visibly out.
Why it happens: the first length was hung to a corner or a door frame rather than a plumb line. Nothing in a house is truly vertical, and the error compounds with every length.
What to do: it cannot be corrected without taking the lengths back off. Re-hang from a fresh vertical line and lose the discrepancy in the least visible corner.
A dark wall shadowing through
What it looks like: a pale paper looks grey or grubby in daylight rather than crisp.
Why it happens: the colour underneath. A dark or strongly coloured wall shows through a light design.
What to do: the paper has to come off and the wall be painted out to a neutral base first, then left to cure for thirty days.
Peel and stick lifting at the edges
What it looks like: corners or seams curling away within days or weeks.
Why it happens: the surface. Removable paper needs a smooth, firmly bonded, fully cured painted wall. Texture, chalky or flaking paint, bare plaster, fresh paint and steamy rooms all defeat it.
What to do: press the lifted section back firmly and warm it gently with a hairdryer on a low setting. If it keeps lifting, the wall is the problem rather than the paper, and a pasted paper is the better choice for that room.
When it is the wall, not the wallpaper
Some faults keep coming back however carefully the paper is hung. Stop and look at the wall itself if you see:
- Repeated lifting in one particular spot, especially on an external wall, behind a radiator or near a window, which is usually damp or condensation.
- A tide mark, or a musty smell.
- White crystalline deposits coming through the paper, which are salts, meaning the wall is still drying out.
- A hollow sound when you tap it, which is blown plaster that has come away from the wall behind.
None of these are paper problems, and papering over them again will produce the same result.
Scuffs, marks and damage
For everyday marks, act quickly, blot gently with a clean, slightly damp white cloth, and never rub. Dusting regularly does more to keep a wall looking well than any amount of cleaning.
For a tear or a damaged patch, an offcut and a sharp blade will make an almost invisible repair. Tape the offcut over the damage with the pattern aligned, cut through both layers at once, lift out the damaged piece and drop the new patch into the hole it came from. It is the reason to keep your spare roll rather than return it.
If your order arrived damaged
If a roll arrives damaged, or something is missing from your order, tell us within 14 days. Email info@claretandkey.com with your order number and photographs of the damage and we will reprint and resend. If a problem only comes to light after the paper has been hung, get in touch through our contact page and we will look at it with you case by case.
Will bubbles in wallpaper go away on their own?
Most will, within twenty-four to forty-eight hours, as the paper dries and shrinks back onto the wall. Only treat the ones still there after two days.
Why are my wallpaper seams opening up?
Usually because the paper was stretched while it was smoothed down, or the room dried too quickly. Both make the length shrink back slightly as it dries and pull away from its neighbour.
Should wallpaper seams overlap?
No. Our papers are butt-join, so the edges meet exactly. An overlap leaves a ridge that will always catch the light.
Why is my wallpaper peeling at the edges?
Almost always a dry strip of wall where the paste did not quite reach the edge of the length. Lift the edge, work a little adhesive underneath and roll it back down.
Can I fix wallpaper after it has dried?
Bubbles, lifted seams and small tears, yes. Overlapped joins and a pattern that has drifted out of true, no, because those need the affected lengths re-hanging.
How long should wallpaper take to dry?
Twenty-four to forty-eight hours in ordinary room conditions. Keep the heating steady and the windows shut, because drying it fast is what opens seams.
