You've just applied your wallpaper, and after a few hours, or a few days, you notice the appearance of air bubbles? This is usually due to a lack of adhesive, or a poor application technique. Do you need to remove everything? Don't panic, there are easy tricks to eliminate these air bubbles. We explain, point by point, in our article.
What causes the appearance of bubbles under your wallpaper?
The main cause of one or more small bubbles under your wallpaper is due to a lack of adhesive during its application. It can also be due to forgetting or lacking to smooth out the wallpaper when applying it to your wall.
When the air bubbles or blisters are larger or more numerous, the problem may not come from your lack of adhesive, but rather from a humidity problem in your room or your walls.
Finally, it may simply come from a human error, related to a poor preparation of your wall before applying your wallpaper.
For example, if your wall has no adhesion, or if your adhesive is of poor quality, your paper has a high risk of peeling off in the days or weeks following its application.
How to remove air bubbles during wallpaper application?
If you notice the appearance of one or several air bubbles on your applied wallpaper, we have solutions to offer you.
Know that the sooner you realize it, the more easily you can solve your problem. When the adhesive of your wallpaper is not yet dry, it is entirely possible to slightly reposition your strip, to eliminate a small bubble that has just appeared. There are two main situations:
- The bubble is small, at a corner. You can slightly peel off and then reposition your strip, making sure to eliminate any air bubbles, using a smoothing spatula, for example.
- The bubble is small, in the middle of your strip. Take a pin and pierce a small hole at the bottom of your bubble. Since the pin is very fine, the hole will be absolutely invisible. With your seam roller, for example, or a small rigid card, apply pressure from the top of the bubble to its base (where you made the hole) to eliminate the air bubble. If your adhesive is not dry, you will have no trouble performing this action, which will leave no trace.
- The bubble (or blister) is larger. Perform the same operations as above, but instead of using a pin, use the tip of a cutter blade, then make a small incision in the shape of a cross, to reapply a small dot of adhesive (using a fine brush, for example), on the wall and under the paper. Finally, reattach and reapply your seam roller on the area so that your paper sticks back to your wall. Remember to remove any excess adhesive with a slightly damp sponge.
How to eliminate them once the adhesive is dry?
If you realize that a bubble or blister has formed under your wallpaper once the adhesive is dry, don't panic, there are also simple solutions to solve this problem.
The method will be the same as stated previously.
You will need a pin or a cutter and a fine-tip syringe (sold in pharmacies) or directly in hardware stores to inject your adhesive inside your incision. How to do it? Step by step.
- Make a fine cut in your wallpaper, at the center of your bubble/blister.
- Fill your syringe with adhesive, or use a ready-to-use kit.
- Inject it into the previously made incision.
- Wait a few minutes for it to spread, then smooth your wallpaper, using a seam roller, to eliminate the bubble and properly reattach your paper to your wall.
If a new bubble appears a few weeks or months later, repeat the operation.
Congratulations, you have just eliminated any trace of bubbles or blisters under your wallpaper, all in a matter of minutes.
