I would advise lifting the bottom corner and carefully peeling the paper up slowly until you have about 12″ completely flapping. Then you can pull a bit harder. For a bit of fun, see if you can get a whole sheet off in one piece! (You need some sort of game to get you through the day!)

And the part that most clean freaks forget – leave the dry wallpaper strippings scrumpled up on the floor at the base of the wall, ready to catch any splashes of water coming in stage 2).

I load the sponge till it drips a little, then I lightly wipe over a foot square area, then keep wiping the same area till the sponge is dry. Repeat this on another small section, and another… until you notice the first square drying up. At this point return to the first square – rinse and repeat three or four times or until the paper is absolutely sodden. It is now ready to strip off.

Some say it is best to start soaking from the bottom and work up, but there seems to be no difference either way.

You need to exercise some more patience because in clumsy hands, it is a weapon that can seriously hurt a plaster surface. So with a steady hand, methodically remove the paper. It will come off very easily, and if it doesn’t, let more water do the work and keep on soaking it. This way, there is no reason (nor excuse) for gouging the plaster with your scraper.

I have childhood memories of my parents struggling with steam strippers, filling the house with condensation, scalding their hands..! Many times, I have seen the results of over zealous steam stripping, where, in extreme cases, someone has literally blown the plaster off the wall. More common, is where the steam forces the plaster to let go from the backing blocks, and you get that crazy paving effect, which is very difficult to disguise when it comes to redecorating.

In my professional opinion, there is no place for a steam stripper in my tool kit.

Professionals also make mistakes, like slashing the top layer with a knife, supposedly to let the water penetrate the surface paper to get to the backing paper. In my experience, water does penetrate faster, but you also create hundreds of little pieces, and you end up picking off little scabs, rather than big sheets.

Rollering water onto the walls is fast, but you need the floor covered (or ideally carpet-free) ready for a big soaking. Airless spray is the fastest way to blast wallpaper off, but not everyone has a big enough wallpaper job to make it worth working that way.

I add fairy liquid, because it seems to make water more sticky, but I am sure that is a perception, not a fact.

Zinsser DIF is highly recommended, especially for removing gloss painted wallpaper and other non absorbent paper. It contains an enzyme that attacks the glue. I would keep it in reserve, not as first line of attack. It does cost money, you know!

Fabric softener is supposed to be a good additive. Pro decorators on my favourite forum rave about it, and I am sure that one day I will get round to raiding the cleaning cupboard and try it out.