Peel and Stick Wallpaper in a Bathroom: Does It Hold Up to Humidity?
Yes, in a bathroom with normal steam and a working fan. No, inside a shower or anywhere the wall gets sprayed. Here is the honest version, from the people who print it.
By the Hazel Hollow Walls studio · 3 minute read
Bathrooms are the room most people want to paper and the room they worry about most. The worry is fair: a bathroom is warm, steamy and occasionally wet, and adhesive and water do not usually get along. The honest answer is that peel and stick wallpaper works well in most bathrooms, as long as you put it on the right walls and keep the room ventilated.
What water-resistant means here
Our panels are a woven fabric with a self-adhesive back, printed with eco-solvent inks. The surface is water-resistant: steam does not soak in, and you can wipe off toothpaste, splashes and fingerprints with a damp cloth.
Water-resistant is not waterproof. The weak points of any peel and stick wallpaper are its edges and seams, where water can get under the panel and reach the adhesive. A wall that gets a passing cloud of steam is fine. A wall that gets sprayed, splashed every day or stays wet is not.
Where it works
- Powder rooms and half baths. No shower, little humidity: the ideal bathroom for wallpaper. Our powder room wallpaper is made for exactly this.
- Full bathrooms with an extractor fan, on the walls away from the shower: behind the toilet, the wall the door is on, around a mirror.
- Above a tiled wainscot. Tile takes the splashes below, wallpaper takes the eye above.
Where it does not
- Inside a shower or a tub surround.
- The wall directly behind a sink or a tub faucet, where water hits it every day.
- A bathroom with no fan and no window, where the walls stay damp for hours after a shower.
- On top of tile. Grout lines show through and the panel only grips the glaze.
Keep the edges down
Most bathroom problems start at an edge, so give the edges extra care:
- Start with a clean, dry, sound wall. Clean off soap film and let the wall dry fully. Do not hang over any sign of mould: treat it and fix the cause first.
- Let fresh paint cure for about two weeks before you hang.
- Smooth every seam firmly with a plastic smoothing tool, working from the centre of each panel out to its edges.
- Trim cleanly at the ceiling and the baseboard, with a sharp blade, so there are no loose flaps for moisture to lift.
- Run the fan during the shower and for about 20 minutes after it. This is the single best thing you can do for any bathroom finish, wallpaper or paint.
If an edge lifts after a few weeks, press it back down with the smoothing tool. If the same spot keeps lifting, that part of the wall is too wet for peel and stick, and a little tile or a shelf there will serve you better.
Cleaning it
Wipe with a soft, damp cloth and a little mild soap if needed, then dry it. Skip abrasive sponges and strong cleaners, which can dull the print.
Choosing a pattern for a bathroom
Small rooms carry bold patterns well, because you see them up close and there is little furniture to compete. Deep colours and graphic prints make a half bath feel deliberate; soft blues and greens make a family bathroom feel calm. Browse our bathroom wallpaper and our light blue wallpaper, and check the panel count with our measuring guide before you order.
Not sure the walls in your bathroom are right for it? Order an 8 x 10 inch sample for $9.95, stick it on the wall you have in mind, and leave it through a week of showers. It is the cheapest and most honest test there is.