Bubbles, lifting edges and cleaning: what to do next

A bubble has appeared, an edge has lifted or there is a mark on the wall: what now? Photograph it, note when it appeared and what changed nearby, and do not touch it. Most wallcovering problems are easier to diagnose and repair before anyone has cut a bubble, pressed an edge back with the wrong adhesive or tried a household cleaner. The symptom tells you less than the cause, and similar symptoms come from quite different causes.

What should you record?

• An overall photograph of the wall and a close-up of the problem, in daylight if possible.
• When it appeared, and whether it has grown.
• What changed: the heating came on, a window was left open, a room was closed up, a leak or condensation nearby, a knock or furniture moved against the wall.
• Whether the wall feels cold, soft or damp to the touch.
• The product reference, batch and installation date if you have them.

That is enough for a first assessment, and it is what the aftercare page asks for. A photograph helps us see whether we are looking at the hang, a knock or the building.

Why not just fix it?

Cutting a bubble and injecting adhesive, or pressing a lifted edge back with whatever glue is to hand, can turn a small, invisible repair into a visible one and makes the cause harder to find afterwards. A household PVA worked into a lifting seam can stain the face, and a seam roller run over grasscloth or silk crushes the fibre into a shiny line. A bubble that appeared with the heating season may be the paper easing as it dries and may settle; a bubble over a cold, soft patch is a damp problem that no repair will hold. An edge lifting at every seam along one wall points to the substrate or the adhesive; one edge behind a door points to a knock.

Is it a fault, or the material?

Natural seams in grasscloth, silk and hand-painted papers, and shading between drops of a natural weave, are properties of the material; our grasscloth guide shows what is normal. A seam that has let go, a lifted edge, a crease, a tear or adhesive on the face is different, and should be reported. Paper and textile move with the moisture in the room: a new hang eases as it dries and may ease again when the heating starts or a closed room meets damp weather, which is why a return visit waits for the room to settle rather than happening the next morning.

How should each material be cleaned?

Start by knowing which product is on the wall; keep the reference and the maker’s care sheet with the project record. When a mark appears, stop. Household cleaners, steam and abrasive sponges are how a small mark becomes a large one.

• Silk and textiles: dust with a clean, dry, soft cloth. No water, no solvent, no steam. A stain needs a conservator.
• Grasscloth and natural weaves: dry dust only, lightly. Moisture stains the fibre and can swell the weave.
• Hand-painted papers and murals: no liquids. Dust dry, and rarely. Keep direct sun off a scenic paper where you can; it fades unevenly.
• Contract vinyl: a barely damp cloth with a drop of mild soap, then dry. No abrasive creams, no neat bleach, no scourers.
• Acoustic wallcoverings: low-suction vacuum with a soft head. Do not soak the fabric or the perforations.

Those are the general methods for each family; the exact product’s care sheet takes precedence, and an unknown product is treated as not washable. A washability mark describes how the surface takes a sponge, not whether it can stay wet: even a scrubbable paper is not a splashback. Our aftercare page has the full care notes by material.

What should you not do to the room?

Do not steam-clean wallcoverings. Do not point a fan heater at one seam or stand a humidifier against the paper. Keep the heat steady and the room ventilated. If a stain spreads or a wall feels cold and soft, look for damp before you look for a decorator; a repair over a wet substrate will fail again, and our wall preparation guide explains why.

What can a repair realistically achieve?

A local repair is often possible. An exact match is not always possible: ageing, light, batch differences and natural variation all show at the edge of a patch, and a spare from the same batch is the only reliable source. A patch on a plain paper can be sound and still show in side light, and grasscloth and silk rarely patch invisibly. Ask whether the repair will remain visible before agreeing it, and keep approved spare material dry, with its batch label, stored as the maker recommends.

When is an inspection needed?

When the cause is not obvious from the photographs; when the problem is spreading; when there is any sign of damp; or when the wallcovering is on a listed, acoustic or specified system where the detail matters. For work we installed, the aftercare page sets out what the return visit and the workmanship guarantee cover and where the building takes over from the hang. For wallcoverings installed by others, send the same photographs and we will say whether a repair is possible.