Steam really works to remove adhesive from hardwood!
I bought myself a $50 wallpaper steamer and went to work on my hardwood floors this past week. It really works! Here are some photos:
Front bedroom before, with glue-down carpet pad of ~70's vintage, judging by the shag carpet on top of it.
I scraped off the cushy part of the pad, and used the steamer on the residue.
And here's the after. Still has some film in a few areas, but it should sand out fine.
Back bedroom before, with some sort of trowelled-on adhesive.
And after (not quite done).
It's about 8 hours of work per 11x11 room, so hasn't gone real fast. But it's not backbreaking work by any means, just slow going and tedious.
The bedroom floors are in decent shape. There's one board with a gouge in it, and a few spots with small divots, but whatever doesn't sand out I'll just leave as "character" marks. Other than the water-damaged hall area, everything I've exposed looks completely refinishable.
The kitchen is another whole ball game, as there's a couple layers of glued-down vinyl to deal with, not just residue, so it requires a lot more elbow grease and upper body strength. :-) But the steamer softens everything up, allowing me to make progress with various and sundry scrapers. And after several rounds I can get down to the bare wood. Here are some progress photos:
This was with a lot of manual scraping with a wonderbar:
And here's after a bit of work with the steamer.
Comments (11)
1917bungalow
10 years agoI'll never understand why people cover up beautiful wood floors. You're doing a great job!
We pulled up shag carpeting last week. Then we pulled up padding that had been nailed into the wood floors only to find another layer of carpet. Below that final layer was what I assume to be the rubber backing or even padding. It had been there so long that it had disintegrated into a greenish powder on top of the wood floors. lol I'm hoping a good cleaning with a stiff deck brush will bring it up. As you can see from the picture, there's even more work to be done. ;)
Good luck with the rest of the floors!
lazy_gardens
10 years agoRelated Discussions
Removing linoleum from unfinished hardwood?
Comments (3)That's a horse of a different color and requires some investigation and caution, as some vinyl backings contain asbestos. You can have an asbestos abatement company do the work for you or, as a homeowner, you may be able to do the work yourself, but it would need to be done following all rules and work practices in doing that. The tools are basically the same, but isolating the workspace, preventing airborne contamination and protecting your body is a must. Disposing of the waste is a related issue. Have the material tested so you know what you're possibly dealing with. Search "asbestos in the home" for good information....See MoreSteam cleaners and hardwood a myth????
Comments (26)I have used a shark mop in an older apartment with not so nice hardwood floors. I also tend to add a capful of pinesol into the shark cleaner. The floor weren't disastrous, but I wouldn't call them great shape either. Additionally I have used various products that most people would be shocked. And I have used a large amount of water on them. When things were starting to look dull I would use a quick shine on them. Despite the fact that I was doing it "all wrong" my landlord was always happy with the way my floors looked. All this being said, I also have 5 cats and I would rather have to redo my floors more often if the trade off is knowing I have a clean floor. (I am getting ready to redo the floors on a house that I am buying) and will at the very least use a steam mop on my floors then too. DISCLAIMER: just because I said this is the way I do it does not mean it won't have an effect. Let me add that I cleaned my brothers house with a steam mop as well that he had redone with no I'll effects....See MoreRemoving linoleum from unfinished hardwood?
Comments (14)Okay. I gave up, and called in the pros... They used a professional floor scraper (basically, a large razor blade on a long stick) to get the lino up, and then used a giant sander with 24 grit sandpaper to get the tar up. They also told me that it is NOT asbestos - just plain old tar. After 8 months of me and my neighbor and his friends scraping, scraping, scraping... it took the pros about two hours. It looks AMAZING. I am thrilled. Its only just been sanded - I'm waiting on the matching heart pine I ordered to patch it, and then they'll put the finish on it. It's costing me $1200 for scraping, sanding, and finishing, plus an extra $400 for the patch work (including ripping the 5" boards down to fit in my 3 1/4" floor). The heart pine boards to patch? $38 a box, times two boxes. And to tell you the truth? Totally worth it. And it should be done after three days of work. Three days! I have been up all night every night in the last week stressing about the darn floor - the idiots my neighbor got to work on it (supposedly pros) damaged it, and I was sure it was just ruined. Now I can finally get some sleep. That right there is worth the money....See MoreNeed help after steam mopping hardwood
Comments (3)Ok...as Oak & Broad has pointed out, this could need a redo of some sort. I'm going to point something out here (once again I must state the not-so-obvious). Murphy's Oil soap is NEVER TO BE USED on polyurethane, urethane, acrylic finishes of ANY sort. Please throw it out. Murphy's Oil soap has been known to PREVENT refinishing...forever. If that is the case (once you speak with a wood flooring professional...and mention the use of Murphy's) feel free to start a class action lawsuit against them (I've been waiting almost a decade for this...but no one seems to want to go this route...sigh). Next...please use the steam mop on limited surfaces...like porcelain/ceramic/stone tile (but not marble), metal, concrete, glass. That's all that is allowed to clean. And certainly not vinyl or linoleum. OK...now that we have scared you, you can go ahead and start living on your floors. By the looks of it, you have "cooked" the finish (that's what the streaks are...they are hazing due to excessive heat from the steam = cooked finish = just like cooking an egg). At this point the finish is still functional but it is going to look ugly until it gets fixed. It is possible that a buff and coat *could* make the difference...but with the use of Murphy's you may have removed that option. A full sand and refinish will definitely correct this (removes all finish), but the use of Murphy's oil might have caused enough contamination that this might now work. If you only used the Murphy's once or twice, you shouldn't have a problem with a full sand and refinish. But the buff and coat is most likely off the table (like 80% - 90% chance it is off the table). Feel free to bring in a hardwood flooring professional for their opinion. Please please please mention Murphy's oil. It will give the professional the chance to make an honest assessment....See Moreweedyacres
10 years agobrickeyee
10 years agoLocrian
10 years ago1917bungalow
10 years agolazy_gardens
10 years agogeller
10 years agoweedyacres
10 years agoI thought I'd post a "final success" photo of my kitchen floor in this thread. It was a painful process, but the steamer ultimately did the trick. Unlike the bedrooms, it took about 6 passes along each row once I was down to the black stuff to get it all off. Whew!
Kyle Flaugher
last year
southerncanuck