Long story short-
Mrs CPD SIG wants to re-do the bedroom. So guess what I get to do?

Anyways- I removed the rug. It's been down for 16 years. Survived the Wife, the Dog, our two drunkin midgets and me. It had to go.

Under the high traffic areas of the rug, the backing (cloth and possibly a rubber type backing) stuck to the hardwood floor. The floor is in great shape, and doesn't need to be refinished.

Any tips or tricks on removing that stuff stuck to the floor?

I'm having success scraping it up with a plastic scraper (plastic won't scratch the floor). But it's a royal pain in the rear.

A little heat from a hairdryer might help with the plastic scraper.

As the disclaimer goes “Try this in an unobtrusive area first”

I would try putting some Dawn dishwashing detergent soapy water on a small area to see if that would soften it up to see if it helps with the scraping.

Easy on the water amount and dry it up after scraping.

I have never tried this!

Not an expert, but I might test some duct tape on an inconspicuous corner to see if it messed with the finish, and if it doesn't hurt the finish, I would then try putting duct tape over the areas with the backing and see if that would peel it off.

Carpet tape might be better - that would have to have been tested against damaging floor finishes - but who has carpet tape lying around?

Mineral spirits.

My wife found something called Goo Gone that cleans the adhesive used to stick labels on all kinds of things. I’m done with carefully trying to remove labels in one piece. After what can be ripped off in one go a saturated piece of paper towel gets laid on the sticky residue and then wiped off. If a little heat didn’t loosen the pad I’d give Goo Gone a shot in a hidden spot.

I think Goo Gone is mostly acetone and might lift the finish.

Sears used to have a product called terpoline ,we used to remove packing tape that had become wet on appliances,
It is paint safe

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
I think Goo Gone is mostly acetone and might lift the finish.

Maybe so, but I’ve used it on all kinds of painted items without the result you’d get using acetone. You really do have to take care using acetone.

Rent a floor buffer.

In a similar situation I used our Bissel Healthy Home(?) vacuum cleaner, and the rotating brush worked, but slowly.

quote:

Originally posted by RAMIUS:
Mineral spirits.

This is the correct answer.

quote:

Originally posted by Sportshooter:

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
I think Goo Gone is mostly acetone and might lift the finish.

Maybe so, but I’ve used it on all kinds of painted items without the result you’d get using acetone. You really do have to take care using acetone.

If you look at the MSDS for Goo Gone, it's basically kerosene and limonene.

Limonene is a strong natural solvent found in citrus oil.

Try WD-40. It's good at softening and removing all sorts of adhesive without hurting finishes.

Mostly used a drywall knife to lightly scrape up the stuck on spots.
There were 3 PITA spots that I used the GooGone on.

WORKED PERFECTLY!

Thanks Gents!!!!