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So, I'm tearing up all the carpet in my house. It's all super old and stained to begin with, but then I have pets and hate the dirt that carpet holds. Plus it's all hardwood underneath. There's literally no reason for me to keep it, lol.

Anyway, I'm working on pulling it up in my second bedroom area, and I noticed the stuff covering the wood, right underneath the carpet padding. I'm assuming it goes through the whole room, though I've only pulled up a section at the moment, and some all of it I can peel off with no problem, but there is some that's particularly stubborn.

First of all I'm wondering what this stuff is, but most of all I'm wondering how best to get rid of it without damaging the wood underneath - or at least, not damaging it so badly that a good sanding won't take care of it.

Thanks, y'all!

strange stuff on wood detail of the orange stuff

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    I'd suggest a dust mask and a carbide-blade scraper. Not the same as the glued-down pad I had, but similar enough.
    – Ecnerwal
    Commented Aug 28, 2021 at 17:35
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    Exam the back of the carpet, I guess it will show a layer is missing, which somehow had adhered to your wood floor. I'll try the paint solvent in a small area and see if it will come loose by light scraping.
    – r13
    Commented Aug 28, 2021 at 17:51
  • Might also be very old linoleum
    – Polypipe Wrangler
    Commented Aug 29, 2021 at 4:31

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That looks like undercarpet, which was used to give a more luxurious feel as well as sound deadening.

Usually it will scrape off the wood surface with a scraper if needed. Not normally glued down but sometimes around the edges.

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