We just bought a house with lovely bright pink carpeting over hardwood floors, and tore it all up. The foam underneath was multi-colored, and the black spots appear to have melted to the floor.
It's hard to see in the pictures, but those are actual little lumps of sticky foam (melted? it's 90°F here).
So, what's the easiest way to remove these from the floor without ruining it? I've read online suggestions of hardwood floor cleaner, Goo-Gone, soapy water, and even dry ice.
Probably you are hoping to spray some Miracle Vanishing Formula™, instantly wipe, and be good as new. Maybe it is possible to do that, or use a putty knife carefully.
In the end, you will probably have added scratches, and there are probably defects and worn portions screaming for refinishing. So why not skip to the (seemingly) inevitable conclusion: maybe now is a great time to refinish the whole floor.
Rent a floor sander, either a drum sander, floor stripper, or square buff sander and take off the foam, varnish, and thin layer of the wood.
Usually, it is best to remove floor edge molding to get all the way to the walls, but if the molding is expensive or hard to remove, it is not unreasonable to do a best effort with the edge sander (above right) or an orbital with a shield.
Then add floor finish, sand, buff, and refinish again. It is a lot of work and has to be spread out over at least three days with no use of the room, but it can really revive an iffy room and make it one you can be proud of.
I suppose I should post the solution we eventually came up with.
We tried everything. Goo-gone. Soapy water. Various hardwood floor cleaners. Alcohol. Windex. Dry ice. Steam. Swiffer Wet Jet. Industrial Strength Adhesive Remover. None of these made the cleaning much easier, and even after hours of scraping and wiping, the foam still left nasty black stains on the floor that we couldn't get out.
In our desperation, my dad made what turned out to be a brilliant suggestion: Orange Goop
It's an industrial-strength hand-cleaner, used by mechanics to get strong oils and grease off their hands.
It worked wonders getting the foam off the floor. We'd spritz some on a small patch of foam, wipe it around a bit, let it sit for five minutes, then the foam came off almost effortlessly, leaving no stains!
However, we were desperately worried the Orange Goop would ruin the floor's finish. We tested a patch and it looked okay several days later, so we did the entire floor in small patches, immediately waxing after each patch, as a precaution. However, we left an area unwaxed to test, and two years later that unwaxed patch still looks as good as the rest of the floor, so I don't think the waxing was necessary.
Hopefully this helps someone out in a similar situation!
I would try plastic taping knives such as these
If these are not sharp enough, I would move on to credit cards. Yes, credit cards (use the ones you got in the mail that you do not want). They are softer than metal, but have a fairly sharp edge.
If there is still stubborn residue, I would use a dull metal taping knife (or putty knife).
If there is remaining stickiness or oiliness, I would use a grease cutting cleaner like Fantastik. If that was in sufficient, I would move on to alcohol. Then mineral spirits.
Only if all these failed would I move on to sharp scrapers or sanding.
Yes, it is slow and tedious. But I have cleaned up a floor that looked just like that in a few hours and it came out beautifully (even if I was cranky, exhausted and far from beautiful).
Carbide tipped scrapers, pulled slowly, will remove the padding and leave the finish unmarked. Originally Sandvik (now Bahco), they are also available at Sears tool centers and Rockler.
I also use them for scraping off old paint drips when prepping walls for paint.
Best answer.....use an arched back black scraper with a utility blade. Set it down on the floor and scrape with the grain of the wood. Do not dig or gouge. You will remove 90 % of the mess. Now the fun part. Clean rags, goof off type hand cleaner that is slightly abrasive. It will take the residue off almost instantly with just medium pressure. Work in a 2x2ft areA with the train. Then with a damp, not wet rag, go over the area to remove any residue. Slow and messy but good results. Also, if you have tack strips, don't pry them up, pull the nails with a small cats paw. A lot less scratching. Ron S
You need to get it nice and wet and use a plastic scraper to pop those off. I have used both soap and water, windex, and hardwood floor cleaners to do this. All work to varying degrees on different floors. Rubber scraper = plastic putty knife. Have one person squirt and another scrape. Once an area is wet for about 5-10 mins it usually comes right off - and of course you can not let the moisture sit in one area too long. If you use any metal scrapers you will have marks. I have done this on at least 5 floors.
Tried all of the above solutions on my problem...foam underpayment for area rug stuck to brick surfaces in foyer. None worked. None seemed to loosen the adherence of the foam padding residue, which was NOT glued down. I am lazy and was looking for an attack that required less work. Alcohol, 409, etc. would not work. Had some xylene in my shop and tried it. Xylene (product name at local Ace Hardware: xynol.). Worked like a dream. Bought half a gallon and got the whole area done in 15 minutes. I put the xylene down by dousing the floors, pouring it directly out of the can. Left it alone for 3-4 minutes, then got down with a tough bristled brush I use to clean automobile tires with and scrubbed lightly. Off the little dudes came...slick as a whistle. If using on wooden floors, try the xylene on the floor finish in an out of the way place before trying it on the problem area.
CAUTION: you do not want to breathe xylene. Serious stuff. I mounted a box fan in my nearest window and put cardboard all around the window so I did not get any short-circuiting of the outside air being drawn in. I then cracked a door 3" that lead to the rest of the house. When the box fan was running, the air was drawn from the cracked door, across the floor (my target) and out the window. Using a fan like this is important to do to stop the xylene from permeating the whole house. Then, I put on an organic vapor mask. If you are unable to do these two things, then use someone else's solution.
I just did this tonight. You don't have to wet the floor. Get a wooden paint stirrer and start scraping the floor. First go against the grain. Work in small areas. After scraping a few feet, use the side of the stick and scrape together a pile to vacuum up. Then keep repeating the process. What I can't figure out is how to get the stains out.
Looks like a pretty decent grade of wood flooring. Also it probably is a shellac finish. Something about the pad or maybe the shampoo used on the carpet caused the shellac to soften and fuse with the pad particles. You can use a similar chemical to soften the finish and release the pad. Shellac softens with several common materials. Ammonia is one but it is difficult to not have a sticky mess when you are done. You might try Johnsons or Briwax paste wax and a scrub brush. There is also the challenge of removing staples and tack strip without damaging the floor. Also the paste wax would inhibit any new coats of finish you might need from sticking evenly to the old shellac. So while the floor is close to being usable it is a resand away from being something really nice.
I had some. serious rubber from my rug got stock to my tiles in my kitchen I was worried as how I will get to remove it. The space was like 6ft×2ft I was thinking that's a lot of work and elbow grease however I slept and wake up with this on my mind since it look really nasty, my first thought PAM SPRAY so I spray the area and give it like 2mins and them I use a plastic spatula I was shocked at how easy the rubber came off no amount of work after which I use a scotch Brite washing sponge use the scouring part with some diswashing liquid give it a quick light scrub then mop up with some vinegar water, this did not take me ten(10) mind hope it can help someone too.
I decided to try undiluted Pine-sol with a toothbrush on a spot and it came up really fast and easy. I got a bucket with very hot water and applied the Pine-sol directly to the floor undiluted in just a few areas, used a mop to distribute it while scrubbing with the mop. Everything has come up off the floor. I plan to go over it again with my Bissell floor steamer mop, I think the heat helps. Plans are to refinish eventually.
First is to run the vacuum cleaner over the area many times. Don't let the beater hit, but you do want the brushes to hit the floor. This will take a LOT of the big stuff off.
I tried almost every solvent known to man. My problem is that it either did nothing, or dissolved the carpet pad and the shellac.
I ended up using Windshield Washing Fluid (that also will remove ice/frost from the windshield). When I started losing patience, I would add up to 25% isopropyl alcohol. Spray on, and let it sit for a couple of minutes. Then I Hand scrubbed with:
A. 4" Paint & Rust Remover Extra Coarse 1 Pack open-webbed, semi-flexible design of this wheel makes it easy to strip edges, contours and uneven surfaces without gouging (bought at the "Green-colored" store and saved Big Money)
B. Scotch-Brite
Don't fool yourself, this took a LOT of work = time.
I did not want to sand and put all the dust into the air. Nor, risk sanding off any stain that may be on the wood.
The only thing that would dissolve the carpet pad also dissolved the shellac. Before I liked polyurethane, but now I like shellac. I've had to scrub down to the bare wood in places, and to repair, I will probably open doors/windows for ventilation, then use a roller with straight alcohol to dissolve the patchy area and get it to even out. Then, put a second coat over the top. Great stuff to fix at a later date, plus if I understand correctly, it is natural, not poisionous.
I just had the same thing only mine was on particle board flooring.I scraped off what I could with a plastic putty knife and vacuumed up the bits and pieces. Try using warm water with dish soap to clean off the rest. If it left the wood splotchy when its all removed then you probably have to refinish anyway. Also try mineral spirits. Wash off with soap and water after the mineral spirits.
I had a similar situation and scraped with plastic putty knife, washed with dawn dish soap and goof off, and washed again with dawn dish soap. A lot came up, but the stains still appeared. A lot of time an effort went into this too - I'd suggest to sand it, stain it, and poly it. Save yourself the hassle and time.
I suggest, first use the Vacuum Cleaner. It helps to remove maximum foam from the floor. After that use scraper to pop those off and again second-time use Vacuum Cleaner. I hope it will help you. Thanks
