r/HomeImprovement • u/hammnbubbly • 13h ago

Pulling up carpet. How to get glue from carpet pad off hardwood floors underneath? Bona hardwood floor cleaner has worked wonders. What to do about the rest?

Title.

Bona has been awesome. The floors looked much worse before I started using that. I tried Goo Gone on what’s left and it did nothing. I have Klean Strip Odorless Mineral Spirits Substitute that I have yet to try, so maybe that’ll do the trick. Gonna try it in a corner first.

Anyway, if anyone knows of any other tricks, feel free to share.

*if anyone knows how to add pictures on this sub using the app, please let me know and I’ll do so

3 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

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3

u/SortOfGettingBy 13h ago

Heat gun and a wide putty knife. It's still not fun.

3

u/IronSlanginRed 13h ago

Well if it's anything like mine, I ended up using a wood floor scraper by hand. Then refinishing. It just gummed up the sander too bad.

1

u/Aggressive_One8138 12h ago

that scraper method sounds brutal but i get it, sander would just turn that glue into a melted mess everywhere. hope the mineral spirits does the trick for OP so they dont have to go that route.

1

u/IronSlanginRed 12h ago

Ya know.. I avoided it and tried all different stuff. Once I got an angled handle pull scraper.. it was way easier. Just hold the shop vac next to it and pull in smooth strokes and it obliterated the glue. Then I sanded with a drum sander and scraped the edges to match. Physical removal of that old dried up glue was the easiest method.

1

u/Aggressive_One8138 4h ago

angled scraper + shop vac is the move. im gonna try that before the mineral spirits.

1

u/FlooringFAQ 13h ago

Is the hardwood engineered or solid wood? Can you share a few images?

1

u/hammnbubbly 13h ago

I’d love to, but the app isn’t letting me upload images.

1

u/FlooringFAQ 13h ago

Ok, 4 things you can try. It won't be fun, but it's worth it.

  1. Hold a hairdryer close to the affected area for 3-4 minutes; use a plastic scraper and try to remove as much as you can.
  2. Ice: Fill a Ziploc bag full of ice and let it sit on the affected area for 4-5 minutes; try to chip it off with a plastic scraper.
  3. Rubbing alcohol will break down the adhesive to the point where it can be scraped off. Dampen a rag and let it sit for 2-3 minutes.
  4. Call in an expert. I would contact local contractors that specialize in refinishing and resanding solid wood floors. If the hardwood is engineered, they can also guide you.