Padded carpet ‐ After the old carpet has been removed you will find a variety of contaminants on the floor. Paint, Wood stain, Dry wall mud, PVC glue, and Carpet pad glue (squiggle glue). I will start with the Carpet pad squiggle glue. In all of the following procedures you will need to use a floor maintainer and black stripper pads. Always use a floor maintainer, trying to clean by hand will only make you tired and will not clean the floor sufficiently. Do Not use brushes, or any other color pads, as they will not clean the floor sufficiently.
Squiggle glue is best removed using WD40. Purchase WD40 by the gallon, it is available at most good home repair centers. Using a 4″ scraper remove the excess glue and pad particles remaining on the floor by a quick scraping (don’t spend a lot of time on the scraping). Pour WD40 on the areas with the glue, scrub the areas with the floor maintainer and black pads, always keep the WD40 as a liquid (do not let the WD40 dry out while you are scrubbing, always keep it in a liquid state). After scrubbing use a floor squeegee to pull the liquid into one place and then pick up the liquid with a wet-dry vacuum. Do not worry about the oily residue, it will be removed on the last cleaning using T.S.P.
Paint and wood stain can be removed with Skim Paint Remover. Brush or roll Skim on the painted areas, allow Skim to work for about 5 – 10 minuets. Mist water on top of the Skim using a pump up garden sprayer, and then scrub with a floor maintainer and black pad, Use a squeegee to pull up the paint and skim into one area, do not pick up with a wet-dry vacuum. If the paint is extra thick or extra stubborn it is best to apply the Skim as above, and then cover with a painters plastic drop cloth, and let stand for several hours as needed ( Skim continues to work as long as it is liquid).
Dry Wall is very water‐soluble, T.S.P. and water will remove it. Mix T.S.P. at a rate of 1/4 cup to 2 gal. of clean water. Pour the mixture on the floor and scrub using a floor maintainer and a black stripper pad. Scrub in small areas, (approx. 4’x4‘) then using a floor squeegee pull the dirty water into one place and pick up with a wet- dry vacuum, after that mop with clear water to remove any missed T.S.P. and squeegee marks.
P.V.C Glue can be removed simply by scraping it from the floor. The biggest problem is finding it. Always check in the areas where the plumbers have been working, also remember electricians also use P.V.C. glue. These spots are very difficult to see when you are scrubbing the floor, if you happen to skip any of these spots you can color the spots after you mop off the residue left by the stain, and before you apply the final coat of sealer.
Vinyl Floor coverings, sheet or seamless floor coverings can be pulled off the floor, but most of the time it will leave a thin layer of cardboard backing. This can be removed by soaking the floor with warm soapy water. Let the floor soak up to for several hours, then use a heavy long handle scraper to scrape off the backing (always keep the scraper as sharp as possible), this will remove quite a lot of the glue holding it down.
Vinyl Tiles are usually fairly easy to take up. A heavy long handle scraper is generally the easiest way to pop them up (keep the scraper as sharp as possible).
After the sheet vinyl, or vinyl tiles have been removed you must then remove the glue left on the floor. This glue can be white, yellow, or black. Some of the white and yellow glues are water‐ soluble. To find out if the glue is water‐soluble use a sink sponge with the sand paper finish on one side. Pour hot soapy water on a small area of the glue, allow to soak for 5 to 10 minuets and then scrub vigorously with the sand paper side of the sponge. If the glue begins to dissolve then you have a water-soluble glue and it can be removed using a floor maintainer, black scrubber pads, and T.S.P. and water. Work small areas at a time, then pick up the solution with a floor squeegee and wet-dry vacuum.
If you find the glue is not water‐soluble then you must use a paint stripper (we always use Skim Paint Stripper) Apply and precede as we explained in the section on removing paint, or wood stain.
If you have a black glue (cut-back) then you will need to use mineral spirits, or paint thinner, (DO NOT USE LACQUER THINNER) and the floor maintainer, with black stripper pads. Pour the mineral spirits on a 4’ x 4′ section of the floor and scrub with black stripper pads. Use enough mineral spirits to keep the black glue liquid, do not scrub the glue dry as it will simply redistribute the glue. As you dissolve the cutback squeegee the liquid in to an area and pickup up with the wet-dry vacuum.
Always do a final cleaning with T.S.P. and water, and a floor maintainer with black stripper pads. Squeegee the liquid into one spot and pick up the liquid with a wet-dry vacuum, then mop with clean water to remove any squeegee marks and dirty water you have missed. This will remove residue left by the cleaning methods described above.
