How do you remove carpet glue from floor?

S

Scotsgirl

Registered User
Messages
227
Hi,
I am removing a carpet that was laid on top of varnished cork tiles. The carpet was glued down and has now left a sticky residue all around the edges of the room. I would be very grateful if anyone would know how to remove the glue from the floor. It is quite a big area. I was thinking white spirit might do it, but not sure if this would ruin the cork.

Many thanks.

Scotsgirl.
 
Acetone is usually handy for removing adhesives in case that is of any use here? I'd imagine that your local DIY shop should be able to advise?
 
Actually I would sooner try a small local specialist DIY store as the DIY warehouse stores are often staffed by people who don't have a clue. Maybe Woodies or your local store is different.
 
I agree with you. Sometimes I think I know more about DIY than most of the staff in the big warehouse stores. I will see if I can find a small specialist store as they are usually good with information. Problem is there aren't many around as I think the big warehouses have probably pushed them out of business.

Thanks anyway.
 
I had heartache removing the old fashioned vinyl tiles which had previously graced one of the bedroom floors.

After a lot of money trying different things, the best in the end was a thin stream of water from a boiling kettle (be careful!) and a strong paint scraper tool, plus a lot of elbow grease! Some areas had to be done more than once. Mop up water as you go along with newspaper so the wood doesn't get too wet.

I wonder would the steamer that you can hire for stripping wallpaper work either?
 
ClubMan said:
Acetone is usually handy for removing adhesives in case that is of any use here? I'd imagine that your local DIY shop should be able to advise?
Click to expand...

Daughter was looking for acetone for a long time and the only place it was available was [broken link removed]
 
I think you'd do well to remove the adhesive without damaging the cork tile. "Floorwise" and similar adhesives are removable using white spirit, but this is really only effective when the glue is fresh and I'm not sure how this would perform on old adhesive that's well cured. It might be worthwhile checking out an adhesive manufacturer's website to establish what solvents are appropriate for use with certain adhesives.
 
I was thinking the same, probably a lost of solvents would ruin the cork. The glue is fairly old as carpet down a few years. Its very strong, and I was surprised the tiles didn't come up when I pulled up the carpet. The area is also quite large. Perhaps a carpet shop may be able to tell me the adhesive they normally use and I can check for solvents then. They may even know of one. If its going to be a big job I may just put some new carpet down, but I quite like the varnished cork. Thanks Carpenter.
 
To quite honest most solvents are going to wreck the finish on varnshed cork; if they don't lift the finish altogether they'll certainly leave a "bloom" on varnish. You may need to reconsider....
 
the only way i ever found too remove glue ,was with paint remover,but that was from a woodenfloor.it got it off no problem ,but with cork tiles they could get damaged
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register