It is common knowledge that wood floors are remarkably challenging to maintain. The dust settles comfortably on the surface all the time. In return, it would need constant waxing and polishing. High maintenance was a grave problem for many. Thus, when technology introduced to everyone the use of linoleum, several homeowners readily tried it.
These days, many people want to remove linoleum, but not everyone knows how to remove linoleum glue from wood. The difficulty depends on the condition of the linoleum glue and the asbestos. You can do it properly if you have the right tools to help you.
So, when you plan to remove the linoleum glue from wood floors, check these easy steps.
What Do You Need?
To start the process, you will need the following items in learning how to remove linoleum glue from wood. Get these tools ready for a day of scraping off linoleum glue. You will need:
- A Scrapper tool or a Putty Knife
- Utility Knife
- Wonder bar
- Rubber mallet
- Oscillating tool
- Old cloth or a towel
- Heat Gun
- Mask, Safety Glasses, and Gloves
- Hot Water
Remove Linoleum from Wood
To remove linoleum from wood, follow the easy steps to get started on the right track. Here are the things you need to do:
1. Cut the linoleum
To easily strip the linoleum off the wood floor, you need to cut them into strips. It will make it easier to rip them off than having all width taken off. Use your utility knife to slice the linoleum into at least 12 inches.
2. Take the linoleum off
To carefully take the linoleum off, you need to make sure to break the glue attached to it. First, put your putty knife underneath the linoleum. Push it under while you tap the linoleum gently with your rubber mallet.
Once you feel the linoleum separated from the wood floor, take your wonder bar to substitute your putty knife and gently roll the linoleum up until the whole line gets removed.
Now, after removing all linoleum strips, all you have left are the linoleum glue. It’s now time for serious business.
How to Remove Linoleum Glue from Wood
Remember to be careful when removing linoleum glue, especially when you don’t want to damage your wood floor. Any strong chemicals may cause extreme damages to the hardwood. When you have old linoleum on the wood floor, it is crucial to ask for professional help.
First, put your safety equipment on. If you are dealing with old linoleum or even the new ones, be careful and take extra precautions. Use safety glasses and a mask to protect your face. The face mask will help you not to inhale the harmful asbestos fibers. Inhaling this for a long time can cause grave damage.
1. Use hot water
Once you noticed the asbestos, you have to act right away. You can lower the risk and danger by trying to dampen it with water before you remove it. Dry asbestos is more harmful than wet ones. But don’t apply much water or you will ruin your wood floor.
You may need to constantly repeat drenching the floor with hot water until the glue is soft enough for you to scrape. Use a mop or an unused cloth or towel to dampen the floor. Let the towel soak the linoleum glue for a minimum of ten minutes. Or you can leave it until the towel gets cold.
Then, try to scrape it off using your putty knife. Repeat the process until you removed all the necessary linoleum glue.
Remember not to scrape the wood too hard. You will damage it. Although it can be time-consuming, be gentle with your scraping if you want to lessen the damage you can cause on the wood.
2. Use a heat gun
The second way to safely remove linoleum glue from wood is by using the heat gun. It is effective in melting the glue, making it soft and easy to scrape. However, be careful not to put the heat gun too close to the wood. It will quickly burn the surface of the wood floor.
Use your heat gun and your scraper or putty knife. As you move along the wood floor, aim the heat gun on the linoleum glue and let your putty knife scrape the softened glue. Make sure your gloves are on when doing this to protect your hands from the heat, the putty knife, and the linoleum glue.
Once the putty knife is not enough to scrape the softened glue, you can use the oscillating tool to scrape the linoleum glue off. The oscillating tool will not go under the adhesive paste quickly. Yet, it can help scrape off thick and hard patches effectively.
The work may take you some time before you finally scrape all the linoleum glue. It all depends on the area you’re working in, whether it’s too large or not. You need to patient enough for this. Extra help would be welcome.
The crucial part is to stay safe and protected, most especially when dealing with asbestos. Without the needed safety equipment, you can get yourself in extreme danger. Thus, when learning how to remove linoleum glue from wood, always remember safety and have a lot of patience.
Conclusion
The old linoleum glue may take time before you can thoroughly remove everything. However, if you are patient enough to get through it until everything gets scraped, you can have your wooden floors back. It may need another set of maintenance for your wood to go back to its former glory, but it worth all the effort.
What you need to do is get the right tools to get the job done. Getting accurate tools and accessing the right ways and steps to start removing the glue is very crucial. Thus, before you begin to know how to remove linoleum glue from wood, make sure you research very well.
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