How to remove linoleum and the glue?
by Patty
+4
We are removing old linoleum and so far hot water seems the work the best but is still really hard work. Does anyone know of an easier way? Kerosene and torches are out of the question and so if adhesive remover.
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I’ve used a household clothes iron. Put a towel on the linoleum floor and cranked it up to cotton, ironed over the towel and within minutes could get my flat bar under there and up it came. Some glue leftover i used wax paper and did the same thing it came up on that and then throw the glue now stuck to the wax paper away. Finished up in small spots I couldn’t get up with a product called goof off, but it wasn’t much of an area and the smell dicipated quickly.
Trust me, you ARE doing it the easiest way. I did the following: flooded the bathroom with hot soapy water and waited 10 minutes; then used a standing scraper to lift up the laminate. I then put down towels to dry the floor a bit as I have a wood subfloor, and put a space heater in the room overnight. The floor was still sticky, so I poured a huge amount of goo remover on the floor, and used rags to wipe up the mess, throwing the rags in the garbage afterwards. Before I discovered this method, I cried everytime I went in there.
A hair blow dryer on high works great too.
Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I'm gonna try a steamer tomorrow and see how it does.
Steamer did not work very well so back to the hot water.
I used a heat gun and a paint scrapper. The heat gun was a little stronger than the blow dryer. Do be careful. Some older linoleum has been known to contain asbestos.
So we went and rented an industrial scraper from Home Depot for 24 hours. Cost about $100.00 but well worth it! The floor is done!
They call it the Equalizer. I call it a back, shoulder and arm saver!