How to Remove Carpet Padding

Old Carpet Pad

Are you replacing your carpet but also need to replace the padding? There are several reasons you might need to remove the padding, including dangerous mold. Follow these steps to remove the padding with ease.

Things You'll Need

• Carpenter's knife
• Flooring scrapper
• Dust mask
• Shop vac
• Broom
• Dust pan
• Trash bags

Instructions

1. 

   Assemble the carpenter's knife and scrapper. Clear the entire room of furniture and anything lying on the floor. The room should be completely empty. Begin at the longest wall and pull the carpet off the tact strips. Allow the carpet to lie on the floor. Using the carpenter's knife, begin to cut the carpet into 2-by-6 foot squares.

2. 

   Roll up the cut pieces of carpet. Put them in trash bags, and take them directly to the trash. Repeat this process until the carpet pad is completely exposed. In the instance that the pad sticks to the carpet or is disintegrated, allow the pad to be removed at the same time the carpet is being taken up. Prepare to scrape disintegrated or stuck pad, moving to the following steps.

3. 

   Expose the carpet pad to uncover stains. When mold and mildew reside under the pad, it can cause the pad to stick to the base floor. Mold and mildew under the carpet pad is indicative that the carpet pad should be removed, and it could be causing allergies. When padding has mold and mildew under it or on it, it is a result of the padding being wet for a long period of time. In some cases, pet stains are the cause. Under this circumstance, it is recommended that the carpet pad be removed to prevent build up of bacteria from pet stains.

4. 

   Determine if the padding is disintegrating. This happens when the padding under the carpet is turning into a fine powder, which indicates an old pad. In the event that the padding is sticking to the floor because of mold, mildew, pet stains or a disintegrated old pad, the pad will need to be scrapped off the floor. Scrape the padding off the floor using the carpet scraper. Wear a protective mask, and be careful not to breath in the scrapings.

5. 

   Place the scraper directly on the floor under the pad, and push. The scraper should be flush with the floor. Repeat this process until all the pad is off the base floor. Sweep remaining padding residue. Use the shop vac to vacuum any leftover disintegrated padding off the floor. If it has been determined that pet stains or mold were causing the pad to stick to the floor, a solvent such as bleach should be used to further clean the stripped floor. Dispose of the padding.

Tips & Warnings

• Wear a protective mask when removing padding with pet stains or mold and mildew to protect your lungs from breathing in bacterial and fungus that can cause sickness.

Resources

• This Old House
• Ketring Designs