How to Remove Carpet Foam From Hardwood Floor
Many old homes have the original hardwood flooring installed under existing carpet and carpet pad. Because the wood in these floors is so old, they have a lot of character that can be utilized to increase the value of the home, and create a very homey atmosphere. But before the hardwood floors can be refinished and restored, the carpet and carpet pad need to be removed. Carpet pad is installed with carpet pad glue that will remain on the hardwood surface. The adhesive and the foam that will be stuck to it must be removed before the hardwood can be refinished. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Pliers
- Leather work gloves
- Utility knife
- Putty knife
- Shop vac
- Adhesive remover
- Cardboard box or plastic bucket
Instructions
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Pull the carpet up along the edges of the walls. Start at one corner and work your way around the perimeter of the room. The edges of the carpet are held in place using tack strips, or wooden strips that have nails inserted through them at an angle. Use a pair of pliers to pull a carpet corner up. Wearing a pair of leather work gloves will protect your hands from the abrasive carpet backing and from the tack strips.
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2
Roll the carpet up into a roll room by room if multiple rooms worth of carpet are being removed. Cut the carpet into smaller, more manageable pieces with a utility knife as needed. Once all of the carpet is removed, all of the carpet pad will be exposed.
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3
Begin pulling the carpet pad up from the edge of the wall while still wearing leather work gloves. Carpet pad is installed in six-foot wide strips and is held in place with carpet pad glue. The glue and bits of carpet pad foam will remain on the surface of the hardwood floor.
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Scrape the foam off of the glue with a putty knife so the glue will be fully exposed. Vacuum the foam that was scraped up with a shop vac.
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Apply paste-based adhesive remover to the carpet glue and allow it to sit on the glue for up to thirty minutes to soften it up. Scrape the glue off of the hardwood flooring with a putty knife and discard it into a cardboard box or a plastic bucket.
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