How to I clean glue and debris from a hardwood floor without harming the floor?

October 6, 2008 3:15 PM

I recently ripped up ceramic tiles from a patch of hardwood floor - what's the best way to remove the remaining glue and debris without harming the wood itself?

I've tried to delicately use a chisel and shave off bits of glue, but the floor where the tiles were is still looking a bit rough. I know there are ways to break down the glue (paint thinner, spirits, etc), I just don't want to do it at the expense of the floor. Thanks!

posted by deern the headlice to home & garden (12 comments total)

I've mostly seen people sand them down and refinish them. I don't know how much luck you'll have getting the other stuff off without that.
posted by RustyBrooks at 3:23 PM on October 6, 2008

Wood is pretty resilient as long as you don't damage it with chemicals, so its good you're not throwing solvent all over it yet.

Is this a prelude to refinishing the floor? If so, I'd continue scraping with a chisel -- there's also a sort of tile-scraper tool that's like a very tough razor, and since its broader and flatter it would be hard to gouge the floor with it -- and not worry about scratching the floor much, since you'll be sanding it later anyway.
posted by rokusan at 3:24 PM on October 6, 2008

It's possible that the tiles were put on with mastic, which is water soluble -- try to soften the glue with water (but of course, not at the expense of the wood below). Good luck!
posted by Pantengliopoli at 3:37 PM on October 6, 2008

Thanks guys. I guess I'll have some finishing/refinishing to do on the floor, plus sanding. I'm trying to figure out if DIF would work and not harm the floor.
posted by deern the headlice at 3:49 PM on October 6, 2008

Take a hunk of tile with the glue on it to the hardware store and they will probably be able to give you the easiest way to get that off nicely. Neither solvent nor water is going to hurt the wood surface, long term, but no doubt yours is not the only house in the area with those tiles and that glue, and a good hardware store or even a place that specializes in flooring probably has a really good answer to the problem. Sanding is a LOT of work, and you might as well start that after the glue's taken care of.
posted by Listener at 4:00 PM on October 6, 2008

There are a couple brands of floor adhesive remover on the market. I picked up a jug of stuff by 3M in the flooring department of Home Depot and it worked great for removing the gunk from my wood floors.
posted by pluckysparrow at 4:03 PM on October 6, 2008

The ceramic tile was glued down? Are you sure it's not thinset mortar?
posted by electroboy at 6:38 AM on October 7, 2008

The ceramic tile was glued down? Are you sure it's not thinset mortar?

It's pretty common to use mastic these days, though not as quality an installation as thinset. You can get away with it in everything but a wet environment, where the mastic never dries. Despite that, big box store salespeople will still push it for shower/bath renovations, to the eventual dismay of the homeowner. Real thinset mortar is definitely the better choice.
posted by Pantengliopoli at 9:49 AM on October 7, 2008

It's pretty common to use mastic these days

Wow, that's a terrible idea. And another thing, who uses tile in nonwet environments?
posted by electroboy at 11:47 AM on October 7, 2008

There are a lot of tile countertops going in, or backsplashes. Kitchens too... but yeah, a terrible idea. HD sells it as buckets of "premixed thinset", but it's just mastic with sand added in...

Sorry for the derail OP!
posted by Pantengliopoli at 1:29 PM on October 7, 2008

The ceramic tile was glued down?

Yep. It's that really cheesy kind of country style ceramic pattern, luckily only 6 tiles, right by the front door. The previous owner had some dubious taste. I'm not sure yet what mastic or thinset mortar are yet, but I'll do some research. I'm wondering if a light paint thinner wouldn't work.

There are a couple brands of floor adhesive remover on the market. I picked up a jug of stuff by 3M in the flooring department of Home Depot and it worked great for removing the gunk from my wood floors.

Thanks, I will try Lowe's, et al.
posted by deern the headlice at 4:24 PM on October 7, 2008

Not that you asked, but mastic is basically glue. Thinset mortar is a cement based adhesive that comes dry in a bag and must be mixed with water and spread before it sets up.
posted by Pantengliopoli at 5:32 PM on October 7, 2008