How to Clean Hardwood & Concrete Floors After Removing Carpet
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If you ever decided to replace the old carpets in your house, you may have faced this particular challenging situation. Installing carpets is a popular flooring solution that in a sense, makes your house feel like home. Whether you have a hardwood or concrete floor, you have to clean them properly before you put new carpets on.
Removing the carpet itself is a tough job because most of the time, it’s glued to the surface. Taking it off will possibly leave adhesives, stains, and chunks of fabrics. Once you have managed to remove the carpets, that unsightly floor may seem impossible to clean at first. It’s understandable, and solvable as well.
You can clean your hardwood and concrete floors after removing the carpets to give them a fresh and new look. Follow our step-by-step guide to cleaning the floors before reinstalling carpets.
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How to Clean Hardwood Floors After Removing Carpet
Hardwood floors can be particularly difficult to clean after removing old carpets. They leave glue residue, dirt, marks, and everything. So whether you are going to place new carpets or reinstall the old ones, you need to clean the wood floor carefully. Go through the steps in the following.
Step 01: Sweep and clean the floor
When we say sweep, we mean like sweeping thoroughly to the last dust particle. Remove large debris, tack strips, staples, or whatever material you used to install the carpets. Then use a vacuum cleaner to clean the surface and take off any residue you may find. Choosing a vacuum cleaner, especially for hardwood floors is an important thing to consider because traditional vacuums have the potential to damage wood surfaces.
Step 02: Take care of adhesives
It might be tempting to use a scraping knife and take off all those glues hurting your eyes but don’t. Hardwood floors are sensitive and can suffer damage from harsh applications. Using strong chemicals is also not recommended to remove adhesives and stains on wood floors.
Instead, use ice or peanut butter. Yes, you can take off the chunks of glue left by the carpet with just Ice. Take a towel or rag, place it over the glued area, and put the ice on top. Leave the ice for about 20 minutes to work. It will harden the glue and make it easy for lifting. Afterward, just remove the staff with the towel and you’re done.
You can also use peanut butter and its natural abilities. Rub some peanut butter on the adhesives. When it breaks down and allows you to reach out, take the glue off with the towel.
It’s possible for some adhesive to be showing around still on the floor. Mix warm water and dish soap to create a mild cleaning solution. Apply the solution and use it to take off the remaining adhesive, stains, or any stubborn leftover on the floor. Carefully check for stapes and vacuum once again.
Step 03: Polish and shine
The last part is where you restore your hardwood floor’s former glory. You can simply use the dish soap and water solution in this case. Just apply and rub the floor gently, take care of all the corners and go over the whole surface. Using vinegar with water is another option to use in this step.
After you’re done, wipe the floor with dry towels and leave it to dry completely. That’s it, your hardwood floors are ready to take on carpets again.
Read next: The best way to clean floors without a mop
How to Clean Concrete Floors After Removing Carpet
Concrete floors are fairly durable compared to other flooring systems. They’re also easy to clean and don’t invite stains to stick on them very easily. Still, if you have carpets on your concrete floor, it can get challenging to clean after you remove the carpet. Dried adhesive and dirt will appear once you remove that old rug and you’ll want to take them off as soon as you can. Let’s do that.
Step 01: Vacuum and clean the surface
The first step to clean concrete floors after removing carpet is to sweep off dust particles, debris, and loose dirt as much as possible. Consider using a powerful vacuum cleaner afterward to take off residue and stuff. Then use a scraping knife or a spoon to remove dried glue that is possible to pull out.
Step 02: Take off adhesives
While a concrete floor is not that friendly to adhesive, it’s still porous and can take up spills and mold growth over time. This is why it’s essential to remove any glue residues you can find before reinstalling carpets on your floor.
Create a cleaning agent with three spoons of dish soap and one gallon of water. Soak a mop or a towel and mop the floor carefully to take off dried adhesives and other materials. Using a steam mop to clean floors is an excellent choice in this case. It takes care of tough stains, makes it easy to remove sticky particles, and disinfects at the same time.
Keep repeating this process until your floor is fully cleaned and no glue, dust, or residue is found.
Step 03: Let it dry
After you’re done cleaning, let the floors dry. It’s essential for the floor to dry completely before you install new carpets because moisturization can help mold to grow. Once it’s done, you’re ready to reinstall carpets on your concrete floor again.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How do you clean residue off hardwood floors?
Vacuum the floor to remove loose particles. Then use a non-abrasive sponge with a couple of drops of dishwashing soap to clean residue off hardwood floors.
Is it safe to use vinegar to clean hardwood floors?
It’s not recommended to use vinegar for cleaning hardwood floors. As vinegar is an acid, it has the potential to damage hardwood floors and leaves a dull look on the surface upon use.
How do you clean hardwood floors without damaging them?
Sweep clean the floor and vacuum thoroughly with wood floor vacuum cleaners. For deep cleaning, use a mild cleaning solution like water and dish soap, and mop the surface gently.
What removes carpet glue from the concrete floor?
Use a scraping knife to remove carpet glue from the concrete floor initially. For more stubborn and dried glue, mix dish soap with warm water and rub the area to remove and clean adhesives.
How do you clean unsealed concrete floors?
Mix dishwashing soap with warm water and mop the unsealed concrete floor. Try not to wet it too much because it’s porous. After cleaning, leave the floor to dry overnight.
Final Words
Cleaning hardwood and concrete floors after removing carpet is a difficult job if you don’t know the right ways. We’ve shown you the ways and we hope you find our guidelines helpful and effective.
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