How To Clean Hardwood Floors After Pulling Up Carpet

Dispose of tacking strips and any staples or nails that held the strips in place.

How to clean hardwood floors after pulling up carpet. An even better option when it comes to getting your floors clean after removing carpet is to opt for a hardwood steam cleaner. Mix 1 cup of vinegar per gallon of water and wash the floors with a mop. In either case if a trace of adhesive remains on the floor afterward mix some warm water and mild dish soap and wash the residue with a soft damp sponge. Use your standard screwdriver to pry them from the floor. Remove the carpet tacking strips which may be nailed or stapled to the hardwood floor.

Too much water as well as puddled water can cause a wood floor to crack or splinter. Use the pliers to pull up any staples that remain stuck in the floor. Not only will it help to loosen any extra dirt and grime but in the event that you also missed a little bit of adhesive the hot steam from the mop will help to loosen the material so it can be easily wiped away. Your floor needs to be absolutely dry before a new finish can be applied. It takes some elbow grease but it worked.

One safe method is to use vinegar and water drying the floor by towel as soon as you re done cleaning it. Throw away the debris. The padding was not glued down but fused with the floor anyway. Pull up the carpet and carpet padding cutting it into manageable pieces and remove it from the room without scratching the floor. Use a staple remover or pliers to remove the staples from the wood.

Pry up the carpet tack strips and or the wood strips along the edges that the carpet was nailed to. Vacuum well and ensure that no dust wood splinters and other remnants are left on the floor. Remove carpet padding and all debris from the floor. Make sure nails staples and other debris are all off the floor. Sweep the areas of the floor from which you able to remove the loose larger pieces of carpet pad.

Next put on gloves and a mask so that you don t get dizzy from the fumes and open up your windows for ventilation. At the same time you should clean the hardwood once more using the appropriate vacuum cleaner in order to make sure that it s 100 dust free. Liquid and water can cause permanent warping damage. Return to the corner of the room where you began and get down on all fours. I saw a tip somewhere to use resolve the carpet cleaner but not to clean the carpet but get the padding residue up from a hardwood floor.