- 1). Scrape the glue with a long-handled floor scraper. Do this before you try any other steps. You may be surprised how much of the glue comes up with no liquid or chemical assistance. Depending on the type and age of the glue, it may come up off the floor in large chunks.
- 2). Boil a couple gallons of water. Carefully dump the water into a mop bucket.
- 3). Mop the glue-covered areas of the floor before the water cools. Use generous amounts of water and let it soak the glue for at least five minutes. Test the glue for softness. You don’t want it to soften, only to start setting up again.
- 4). Scrape the floor with your long-handled scraper. Go as quickly as you can safely scrape, lifting the glue before it cools. If necessary, repeat the step of mopping the glue with hot water. You may have to do smaller sections at a time so that the glue doesn’t cool before you can scrape it. Clean up and discard the glue that is removed.
- 5). Chisel or scrape the remaining or hard-to-lift glue with a sturdy putty knife or razor blade. You’ll probably find that, as the edges of the glue start to come up, the rest of that piece will follow. A wire brush may help remove the last remnants of the glue.
- 6). Sand stubborn spots by hand with sandpaper or emery cloth. If you still have large areas of floor that prove difficult, you may need to use a power floor sander. This would be a good step regardless of the success of the glue removal if you’re going to paint the floor. If you’re going to lay tile, the floor must be free of lumps of old glue that may cause bumps in the tile or damage it.
- 7). Mop the floor with hot water and bleach. Use about a half cup of bleach per gallon of water.
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