I have had a lot of long, drawn-out projects in my DIY career, but I think removing the carpet glue from the concrete floor in the basement might take the cake. I haven’t been working on it consistently or faithfully. Instead, I will push now and then to make more progress but then I get tired of it and work on more enjoyable things. My mom is a great motivator when it comes to completing tedious projects I’m sick of, so she encouraged me to buy a second wallpaper steamer (which can also be used for the remaining wallpaper in the house that needs to be removed) and is helping me complete this project. Jeff and Calvin have both helped, but my mom is very determined and will be the best partner in this endeavor. In part one of this riveting carpet glue saga, I shared all the products and methods I tested. You can read that post HERE. In this installment, I want to share how to remove carpet glue from concrete. Or, at least, the best way we found.
While it’s tempting to leave carpet glue on the floor under the area rugs, I want to get it entirely done so I don’t even have to think about that carpet glue in my life again. That means we still have quite a lot of square footage left to scrape, but it will be rewarding once the floor is clean and the walls are painted. The space will feel more like a part of our home and less like a timewarp.
Before removing carpet glue in older homes, I strongly suggest testing the glue to ensure it doesn’t contain asbestos. We tested ours using THIS KIT and it came back negative, so we were good to remove it.
how to remove carpet glue from concrete | the tools
- Two different hand scrapers – THIS one and THIS one (I tested out a floor scraper with a long pole so I could use it while standing, but I found that I couldn’t quite get under the glue at the right angle.)
- extra razor blades
- five-gallon bucket & lid for waste
- dust pan with rubber edge
- squeegee
- padded, water-resistant work gloves (THESE are great)
- thick kneeling pad
- wallpaper steamer (I have THIS ONE – $140, and THIS ONE – $65)
how to remove carpet glue | the method
- Preheat the steamer.
- Once the steamer is preheated, apply the steamer to a section of glue and hold it in place for 10-15 seconds
- Immediately scrape the steamed section with a hand scraper
- Repeat this process until a row or section is completed, frequently replacing the razor blade for best results
- Use a squeegee to scoop the scraped material and any water from the steamer into a dust pan. Put waste in a five-gallon bucket. You could also use a wet/dry shop vac, but I didn’t want to gum ours up with old carpet glue and the steaming method doesn’t create much water.
While this method works on a small section at a time, I found it to be the neatest and most manageable way to remove the glue without chemicals. While tedious, it is fairly easy and it’s even better if you can work on it with another person, so one can operate the steamer while the other scrapes. If you have a larger area, pouring boiling water on a section, scraping, and suctioning the water into a wet/dry shop vac is a bit quicker, but we found we were sliding in the water and making a bigger mess than necessary.
how to remove carpet glue | video tutorial
This is the kind of project that’s easier to show in a video than to write out instructions, so here’s a quick video showing the method…
My mom and I were able to get a huge section of the floor knocked out and I think we’ll be able to get the rest finished in another four or five carpet-glue-removal-dates to work on it. I can tell you, it will be so amazing to have this project behind me and then we’ll start priming and painting the walls…
12 Responses
Tenacity, thy name is Marian!
Impressive!
You are blessed with a wonderful Mom! I knew the two of you would eventually come up with the easiest way to proceed! Looks pretty easy but I hope I never have to use your tutorial.
Blue Bear makes some great Soy based products. They have an adhesive remover that ‘might be some help. Their furniture strippers work great. I feel for your with the long drawn out projects. You are lucky to have your mama there to help.
Wow. I’m so impressed. Who would have thought the steamer would be such a help. Nice video. Slow and steady and it will be done. Thank you.
I’d rather scrape the concrete than scrub wallpaper glue. I feel like you have to go over the walls so many times to get it all off. Detest that job.
Yeah, I think the carpet glue is easier and since it’s on the floor, you don’t have the issue of water running down the walls and all over your arms, etc. I am so sick of all of the glue in this house from wallpaper and the carpet! We’re nearing the finish line, though…
I need my mama to come movtivate me some times too. She can’t help as much anymore but she sits and keeps me company and on track. It’s incredibly helpful!
How well I know and understand this procedure! I did it all myself years ago in my former basement. It is just a long, slow process and it is important to do it in the least toxic way possible. Such a job teaches perseverance and also gives you lots of time to think and ponder life! There is a kind of soothing mediative process here that makes up for being crunched up in a ball and giving your upper body a workout it doesn’t like. Now that your mom is helping, it will be done in no time!
Mom’s are the best. I have so many wonderful pictures of my Mom pitching in from waving aboard our old tractor to bandana on her head painting boards in the dead of winter. Thanks for reminding me to go pull out those pictures and relive those great memories.
Your Mama is a Saint 🙂
When I painted my concrete floors -on of which I stenciled a gorgeous pattern- I was so paranoid about anything left on the floor I rented a concrete scraper sander and it made for a perfectly smooth surface and the floors were great- for years
It’s all about the first layer adhering to the concrete and I was adamant and maybe went overboard but it worked.
Some did get some scrapes and scratches but for the most part the finish