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As Scott has been installing the laminate floors in the kitchen, things have gotten a little messy around the UD house. So, imagine my disappointment when I saw a stray piece of foam underlayment stuck to the new floor.
The foam underlayment that goes under the floor is equipped with adhesive on one side to help attach it to the subfloor. While this is helpful, it can be a real chore to detach if you’re not careful… which is exactly what happened. I moved the piece of underlayment to find a thick layer of adhesive still attached to the floor. Not good!
For the last few weeks, I’ve been struggling to find a cleaner that I feel will effectively clean but not damage my laminate floors. Now, it seems that fate has decided I’ve been taking too long and gave me a little push.
Time to get creative. I bought this tiny bottle of Elmer’s Sticky Off* ages ago for use in my craft room to remove the residue left behind by price stickers. Because it is made of citric acids and is non-toxic, I figured it was my best option to get the residue off quickly without harming the laminate surface beneath. Any adhesive still left behind would invariably collect dirt (especially since this spot was directly in the way of the front door), so it was important to get the mess up ASAP.
I won’t lie and say that the residue came up quickly or easily, but with a little scrubbing, there was no evidence that the mishap had ever occurred.
I’m still in pursuit of an everyday cleaner, but I’m no longer afraid of gooey messes on the new floor. And, speaking of, more progress pics are coming tomorrow, so be sure to check in again for the good, the bad, and the ugly!
*I was not compensated in any way for recommending this product, but word of mouth is the original (and still effective) method of marketing for great products. When something works, pay it forward… tell a friend!
Oh Im so glad you were able to get that goo up! Im sure your heart sank a little when you first saw it :0)
I found the perfect environmentally friendly CHEAP cleaning solution for my new floors:
http://sunnyslifeinrehab.blogspot.com/2010/09/oh-cedar.html
And because the mop has your homemade solution already on board, fast touch ups are a breeze!
Always good to use the free stuff you have at home… for sticky stuff I always use the GOO BE GONE, from which Elmer's developed their product.
Glad you got that adhesive off! We use Goo Gone (or maybe it is Goo Be Gone) for things like that — sounds like it is pretty much the same thing?