How to Get Stuck-on Padding Off Hardwood Floors

When renovating a room's flooring, you may want to remove the existing carpet to free up the natural hardwood floor underneath. One trouble you may come across during this process is with the carpet padding that was glued to the floor, which may be difficult to remove. With the correct tools, a solvent to soften the stuck-on padding and the proper application technique, you can remove the padding without damaging the underlying floor.

Needle-nose pliers
Mineral spirits
Cloth
Flooring scraper
Acetone (optional)

Instructions

- 1
  Remove any staples keeping remaining carpet padding stuck in place on the floor. Remove these staples by twisting them up and away from the floor with needle-nose pliers.
- 2
  Apply mineral spirits to a clean cloth and generously wipe the areas of stuck-on padding or glue.
- 3
  Wait several minutes while the mineral spirits work to soften the padding and its glue.
- 4
  Scrape away the softened glue and padding with a flooring scraper. Do this slowly and carefully so you don't accidentally scrape of gouge the hardwood.

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