Any beginner to home remodeling who has ever experienced attempting to remove vinyl floor tile adhesive can tell you a similar story – sore knees, blistered hands and the frequent thought that success is all but hopeless. The best manner in which to remove vinyl floor tile adhesive is to utilize all available tools at your disposal, test each for a short period of time, and go with the process that has the best results. One aspect of vinyl floor tile removal is a constant however, and that is the individual attempting the work should not be in a hurry. Working smart beats the heck of out working hard every time, and a little bit of time spent having a cool drink and pondering the task at hand can save not only sweat but hours of back-breaking labor spent in a painful position.
The most widely used process to remove vinyl floor tile is to utilize some type of solvent designed to soften old adhesive and thereby make removal less labor intensive. Natural based solvents using citrus or soy are the two that are the most pleasant to use, because they are water-based and have little or no odor and little associated hazards to the user. Vinyl floor adhesive that is extremely old and hard may require the use of a more harsh chemical solvent, and along with their use must come adequate safety precautions to prevent accidents. Using chemical solvents requires good ventilation, safety wear such as gloves and goggles, and caution in following manufacturer’s directions to the letter. In the use of any type of solvent it is important not to let the solvent dry – the idea is to soften the old vinyl adhesive and then scrap it off with a chisel or putty knife.
Other ways to remove vinyl adhesive is to use a heat gun and this works pretty well, but there are some drawbacks. Using a heat gun requires extreme caution so as not to start a fire, plus there is always the risk of the user being burned or inhaling noxious fumes. In personal opinion, the heat gun should only be used as a last resort when all else fails. One very ingenious way to remove vinyl floor adhesive is to employ the use of dry ice. Get two blocks of dry ice and while wearing gloves, place one block of the ice on a floor tile for five minutes. Remove the dry ice and the tile should pop right up, exposing the vinyl adhesive. Then place one block of dry ice on the exposed vinyl adhesive, and one block of dry ice on the next tile to be removed. This works as a sort of production line – while one tile is being frozen for removal another square of vinyl adhesive is being frozen and then scraped.
