How to Remove Glue from Laminate Flooring? [Quick Tips]

Glue down laminate flooring is generally thought of as higher quality than the floating floor variety. Sure, it’s a bit more expensive and time-consuming to install than floating floors are, but once glued in place this type of flooring tends to hold up better than the floating floor variety over time. That’s why so many people are opting for glue down laminate flooring. The only issue is the glue that gets on the flooring during installation. There are always going to be some droplets that get scattered around while laying the floor, and this adhesive needs to be cleaned away as soon as possible to keep the floors from wearing prematurely. That’s why it’s vital for you to understand how to remove glue from laminate, and it’s really not that tough once you understand the process.
 

Preparation to Remove Glue from Laminate is Simple

There’s no need to rush out to your local hardware store to purchase specialized chemicals designed to remove glue from the laminate. You likely have all that you need right in your home or business already. Instead of rushing out to the store, just look in your cupboards for proper laminate flooring care. There are a few special formulas that use standard household materials to remove glue from laminate, and they are simple to use.
 

The Steps to Remove Glue from Laminate

So you’ve got some glue to deal with, and you’re probably freaking out. Stop, take in a deep breathe and relax. It’s not such a big deal. There are plenty of tips to clean laminate out there, and many of them involve specialized chemicals or processes, but you don’t need any of those fancy approaches when you tackle your flooring issue. Instead, you’ll be relying on some pretty simple steps to easily remove glue from laminate and get your floors looking the way you always dreamed they would after the installation is complete.
 

 

Gathering the Supplies

Before you can get to work cleaning and providing proper laminate flooring care, you need the supplies to do the job. If you’re going to successfully remove glue from laminate, you’ll need a few things, but many of them are likely to be around your home already. Don’t rush out to the store until you’ve gone through your own cupboards for some of the following supplies.

• A Spray bottle
• Vinegar
• Clean cotton cloths
• Acetone
• Safety glasses
• A plastic putty knife
• Rubbing alcohol

With each of these items put together, you are ready to get cleaning. There are plenty of tips to clean laminate successfully, but you should be able to tackle most glue messes with these simple supplies, so stop worrying and start cleaning!
 

 

The Gentle Approach

There are a series of cleaning methods and tips to clean laminate to help you get your flooring clean. The steps go from the gentlest cleaning approach to the most extreme, and they are designed to help you minimize any wear and tear on your flooring while using an approach that’s going to leave you with a fully cleaned floor. This first approach just uses vinegar and water as the base cleaner, and it will work on many of the weaker glues, or glue that’s just been left on the surface of the flooring.

Mix together ¼ cup of vinegar and four cups of water into the spray bottle and douse the glue stains with the mix. Let the mix sit on the floor for nearly a minute, and then wipe it away with the clothes that you gathered together. Out of all the tips to clean laminate that we’re going to present to you, this is the gentlest and the first step that you should always take. If you’re lucky, all the glue will come off with a few swipes. You may have to re-wet the glue a few times while wiping it off, but it shouldn’t be too difficult to get the glue off. If the glue doesn’t want to come off with the vinegar and water, it’s time to move on to the next step to help you remove glue from laminate.
 
 

The Mid Strength Approach

Laminate flooring care isn’t difficult, but up until now, you might not have got very far removing the glue on your flooring. If the vinegar solution didn’t remove glue from laminate, you’d need to step up the strength of your application. Put that vinegar away and get out the rubbing alcohol and a few clean cloths. Out of all the tips to clean laminate, you’ll see rubbing alcohol is used frequently to take on the task. That’s because it’s heavily effective and can be relied on for many different cleaning tasks. Apply the alcohol liberally to one of your clothes and then rub the glue stains with it. Make sure to really saturate the cloth and the stain and to apply more alcohol as necessary. Scrub heavily with the alcohol and try to work out the glue over a few minutes of scrubbing.

As long as the alcohol is strong enough, it shouldn’t be that difficult to remove glue from laminate with it. If you can’t seem to get all the glue to go away, or it’s just holding on stubbornly, you’ll have to move on to our other tips to clean laminate instead. There are even stronger cleaning solutions available for clearing away glue, and you need to get those floors spotless, so keep reading to find out what to do next.
 

The Toughest Cleaning Solution

Of all the different tips to clean laminate that we present here, this is the toughest solution and will work on nearly all spilled glue. The only problem with this cleaning approach is that you can damage your flooring if you aren’t careful.

1. Take the acetone or nail polish remover that you have and soak it into a clean cloth.
2. Wipe the glue spots with the acetone to get them good and wet, but avoid getting the chemical on the floor as much as possible.
3. Once the glue is good and damp from the acetone, try and wipe it away with the cloth. It should come off easily. If it doesn’t come off after about 20 seconds of soaking with acetone, add another layer of acetone and try again. If the cloth itself isn’t working, move on to cleaning with the putty knife.
4. Using light pressure, scrape away the glue and then use a cloth to clean up any remaining residue.
5. There are plenty of laminate flooring care tips out there, but this step should be all that you need to get rid of any stubborn glue that wouldn’t come off from the vinegar or the alcohol. If you can’t get rid of the glue with this step, you’ll have to move on to commercial cleaners, but we’ve yet to run into the glue that wouldn’t come off from acetone and a bit of scraping.
6. There are plenty of tips to clean laminate out there, and it’s important to take what information you can from them, but be careful not to do the wrong thing. This advice should make it simple and easy for you to wipe away any residual glue left on your laminate flooring.
7. Glue-down laminate is an investment that many homeowners are happy to make, and it holds up really well over time as long as you care for it properly.
8. Clean up your laminate properly and rely on other laminate flooring care tips to help keep your flooring in the best shape that you can over time.

Proper Laminate Flooring Care

Once you successfully remove glue from laminate, it’s still up to you to care for the flooring over time. That’s why we’re taking the time to provide some tips to clean laminate and about general laminate flooring care overall. This flooring solution isn’t too difficult to care for, but there are still some things that you should know for best results.
 

Dry Cleaning

One of the most important tips to clean laminate and to offer proper laminate flooring care is to clean away any dirt and debris regularly.

Don’t let dirt, sand, dust or other particles to build upon your flooring. These particles can scratch away the top surface and cause your flooring to age faster. If you care about laminate flooring care, sweep it and dust mop it regularly, or use a vacuum cleaner with the beater bar disengaged to keep the floors clean and clear.
 

Knowing how to remove glue from laminate isn’t the only thing you need to know about proper laminate flooring care. Taking a bit of time to clear away any debris on your floor is one of the most important things you can do though, and it should help keep floors looking good for years.
 

Wet Cleaning

When dry cleaning isn’t enough to remove dirt and debris from your floors, it’s time to step up to a wet cleaning solution, but do so with care. Laminate flooring isn’t the type of product that you can wet mops like vinyl or tile. Instead, it must be cleaned while slightly damp but not soaking.
 

Spray down a laminate flooring cleaner and then wipe it away with a microfiber or terrycloth mop pad. Do this for all your flooring occasionally to clear away any grime build-up. This is another important step toward proper laminate flooring care that will help you keep your floors in excellent shape over time.
 

Window Coverings

The UV radiation from standard sunlight has the tendency to fade and wear out most types of flooring, including laminate. Another important aspect of laminate flooring care is preventing that from happening whenever possible. We’re not saying to keep sunlight out of your home all the time, but consider using UV blocking curtains when away from home or when in other rooms of your home to minimize fading.
 

The less UV light that’s allowed in your home, the longer your laminate flooring will continue to look like new. Tips to clean laminate are important, but it’s important to focus on preserving the flooring as much as possible as well, and keeping out light is the way to do that.
 

Clean Foreign Substances up Quickly

As the owner of laminate flooring, it’s up to you to clean it up quickly and effectively whenever something spills. Whether it’s juice spilled on the floors, a bit of oil, chewing gum, glue or anything else, work fast to remove the substance as soon as possible. Use soft cloths, plastic scrapers and light cleaning solutions to take care of these different substances before they can leave behind stains and cause permanent damage.

Laminate flooring is tough, but it can be damaged if it isn’t cared for properly. One of the best tips to clean laminate is to act quickly. If you’re concerned about laminate flooring care, act when you see spills and other messes showing up, and work to get rid of them as soon as possible. Do this and your flooring will continue to look good for years. Fail to do this and you could be replacing it sooner than you expected.

Laminate flooring is an excellent investment, whether you go for the glue-down type or the floating variety. Just make sure that you know the most important tips to clean laminate and that you know about proper laminate flooring care. Also, take the time to carefully pick out the flooring that you go with for your home or business. There are many different types of laminate flooring and they are not all created equally. With professional help, you can find the right flooring solution for your home or business that’s going to hold up well over time. Now that you know laminate flooring care techniques, tips to clean laminate and you understand how to remove glue from laminate after it’s installed, it’s time to focus on the actual laminate that you’re going to get in your home.

Talk with us at Express Flooring to find out what we can do for you. We offer a wide range of laminate flooring products, both floating and glue-down, and can help you figure out just the right solution for your needs specifically. After working with us you’ll know what sort of floor you want in your home, and you’ll also understand exactly how to care for it. With a professionally selected floor, you’ll enjoy the long-lasting performance, a nicer looking end-product, and a floor that you can really be proud of. That’s the value of working with professionals.