How to remove adhesive tape from the floor. All the procedures
How can you remove tape from the floor? Dealing with tape or adhesive tape glue residue stuck on the floor is more common than you might think. Think for example of people who are doing work in the house, such as painting the walls of one or more rooms and thus needs to protect the floors with nylon sheets put in place with adhesive tape.
Moreover, there’s all the double-sided tape placed on bar, restaurants, hotels, shops, and school floors in recent times, to remind people to keep their distance to reduce the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
So, there are a lot of people who need to think about the best way to get tape off the floor, with two specific goals they have to keep in mind.
On the one hand, it is necessary to be able to effectively and quickly remove all the glue left over from double-sided tape, knowing that it might not only ruin the floor, but also attract dirt; on the other hand, it is necessary to preserve the floor itself, without ruining it relentlessly.
On some types of flooring, it is possible to use solvent, while on others it would be a big mistake. Here are the different procedures to remove the adhesive tape from the floor without risking ruining it, depending on the type of material it is made of.
How to remove adhesive tape from tile flooring
In most cases the flooring you’ll deal with is made of ceramic tiles or porcelain stoneware. These are traditional and very resistant floors, on which residue from adhesive tape may create many aesthetic issues: it is not uncommon to see, especially in public places, the signs of old adhesive tape which hasn’t been removed perfectly, leaving behind a sticky, blackish streak.
Thankfully, removing adhesive tape from tile flooring isn’t difficult, not least of all because this type of material makes it possible for you to use “strong” methods. Theoretically, it would even be possible to remove double-sided adhesive tape from tile flooring using actual paint remover solvents, as well as those used by builders once their work is over to remove any traces of cement and plaster from floors.
There is no need to go that far. You can, in fact act, normally use a cloth soaked in floor cleaner or even water with a little lemon juice and vinegar. Once the affected section is thoroughly moistened, and after letting it act for a few minutes, it will be possible to remove adhesive tape easily, and then you can remove any glue residue with a plastic scraper.
For this task, the kind of plastic spatula that is usually employed on car windshields during the winter season to eliminate ice is perfect, for example. But that’s not all: in the case of particularly stubborn adhesive residue, with tiles you can also help yourself with a razor blade, which must be tilted and gently used on dirty tiles: this way, it will be possible to remove glue without affecting the enamel.
How to remove adhesive tape from vinyl flooring
Vinyl flooring is quite common. In fact, it is a solution which allows you to get new flooring, of any colour, with reduced cost, and through a simple and quick installation.
Normal solvents should never be used on vinyl flooring, so the idea of removing adhesive tape residue using paint thinner or maybe even nail acetone should be eliminated.
In this case, then, it is necessary to be a little more delicate, possibly choosing special solvents or less aggressive substances: simple mixes of water and soap, water and lemon, or water and vinegar can help. Once industrial double-sided adhesive has been softened, it will be easy to proceed with the elimination of the tape and its glue by using a scraper such as the one outlined above or using an old plastic card.
How to remove adhesive tape from wooden floors
This is an even more delicate operation. In this case, we are dealing with a porous and living material. Solvents should be completely eliminated as an option: it is much better to start with a totally different approach, and then through heat.
Going to turn on a hair dryer over industrial double-sided tape attached to wooden flooring will, in fact, make the removal easier (this operation is to be avoided on oak and mahogany floors). Once heated, it will be possible to work on the glue with a scraper.
To remove the most stubborn of glue residues, it is advisable to rub on the affected part with a little vegetable oil – just a few drops – possibly with the help of tweezers as well.
Now you know how to remove the adhesive tape from flooring: good luck!
