How to remove old dried adhesive before laying LVP flooring
Old dried adhesive must be scraped away completely before laying a vapor barrier and LVP. Scraping old residue by hand is extremely tedious and can take hours per strip, which stops installers from easily prepping the subfloor.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- People have been saying this in most months since September 2026.
- This comes up 48.9× more often in r/Flooring than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Giving the floor a good scrub and vacuum without removing the adhesiveDid this help you?
- 2Adhesive cleanersDid this help you?
- 3Heating with a blow dryer and heat padsDid this help you?
- 4Scraping manually with a putty knifeDid this help you?
- 5Using WD-40 and a plastic scraperDid this help you?
- 6installing a floating floor over the old tileDid this help you?
- 7glue down flooring over the top after repair and a thin coat to prep the surfaceDid this help you?
- 8tearing out all the existing tile down to the subfloor before installing new flooringDid this help you?
- 9Pouring self-leveler over the remaining glue using a specialized primerDid this help you?
- 10Using a rotohammer with a scraper bitDid this help you?
- 11removing flooring by hand using a putty knife and anti-adhesive solutionDid this help you?
- 12using a heavy-duty floor scraper machine from a hardware storeDid this help you?
- 13Rent a demo hammer with scraper bitDid this help you?
- 14Scraping up the adhesive manually with a scraper and bladesDid this help you?
- 15Throwing down flour to stop the adhesive from being stickyDid this help you?
- 16Using hot water and a scraper or soaking with a wet towelDid this help you?
- 17Embossing with floor patch or applying a primer like Mapei Eco Prim Grip to encapsulate the glueDid this help you?
- 18Just scrape it up and skim over it.Did this help you?
- 19Test the material to be sure.Did this help you?
- 20Using mineral spiritsDid this help you?
- 21Using denatured alcohol followed immediately by cleaning with a dry towelDid this help you?
- 22Gluing down loose tiles before applying new flooringDid this help you?
- 23Removing old flooring entirely despite potential asbestos concernsDid this help you?
- 24Using self-leveler over the old flooringDid this help you?
- 25Using feather finishDid this help you?
- 26Ripping up the old flooringDid this help you?
- 27Using a razor blade or utility knife very carefully with patienceDid this help you?
- 28Using a razor knife equipped with plastic blades to reduce the risk of scratching the floorDid this help you?
- 29Prepping the surface with painter's tape beforehand to prevent messesDid this help you?
- 30mixing equal parts white vinegar and warm water to damp mop and drying immediately with a microfiber clothDid this help you?
- 31using a pH neutral floor cleaner recommended by the manufacturerDid this help you?
- 32Mopping with Pine-SolDid this help you?
- 33Using a light coat of Odo-Ban to get rid of the smellDid this help you?
- 34Mopping multiple timesDid this help you?
- 35Using Weiman stone and tile cleaner and scrubbing it into the groutDid this help you?
- 36replacing worn areasDid this help you?
- 37searching online for conflicting information about top coatsDid this help you?
- 38Filing a warranty claim with the manufacturerDid this help you?
- 39scraping and sweeping the remaining residueDid this help you?
- 40Trying to scrape it up using a floor scraper and heat gunDid this help you?
- 41Scuffing the top of the vinyl with a sander, priming, and applying a feather finish or self-leveler over the materialDid this help you?
- 42Using manual floor scrapers, shovels, or junk hand chiselsDid this help you?
- 43Grinding it down with a heavy grit flap disc or belt sanderDid this help you?
- 44Using an oscillating tool with a flexible scraper bladeDid this help you?
- 45Using white spirit and a cloth, followed by a warm water sprayDid this help you?
- 46Using nail varnish remover and kitchen rollDid this help you?
- 47Using Pink Stuff cleaning pasteDid this help you?
- 48Using a heavy-duty floor scraper with replacement blades and elbow grease.Did this help you?
- 49Applying a chemical flooring adhesive remover.Did this help you?
- 50Leaving the residue as-is and pouring a floor leveler over it.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Sub installed Shaw Lokdot Tabs on Interface carpet tile, started leaving glue residue at every location the tab was installed.”source ↗
“What's the best and fastest way to remove the leftover OSB? It was glued and nailed down so I had to pretty much rip them off.”source ↗
“Redoing our bathroom ourselves. I've pulled up some of the flooring tiles and what's left is what you see in the picture. What is the best way to remove this?”source ↗
“However, I was looking for options on how to encapsulate the green colored glue that’s still tacky.”source ↗
“I was really hoping to avoid renting a floor grinder and vaccum system to grind down the floor and having to re-level.”source ↗
“Pry bar, 5 in 1 tool, hammer, oscillating tool, sander, and a whole bunch of curse words and questioning my life’s decisions.”source ↗
“We want to replace it with something else, but can't find a way to remove the adhesive/paper/mold residues from the concrete subfloor, and won't be happy knowing it's left underneath.”source ↗
“I've tried heat gun, sandpaper on an oscillating tool, scraper, and goo gone (on a small spot).”source ↗
“Covering the old tile with new flooring will not prevent the tile from tenting. You know it is prone to tenting in your house. I would not risk it. Tear out the tile and install new flooring.”source ↗
“Hey everyone I have a buddy that’s a landlord and recommended a flooring guy who turned out to be a total hack. Anyways he got glue residue on laminate over stairs. The glue is loctite PL construction adhesive. I’ve tried mineral spirits trying to remove it with no luck.”source ↗
“Warranty claim with Shaw. Can’t see how they can blame this on the installer”source ↗
“I'd hit it with a scraper, sweep, and send it”source ↗
“I’ve had Amtico LVT laid throughout the house. I really like the look, but it still looks stained, even after cleaning it several times. It seems like there’s some residue left over from the installation.”source ↗
“What, if anything, should I be doing to remove all this stuff before I put the vapor barrier down and start laying the LVP?”source ↗
“Not sure what this is. Linoleum? Does it need to come up first or can I just lay the laminate planks on top?”source ↗
“Subfloor is concrete and I am pulling carpet and padding. Padding was glued to the concrete. Is this good enough removal to lay new padding/carpet down on?”source ↗
“removing old glued down sheet vinyl (linoleum?) is hell.”source ↗
“tried floor scraper, heat gun, etc. still hell. they glued it to the concrete slab very well 30 years ago.”source ↗
“I used a grinder with a heavy grit sandpaper pad, one that has overlapping layers in a circle. Worked pretty good.”source ↗
“Tearing up laminate flooring to put primer down to help with urine smell. Do I need to rip up this backing before doing so and if so what's the easiest way to do it?”source ↗
“i got some glue on the neighbouring pieces”source ↗
“We had bitumen on our floor from old parquet. Nothing would remove it.”source ↗
“Will it continue to lift beneath the new floor? What can we do to prepare and mitigate that potential?”source ↗
“The glue or adhesive that was used on the gypcrete subfloor is extremely difficult to get off even with a fairly heavy duty and sharp scraper.”source ↗
“I’ve tried to use a solvent and heat gun but it doesn’t help much.”source ↗
“I’ve gouged the gypcrete a bit trying to get the adhesive off so I’ll probably need to use a floor leveler anyway..”source ↗
“I want to smooth this out and lay tile but I dont want to mess with this if it may contain asbestos.”source ↗
“What should I expect paying someone to come remove about 279 sq ft of underlayment with sheet vinyl on top( kitchen area may need to be cut by the toe kick area) ? trying to install some flooring and want it to be on the subfloor”source ↗
“Hoping to get some advice on how to protect my peel and stick vinyl floor that I bought off Amazon.”source ↗
“The tiles are pretty thin, comparable to cardstock. I ended up using them on my bathroom floor and have noticed they aren’t holding up very well in some areas.”source ↗
“I’m going to replace those areas before I apply a top coat but I’m wondering what a good top coat would be. From what I’ve read, your basic water based polyurethane will cause peeling of the tiles and shouldn’t be used.”source ↗
“I need to clean up my trim work from redoing my bathroom floor. I dont want to use a scraper or a utility knife because I dont want to damage the floor.”source ↗
“In a terrible moment, I accidentally dropped a Sam’s Club sized bottle of soy sauce over my kitchen floor. It’s been two days and the floor is still sticky. Help!!”source ↗
“I’m hopeless here! Help me remove the ghost of the soy sauce from my floor!!!”source ↗
“I have tried so many things to get this stuff to a point that I can scrape it off.”source ↗
“The stuff is just dried on there. It’s been on the floor a long time, and there are eight strips of this.”source ↗
“It took me over 2 hours to get one strip off and it was a very tedious job with a putty knife.”source ↗
“I can’t seem to get this film off my floor after cleaning it. I’ve tried different types of cleaners and some are worse than others. What do I do?”source ↗
“putting new vinyl flooring directly on top of tenting kitchen tile just didn’t make sense to me”source ↗
“I don’t know if there’s anything wrong with it as they’re still in the process of installing it. It struck me as an odd fix to already loose floors which is why I asked”source ↗
“I already removed it by hand in one bathroom using a puddy knife and anti-adhesive solution. Took about half the day.”source ↗
“I can do this by hand but it may take me all day and I got things to do and life to enjoy.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 45How to get dried paint stripper off hardwood floors
- 9How to get sticky failed adhesive residue off parts
- 6How to get thinset and cemented bricks off a concrete floor
- 4Pulling off the substrate when removing window caulk
- 5How to get stuck cardboard off a wooden floor without scratching
- 26How to get old unknown stains out of a rental carpet cheap