Cleaning and Stain Removal - Uh oh. Sticky residue!

Hi folks,

I am in the process of removing old carpet in my house to expose the awesome wood floors. The pad was stapled, not glued down.

As I removed the pad, though, there are spots (some pretty big) that have a dark, sticky reside. What is worse is that the pad sticks to it.

How do I remove the gunk? Can I just take a Brillo pad to it?

Overall, the floors are in good shape, and I wasn't planning on refinishing for one or two years.

Any help would be great. :thumbup:

Hmmm..it sounds like you may of had areas on your carpet...where stains and spills have soaked all the way thru the padding down until the sub floor...i have seen this serveral times..that would be the only thing that comes to mind..since you said yourself it was tacked down not glued...i would try a solvent based cleaner on the areas first...depending on the finish of the underlaying floors..this may remove the finish...try rubbing alcohol first...if there is a odor other than the alcohol when you clean the spots...it is definately a old spill...sometimes people get lucky when the expose the subfloors..but sometimes you dont....

Thanks for the help! :)

Without knowing type of finish, test any DIY cleaning method in inconspicuous place first.