Vinyl and Linoleum Flooring - Fed up with cleaning!

I am working on redoing a bedroom that had carpet previously since we bought our house. Funds are really tight for us so I figured I had a few gallons of paint and I would just paint the concrete floor. After removing the disgusting carpet I discovered that there was what looked like white paint on the floor all the way around the perimeter about a foot or two wide and it was DUSTY to say the least. I've done some research and discovered that this is what i think to be drywall dust/mud from the initial drywall installation. So I've scrubbed and scraped and mopped and cleaned and scraped and mopped and cleaned the floor trying to get rid of it all in preparation to paint the floor, but..... Now there are what appear to be fibers/hairs all over the floor stuck to it like crazy glue. ACK! :wall: I've done some searching online, but haven't found much info about how to get rid of these or if they will affect the paint going down. I'm ready to pitch in the idea of painting and put down vinyl tiles or something even though we can't afford it this is so frustrating and time-consuming. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

Some contractors add fiberglass to the concrete to increase its strength and to try to help reduce cracking. I have fiberglass-reinforced concrete on my driveway and you can see the very fine strands imbedded in the concrete.

If that's the case with your floor, then I don't think you're ever going to get it cleaned up enough to paint it.

Have you checked the carpet stores for remnants or the classified ads for anyone recarpeting their homes and selling/giving away their old (but usable) carpeting?

use a razor scraper. then paint. but, the cost of inexpensive tiles should be about the same as the paint. also, the paint will wear down/off after some time, depending on the footwear worn.