Removed floor, How much of the adhesive left behind should I clean

emperor_black

I live in a house built in 1996 and assume my vinyl (in a small restroom with only a toilet) does not contain asbestos. How much of the adhesive left behind should I clean? Is it something like 90% or just enough so the treadmaster allure I install over it is level? I learnt my lesson well not to remove the vinyl. Even though its a small restroom (less than 15 sq. ft), with my bad back, its really hard to get all the adhesive out. I'm almost done, but want to know when its good enough.

Also, I tried using 'Goo gone' and it seems to help a lot to remove the adhesive. But I'm afraid the goo gone might affect the underlying wood. Is that really a cause for concern?

thanks!

TitaniumVT

Emperor_Black, not really sure what advice to give you about cleaning the floor without seeing it, but the general guideline I've heard is that flooring needs to be really clean and free of surface imperfections, because they'll be telegraphed through the next layer of vinyl.

If you want to scrape the old residue off and save your back, I'd encourage you to try an oscillating scraper like this one: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=67256 It comes with sander and scraper attachments and at 19,000 oscillations per minute, it's far easier and more effective than hand scraping. It's a very versatile tool, and for $35 bucks, you can't go wrong.

From what I've read on the web, it looks like the government mandated that vinyl floors couldn't contain asbestos after 1982. So if your house was built later than 1983 or so, you should be fine. http://www.asbestos.com/products/con...loor-tiles.php

rusty baker

Too much misinformation. Asbestos.Manufacture was phased out from '89 to '91 with Distributor sales another two years and retail sales two or three more or until it was gone.

__________________
"I'm twisted, not sick. Sick implies, I'll get better"
Semi-Retired Installer
Installing since 1973

TitaniumVT

Thanks Rusty. So 1996-ish or later to be safe, then?

Most of the links I looked at here: http://www.google.com/search?q=vinyl+tiles+asbestos seem to reference the 1970s and early 1980s, with a phaseout after 1982. Thanks for the clarification. It looks like you're right about the 1989 ban:

http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/pubs/ban.html

Though I'm a little confused about the impact of the Appeals Court overruling the ban in 1991. According to this, after the 1991 appeals court decision, asbestos in vinyl flooring is still allowed:

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/hwtr/...bannedasb.html

And that's reinforced in the EPA document clarifying the court of appeals decision http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/pubs/asbbans2.pdf, which states:

"Products not banned -
Asbestos-containing product categories no longer subject to the 1989 TSCA ban include: asbestos-cement corrugated sheet, asbestos-cement flat sheet, asbestos clothing, pipeline wrap, roofing felt, vinyl-asbestos floor tile, asbestos-cement shingle, millboard, asbestos-cement pipe, automatic transmission components, clutch facings, friction materials, disc brake pads, drum brake linings, brake blocks, gaskets, non-roofing coatings, and roof coatings."

rusty baker

I think court action ceased because the mills had already started to phase out production. They realized that they could be liable for lung damage even if it was legal.

__________________
"I'm twisted, not sick. Sick implies, I'll get better"
Semi-Retired Installer
Installing since 1973

emperor_black

Thanks for the info guys, but I dont think there is asbestos in the vinyl I ripped out. For one, it does not feel brittle. Its more like thick cardboard. When I ripped it out, it came out very easily and all that's left behind was gray cardboard like paper. I'll post some pics soon.

EDIT:
Pics:

emperor_black

Anyone want to educate me what type of sub-floor I have? Its wood and that's all I can tell. Also, is the goo-gone safe to use on this wood? Thanks!

--Sam

Bevgo

OMG they really glued yours down. Mine just left specks of paper behind. You poor dear.

emperor_black

Thanks for the condolences. yes, it was glued down very well and that is just the inner half of the restroom. There still was more behind the pic I took.

Nevertheless, after two days of scraping, its all gone. The goo gone really helped. I had bad back pain for a day or two after that and I've learnt my lesson never to rip vinyl out if its in good condition and it was.

This is how my new floor looks.

Bevgo

Looks very nice. Good job!

emperor_black

Thank you! The allure is really easy to cut around the sharp corners. But that also means you cant have anything sharp scratching those tiles.