Removing Vinyl Tile Adhesive from Linoleum

The Raven

I was able to remove Armstrong Vinyl Tiles and the adhesive from my parquet floor with a heat gun successfully. However, the tiles at the entrance in my apartment were put over linoleum over ten years ago (by myself) and the adhesive will not come off.

I called Armstrong and was advised that there is no easy solution and that they do not recommend a chemical adhesive remover on linoleum. I was told that I could have a professional come in to remove it. I am renting, so I don't want to spend the money on hiring professional help. I have tried boiling water, vinegar and even bleach and nothing has worked. My intention is to just clean the linoleum and leave it as is. However, since it is a very small space, if I have to put new linoleum over it, I am willing to do so (I will only need twenty-seven tiles). I don't want to use vinyl tiles again. My first choice would be to remove the adhesive, if possible.

Any suggestions? Thanks for your help.

HomeDepot23

Is it definitely Linoleum? Not Sheet Vinyl flooring?

If it is sheet vinyl, I don't see why mineral spirits won't work. Check a small area to make sure the finish isn't removed.

If it doesn't hurt the finish, apply the spirits to a cloth. Never apply directly to the floor and gently wipe. Go over the area you just wiped and repat until it is clean.

This won't be quick, make sure you keep the place ventilated, have pleanty of rests in fresh air yourself and drink plenty of fluids.

If it is linoleum, I'm not sure what will work.

The Raven

Thank you for your reply, HomeDepot. It is definitely linoleum, tile to be exact. In Toronto, many of the apartment buildings built in the 1960s and 1970s have linoleum tiles in the entry way and kitchens and parquet floors in the living areas and bedrooms.

Anyway, I came up with a way of removing the adhesive that was non toxic and quick. The adhesive was sticky, and I remember that I sometimes use cooking oil to remove sticky labels or I will use hot water. I tried putting boiling water on the vinyl adhesive (the tiles over the linoleum were stick on tiles by Armstrong) and it did not work. So, I decided to use oil. I have a large container of corn oil. I spread it on a couple of tiles and let it sit for 40 minutes. I then wiped it off with a dry towel. All the adhesive was gone! I then tried it on the entire floor, waited 40 minutes and wiped with the towel. No adhesive was left. Of course, I had to clean up the oil, so I used dish washing liquid and water. I put the dish washing liquid on the floor first then followed with water. I used a scouring pad, although this may not be the best way to treat linoleum. This was messy, but it worked very, very well - and no toxins.

There is ground in dirt in the linoleum, so now I have a lot of cleaning to do. But at least there is no longer any sticky adhesive.

I would like to know if anyone else has tried using oil. By the way, be careful of slipping while doing this. I almost fell a couple of times!

HomeDepot23

Wow. Great job. Hope it works out for you.

I had to ask vinyl or lino because we have so many people ask for lino when they really want vinyl.