HOW TO REMOVE RUG PAD RESIDUE
I was a little nervous to pull up the rug pad in our family room based on what I found ten years earlier hiding under the rug. That time I found dozens of discarded empty Costco-size snack packs of Teddy Grahams, Welch’s fruit snacks, and Capri Sun bags that have the same strength as an IV drip bag.
So ten years later I was not expecting to see a pattern of waffle marks on my wood floor. It was like my kids had upgraded to Eggo waffles, but instead of a toaster the waffle marks were from the afternoon sun and a cheap, latex rug pad.
RUG PAD RESIDUE
I was so excited to haul out the old tired, soiled rug, wash the floors and wait for this 8×10 rug I found on Overstock.
Sidenote: I have no photos of the Lego My Ego waffle pattern imprinted on our recently refinished hardwood floors.
I was freaking out when I realized it was baked onto the floor much like a frozen waffle that gets stuck to the toaster plates.
I panicked a bit. It was an all-you-can-eat latex waffle residue on my refinished hardwood floors. Nothing like a little elbow grease, right? The sticky residue was not budging.
I did not want to scratch the recently refinished wood floors so I tried every non-abrasive, wood floor-safe cleaning product in my closet. So I do what I always do when confronted with a problem.
I called my sister in Tennessee.
HOW TO REMOVE RUG PAD RESIDUE
And that convo with my sister saved my floors. She suggested her go-to cleaning product for makeup removal for my floors.
Dawn dish soap to the rescue. If it can tackle oil spills on wildlife she assured me it would work on my hardwood floors without removing the finish.
And it did.
SUPPLIES TO REMOVE RUG PAD RESIDUE
- Spray bottle of warm water
- Dawn dish soap
- Rags
- Scrub-sided sponge-like this peach-scented Made in USA sponge!
- This is my go-to floor mop. I like it because I can add my own floor cleaner.
STEPS TO REMOVE RUG PAD RESIDUE
Add enough water to the floor to create a little “give” between the rug pad residue and the dish soap. Like a little creek or stream of water (not a river runs through it amount of water).
Let it sit for a bit to soften the residue from the rug pad.
The hardest part is waiting for it to soften. If you are like me you are thinking three steps ahead – what if this does not work?
Don’t go there, Laura!
Just wait. So I loaded the dishwasher and grabbed a scrub-sided sponge and soft cleaning cloth.
Next, after it has soaked start in a small section.
This is a slow process so pack your patience. Maybe listen to this true-crime podcast instead of whistling while you scrub.
Repeat this process of adding water and Dawn dish soap and waiting.
And slowly, the residue starts to cling to the sponge or soft cloth and you see the waffle pattern-free hardwood floors.
And I breathed a sigh of relief and joy!
I texted my sister and told her it worked! And now my floors were clean! I used a clean soft cloth to remove and dish soap residue.
This is the rug I ordered. And I ordered this Made in the USA rug pad!
Look for a new Made in the USA video on my youtube channel once I get it!
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