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.
Ten (plus) years 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, more recently, I was not expecting to see a pattern of waffle marks on my wood floor
It looked like a pattern of Eggo Waffles on my hardwood floor
Except the waffle-like marks were from the.The waffle marks were from the afternoon sun and a cheap, latex rug pad.
RUG PAD RESIDUE EMERGENCY
Up until this unveiling, I was excited to haul out the old tired, soiled rug, wash the floors, and wait for my new rug!
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? Except, 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 entry closet.
In a panic, I did what I always do when confronted with a problem.
I called my sister who lives in Knoxville.
HOW TO REMOVE RUG PAD RESIDUE
And that conversation 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 a 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.
Let it sit for a bit to soften the residue from the rug pad.
The hardest part is waiting for the latex rug pad 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 and gently scrub with the gritty side of a sponge.
This is a slow process, so pack your patience.
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 the waffle pattern looks more like a chalk hopscotch.
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 the dish soap residue. I ordered this Made in the USA rug pad!
If you have rugs, you may like these rug grippers to keep the edges in place.
Here is another cleaning project with Dawn and vinegar.
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