How to Remove Old Carpet Rubber
- 1). Walk around the room and look for staples in the top of the carpet rubber that are attaching it to the floor. Insert a flat head screwdriver under the staples to pry them up slightly and then pull them out of the rubber using pliers. Not all floors have staples in them.
- 2). Put on work gloves and grasp one corner of the old carpet rubber. Pull up on the rubber with firm pressure while walking backward to remove as much of the rubber as possible. The rubber will not come off in a full piece, so pull up as many pieces as possible and discard them.
- 3). Pour 1 to 2 tbsp. of mineral spirits onto any areas of the floor where the rubber remains stuck to it.
- 4). Allow the mineral spirits to sit for approximately 30 seconds. Place the flat blade of a floor scraper at a 45-degree angle with the floor and push it forward to scrape up the rubber residue from the floor.
- 5). Wipe the area of floor with a clean, dry towel to soak up the remaining mineral spirits.
- 6). Continue adding mineral spirits and scraping until all of the old rubber has been removed from the floor.
- 7). Sweep or vacuum the room thoroughly to remove all of the rubber fragments that were removed.
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