How to Remove Stuck Foam Carpet Padding

Foam carpet pads on placed under the carpet to add extra cushioning and keep the carpet from sliding. When replacing carpet and laying new, it is a good idea to replace the old foam carpet padding as well. Overtime, the carpet padding can become stuck to the original flooring. Merely ripping the foam padding will leave you with stuck on pieces of the foam littering the flooring. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

Heat to Remove Foam Carpet Padding

1

Apply heat to the stuck on foam padding by holding a hairdryer a few inches away from the padding.

2

Move the hairdryer in a back-and-forth motion. The heat from the hairdryer will melt the adhesive binding the foam padding to the floor.

3

Scrap the loosened foam padding off the floor with a plastic paint scraper.

Mineral Spirits to Remove Foam Carpet Padding

4

Open doors and windows in the room. This will provide adequate air ventilation while working with mineral spirits.

5

Equip yourself with a pair of rubber gloves and safety goggles.

6

Saturate a rag in mineral spirits. Lay the rag directly on top of the foam padding. Allow to sit for a few minutes.

7

Remove the rag and scrap the padding with a paint scraper. Repeat the process until all foam padding is removed from the floor.

Rubbing Alcohol to Remove Foam Carpet Padding

8

Pour rubbing alcohol directly onto the foam padding. Alternatively, use a water-displacing spray.

9

Allow the rubbing alcohol to soak into the pad for several minutes. Rubbing alcohol is a solvent and will help loosen the adhesive that is binding the pad to the flooring.

10

Scrape the loosened foam padding off the floor with a paint scraper.

11

Repeat the process until all the foam padding has been removed from the flooring.