New construction issue. Our LVP floors were installed last August and masking tape was used to secure builder's construction paper to protect the floors. Now, after many months of construction and removing the paper and the tape, there are stripes (from the tape) all over the place. I have used vinegar, Bona for hard surfaces, Dawn and tried a spot with Goo-Gone. Any suggestions on how to remove these tape lines?
cleaning up masking tape stripes on LVP
- Thread starter Sherry
- Start date
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WD 40 or Goo Be Gone?
As you've found out masking tape doesn't have a releasable adhesive. The longer it stayed on the harder it will be to remove the residue. For securing floor protection it's best to use a tape like painter's tape with a releasable adhesive. BUT even releasable adhesives will begin to harden and become difficult to remove after 30-45 days. The clear plastic protective films that many people use are terrible when left on too long.
Be careful with the Goo-Gone. That product is primarily Kerosene oil with a small amount of citrus oil to mask the smell. It can damage certain types of finishes.
I would suggest this OR finding solvent based "Cleaner / Thinner" at a local flooring supply house:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Jasco-32-fl-oz-Fast-to-Dissolve-Naphtha/1000147043
Don't pour it directly on the floor. Use a white terry cloth towel and apply a small amount to the towel. Try it in an inconspicuous spot first in case there is something strange with the flooring product and it would react. Wipe in small circles and do a small area to see whether it comes up. Do small areas at a time and try not to go a whole lot past where the marks are showing, or you can spread the old adhesive around and leave a haze. If it is still coming up hard you can use a small soft bristled shower brush or a white nylon scrubby pad. If it comes up I would do a rinse afterwards with 1/2 cup of ammonia to a gallon of hot water. This works well as a basic neutral cleaner for most resilient floors and won't leave behind a residual like many of the cleaning products from the grocery store. The rinse is best done with a microfiber mop such as a swifter or an equivalent.
Side note: For daily cleaning 1/4 cup of ammonia to a gallon of hot water works very well.
Wish you the best with it!
Be careful with the Goo-Gone. That product is primarily Kerosene oil with a small amount of citrus oil to mask the smell. It can damage certain types of finishes.
I would suggest this OR finding solvent based "Cleaner / Thinner" at a local flooring supply house:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Jasco-32-fl-oz-Fast-to-Dissolve-Naphtha/1000147043
Don't pour it directly on the floor. Use a white terry cloth towel and apply a small amount to the towel. Try it in an inconspicuous spot first in case there is something strange with the flooring product and it would react. Wipe in small circles and do a small area to see whether it comes up. Do small areas at a time and try not to go a whole lot past where the marks are showing, or you can spread the old adhesive around and leave a haze. If it is still coming up hard you can use a small soft bristled shower brush or a white nylon scrubby pad. If it comes up I would do a rinse afterwards with 1/2 cup of ammonia to a gallon of hot water. This works well as a basic neutral cleaner for most resilient floors and won't leave behind a residual like many of the cleaning products from the grocery store. The rinse is best done with a microfiber mop such as a swifter or an equivalent.
Side note: For daily cleaning 1/4 cup of ammonia to a gallon of hot water works very well.
Wish you the best with it!
What he said. One word of caution is to not go too crazy with a scrubby brush or scritchy pad. I’ve seen a couple instances where the finish was damaged from somebody putting too much elbow grease into a scritchy pad.
Agree 100%. LVP with a straight urethane finish is relatively soft (Around a 2 on the MOH's scale) compared to a urethane that's modified with ceramic bead, aluminum oxide, or synthetic diamond dust (7-10 on a MOH's scale respectively).
Also, not sure what the scope of your project was but if it involved dry wall dust at all this is probably one of the hardest things to clean off a dry floor with any amount of texturing with no adhesive residue. With the tape residue it's going to be a lot harder. It generally requires a lot of rinse and repeat so don't be surprised if you have to do multiple cleanings to get the problem resolved. It's just such a fine dust that when it gets down into the texture of the product it's a complete pain in the rear. Be patient and you will eventually get it but just go in with the mind set it's not going to be a one-time cleaning. It's probably going to take multiple.
As a last resort you may be able to rent a small auto-scrubber from a local janitorial supply. I would try to clean it by hand first though. If you go this route, use microfiber pads or the new "Astro turf" pads. The big advantage with the machine is that it's going to put down the cleaning solution, agitate the dust, and then suck the dirty solution back up (Hopefully with the dust). The downside is it's putting down a lot of water to do that. They are really intended more for cleaning commercial floors where we are typically over a concrete slab.
Lastly, for what it's worth, the flooring should ALWAYS be the last thing to go in on the project for this very reason. A new floor should not be exposed to paint splatters, drywall dust, saw dust, dirt and miscellaneous debris from construction. I only mention this because if the GC was responsible for the timing and management of the job in the contract then you might be able to make a case for them to have the floors cleaned professionally.
Also, not sure what the scope of your project was but if it involved dry wall dust at all this is probably one of the hardest things to clean off a dry floor with any amount of texturing with no adhesive residue. With the tape residue it's going to be a lot harder. It generally requires a lot of rinse and repeat so don't be surprised if you have to do multiple cleanings to get the problem resolved. It's just such a fine dust that when it gets down into the texture of the product it's a complete pain in the rear. Be patient and you will eventually get it but just go in with the mind set it's not going to be a one-time cleaning. It's probably going to take multiple.
As a last resort you may be able to rent a small auto-scrubber from a local janitorial supply. I would try to clean it by hand first though. If you go this route, use microfiber pads or the new "Astro turf" pads. The big advantage with the machine is that it's going to put down the cleaning solution, agitate the dust, and then suck the dirty solution back up (Hopefully with the dust). The downside is it's putting down a lot of water to do that. They are really intended more for cleaning commercial floors where we are typically over a concrete slab.
Lastly, for what it's worth, the flooring should ALWAYS be the last thing to go in on the project for this very reason. A new floor should not be exposed to paint splatters, drywall dust, saw dust, dirt and miscellaneous debris from construction. I only mention this because if the GC was responsible for the timing and management of the job in the contract then you might be able to make a case for them to have the floors cleaned professionally.
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Push comes to shove jack up your builder, its his contractors that put the tape there and let him take care of it.
Agree with Daris as they could say you used the wrong product trying to remove the marks. You own it
We have found some tapes seem to have a chemical reaction to some vinyls, tape wrapped around vinyl rolls to stop the stock rolls standing up unwinding for a length of time never to disappear. Kinda leaves a clearish mark where the tape was on the vinyl
I dont know if there is anything that is rubber based in the sticky part of the tape to cause any reaction to the vinyl. I do know some rolls of tape got thrown out
We have found some tapes seem to have a chemical reaction to some vinyls, tape wrapped around vinyl rolls to stop the stock rolls standing up unwinding for a length of time never to disappear. Kinda leaves a clearish mark where the tape was on the vinyl
I dont know if there is anything that is rubber based in the sticky part of the tape to cause any reaction to the vinyl. I do know some rolls of tape got thrown out
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Wow - thank you all. I am on it! This should keep me busy for the next year -- there is over 2000 square ft of LVP in this house - so clearly I have my work cut out. I could ask the builder -- but I would be waiting for years before he would respond.
Hindsight: (we had no control on install and would not have known) they installed the LVP months before completion. And it took 20 months from point of construction until CO. Fortunately -- these stripes are not overwhelming but are noticeable in the right light. AGAIN - thank you all. Never even thought about the ammonia for daily cleaning. I do love these Coretec floors overall. We are on the water and beach and with cost considered -- went with the LVP. I have been reading this forum for over 2 years. I have been enlightened and entertained. You guys are the best -- and real. This site should be mandatory reading for every politician in the USA!
Hindsight: (we had no control on install and would not have known) they installed the LVP months before completion. And it took 20 months from point of construction until CO. Fortunately -- these stripes are not overwhelming but are noticeable in the right light. AGAIN - thank you all. Never even thought about the ammonia for daily cleaning. I do love these Coretec floors overall. We are on the water and beach and with cost considered -- went with the LVP. I have been reading this forum for over 2 years. I have been enlightened and entertained. You guys are the best -- and real. This site should be mandatory reading for every politician in the USA!
You might just try a terry cloth rag with some mineral spirits on it. I don't know if all the tape stuck or if it's mostly the adhesive residue.
I don't know if the warmth from a hair dryer might help pull the tape off. Whatever you do do it in an inconspicuous place first because.........
........this information will self-destruct in 5 seconds.
I don't know if the warmth from a hair dryer might help pull the tape off. Whatever you do do it in an inconspicuous place first because.........
........this information will self-destruct in 5 seconds.
**********************
Problem with mineral spirits now is it's water based and MUCH weaker than the solvent thinners. Either way though there's residual film left behind. I've learned to subsequently clean the thinner residue with denatured alcohol and clean white rags. It's very time consuming and you need to trash the white rags quickly so as not to continue smearing residue.
It's generally the same procedures we use with various floorcovering adhesives on the urethane surface coatings. Clean ASAP with soapy/hot/damp rags. Dried adhesive is cleaned with mineral spirits. When that leaves residue you can generally get that off with denatured alcohol and clean white cloth. There can be issues with temperature, humidity and ventillation when using solvents on glue that we are all familiar with but the DIY wont consider immediately.
What kind of nutty state do you live in?
Water based paint thinner? 
..... actually, I bought some once. Wierd stuff. I'd never buy it again.
The only chemicals I buy are the ones that cause cancer in California.
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