How to remove cardboard that has adhered to a varnished hardwood floor

debodun

debodun

SF VIP
Location
way upstate in New York, USA
Upstairs there were dozens of cardboard boxes full of those old and heavy 78 RPM bakelite records. They've probably been there for 40 years and it looked (and smelled) like my mom's cats used them for litter boxes. I removed the records, but the boxes were stuck to the floor. When I pulled them up, the bottoms stuck to the varnished hardwood floor. Before I do any more damage, what would be the best way to proceed in removing that disintegrated cardboard? Not sure if it's shellac or varnish and I don't have many chemicals on hand to make the determination.

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Those floors look like something I would want to sand and refinish. Short of that, I am only half kidding when I ask if you've tried WD-40. I have used that to get sticky crap off of hardwood floors, but only in small areas. Spray, let soak in and then wipe or scrape is what worked for me.
 
May I suggest laying damp rags ontop of the stuck cardboard overnight. I presume that the cardboard is made of paper, and if so, it will come of easily with a scraper, like stripping wallpaper. :)
 
I would spray with Simple Green (my favorite stuff) until thoroughly soaked, then try to gently scrap.
 
I wouldn't do anything other than sweep, damp mop, and air dry the floor.

If I was staying in the house I would rent a professional floor polishing machine and go over the floor with a wood cleaning solvent then wax and buff.

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The key thing is do no harm. Test with the hot water and rags tonight. If that works, continue. The main thing is to get rid of the smell of cat pee. There’ll be something for that once you deal with the cardboard.

Often buyers look at a damaged wood floor and imagine how they’ll redo it.
 
Still working on it. I took a putty knife and scraped off what I could with my strength. Then I squirted some Old English scratch cover on the really bad spots. That didn't help at all. Next try was baby oil. Will let you know about that tomorrow if I remember. ;)
 
Have you tried soaking old towels with warm water,and laying them on the cardboard.. for a few hours, thorughly wetting it through before scraping it all up....try using a garden Hoe...

I can't even begin to imagine the stench of ancient cat pee..!!...
 
hollydolly said:
Have you tried soaking old towels with warm water,and laying them on the cardboard.. for a few hours, thorughly wetting it through before scraping it all up....try using a garden Hoe...

I can't even begin to imagine the stench of ancient cat pee..!!...
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Oh dear, I am already car sick with hubby's driving đźš—.
 
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