A trick for getting old vinyl tile adhesive off a concrete slab

I was doing a demo on a kitchen floor in a 1970s house over in the west side of town. The old vinyl tile came up okay, but it left behind that black, tar-like adhesive that just gums up everything. I tried scraping, which took forever and barely worked. Then I remembered an old guy at the supply house mentioned using a bag of ice. I was skeptical, but I gave it a shot. I laid a big bag of ice directly on the adhesive for about 20 minutes. The cold made the adhesive brittle, almost like hard candy. After that, I could take my floor scraper and pop big sections off in one piece. It saved me probably two hours of messy, frustrating work. Has anyone else tried something like this, or have a different method for that old mastic?

3 comments

3 Comments

thompson.xena3d agoTop Commenter

The ice trick worked for me too, but I used those blue ice packs instead of a bag of ice. Left them on for about 15 minutes and the adhesive cracked right up. I also tried a heat gun on a different patch, but that just made it gooey and even harder to scrape. Cold is definitely the way to go with that old black mastic.

amy3023d ago

The blue ice packs thing is smart. I once got desperate and used a frozen bag of peas, which worked fine, but then I had to throw the peas away because the thought of eating them after they'd been on my floor just felt wrong. My husband still brings it up whenever I buy frozen vegetables. "Remember the time you sacrificed peas for the greater good?" Yeah, I remember. They were the cheap store brand ones anyway.

graymiller3d ago

Yeah the ice trick is a game changer, did it on my own kitchen floor and it popped right off in sheets.