# How do I clean this Peel & stick tile? HELP!!



## buffee (Sep 10, 2009)

This is the deal. I have black peel & stick tile in the bathroom. some of them appeared to begin separation so I went to HOME DEPOT and they sold me BLACK silicone Caulking material to fill in the gaps. The person that did it, totally &*^%$# up my bathroom floor, and my new carpet in the house...what a mess.
anyway I have already ordered wall to wall BATHROOM carpeting for the bathroom to cover this mess. My question is I have used:
dawn
greased lightening
goo gone
detergent
sos pads
and their is still a slightly oily feel to the tile. I just threw a runner in their until the carpet arrives, because its costing me $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ to have my carpet cleaned, because he dragged this silicone all through the house on his hoes(YOU CANNOT SEE IT!!!But u can feel it, and its slippery) I almost fell going to the bathroom, in bare feet. Is there anything YOU can think of that I could clean the floor with again??? that might make it a bit more abrasive......so that when we put down the bathroom carpet its not on top of oily reside. Its better then it was but I would like to see if I could get more off. Oh and I also put 2 coats of future wax on it, hoping that would seal it. this is a mess!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was thinking soft scrugb & a wire brush????:


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## shan2themax (Sep 10, 2009)

I doubt this will work... but it will be worth a try... check to make sure mixing it with what is already on your carpet wont cause harmful gases.....


but.. vinegar and water cleans greasy messes out of carpet pretty good!!

I usually do mine 5 parts water to 1 part vinegar... 

search vinegar cleaning solutions on the internet


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## buffee (Sep 10, 2009)

Oh no I am having the carpet organically cleaned my issue is getting the BATHROOM FLOOR less oily..so when I put down the NEW bathroom carpet, there is NO oily residue on the floor. thats what I need help with.


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## Nestor_Kelebay (Sep 11, 2009)

Buffee:

It's hard to distinguish between what the floor actually feels like, and what you think it should feel like.

Do this:  Press some masking tape onto your bathroom floor and see how hard it is to pull off.  The easier it pulls off, the more of a detergent residue you have over that floor.

Sealing with the Future floor finish SHOULD have solved the problem because the detergents should have dissolved in this water based floor finish before it dried, so I'd check with masking tape to ensure you're not just imagining a residue on the floor.  If the masking tape confirms, then I'd cut a paper towel to 11 3/4 inch by 11 3/4 inch, get it wet with a spray bottle and cover with wax paper to prevent the towel drying out.  If there's enough soap residue dissolved in that Future acrylic finish, then you should be able to re-emulsify it be keeping it wet.

You don't want to get too much water between the Peel & Stick tiles as that water may get your underlayment wet and cause it to swell, so just apply paper towels over the Peel & Stick tiles, not over the joints between Peel & Stick tiles.

You should order either a "100% Olefin" carpet or a "solution dyed nylon" carpet for your bathroom.  That's cuz both of these kinds of carpet can be cleaned with bleach without harming the carpet (or changing it's colour).  So, if mold or mildew starts to grow in damp areas of the bathroom floor, that mildew can be removed by shampooing the bathroom carpet with a bleach solution.  But, remember that you can only use bleach on carpets that are "solution dyed" like Olefin and solution dyed nylon carpets.

PS:  Filling the gaps between Peel & Stick tiles with black silicone caulk is exactly the kind of poor advice I've come to expect from someone wearing an orange apron.


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## buffee (Sep 11, 2009)

PS:  Filling the gaps between Peel & Stick tiles with black silicone caulk is exactly the kind of poor advice I've come to expect from someone wearing an orange apron.[/QUOTE][/SIZE]


LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyway I think I found what I need its called OIL-FLO by Tital Labs, and it will basically remove the silicone on the floor. I don't care if it destorys the floor because the bathroom carpet will cover it. I just would like the floor to be totally dry not oily. I have had this floor for 2 years so I know it by heart & when I run my finger across the floor, you can see the finger mark, because there is still oily residue on it. also if u'd wear socks, you could use it for an ice skating rink! its very slippery. I did manage to get I'd say 75% of the residue off, but I think this OIL-FLO might be the closest to actually getting it to at least 95%......the carpet I am getting is EXPENSIVE. I paid over 200$ for 5 X 6 piece, its masterpiece carpet by JC Penney...the same as the runners I have and it is very good qauality....I have actually been able to use very light carpet shampoo to wipe up any spots....so hopefully I won't have to wash it that often....it has a very good rubber backing.


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## Nestor_Kelebay (Sep 12, 2009)

Oil-Flo and Oil-Flo 141 from Titan Labs in Sunnydale California are both just a mixture of petroleum distillates and detergent.

Oil-Flo and Oil-Flo 141 are both primarily meant for removing the black asphaltic adhesive used to install vinyl asbestos and vinyl composition tiles.

Do this:  Try using paint thinner on your bathroom floor.  Paint thinner is also a petroleum distillate, only it's a lighter fraction than Oil Flo.  Paint thinner is also sold as mineral spirits, "solvent" and Varsol.  Try using paint thinner to clean your floor before you start paying 10 times as much for Oil Flo.

Also, paint thinner evaporates completely without leaving a residue.  Oil Flo will leave a residue that you'll need to clean up with paint thinner anyhow.  I've used Oil Flo before to remove black asphaltic adhesive, but I think you're just going to add to the mixture of cleaners you already have on your floor now if you use Oil Flo, too.


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## buffee (Sep 12, 2009)

I found the solution. I used COMET cleanser gel with a steel bristled handled brush, then did a cold water vinegar rinse afterwards. It worked pretty well. I just need the floor to be as clean as possible BEFORE we put down the bathroom carpet. All this drama & OVER 400$ JUST BECAUSE i WANTED THE SPACES BETWEEN MY TILES FILLED.....I hate that organge apron store....-stupid people.....I went back there TWICE and asked two different people & both said that the product I bought was perfect for the jog`Yeah right!

BTW: If you go on the OIL-FLO site, the OIL FLO 141, virtually will remove everything including silicone, tree sap & tar..among about 100 other things...its a great product


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## Superpack (Nov 17, 2009)

Make sure the walls are straight because if they are not your tiles will look out of line. You need to heat some tiles to make them stick better so use a blow torch but is careful not to burn them.

Regards,


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## Nestor_Kelebay (Nov 18, 2009)

I re-adhere vinyl composition tiles fairly often (whenever I find one).  I wouldn't use a blow torch to heat the tile.

I'd go to your local appliance parts store and see if you can order a 15 watt 10 inch square MULLION HEATER.  This is the electric heater that was used on refrigerators prior to the energy conservation trend that we've had over the last 10 years.  Simply connect a plug to the mullion heater you get so you can plug it in.

1. Put down wax paper over the tile you want to stick down so you don't get any dirt embedded in the soft vinyl of your tile.

2. Put down short pieces of steel (I use 1 1/2 inch by 6 inch long pieces of 1/8 inch steel strapping), but a piece of 9 or 12 inch square sheet metal should also work.  The purpose of the steel is to distribute the heat uniformly over the surface of the tile.

3. Put the mullion heater down and cover with an insulator like a towel or board.  The more curvature there is to the tiled floor, the more you want to use something that will bend to accomodate the curvature of the floor.

4.  Cover with a weight of some sort.  I use jogging ankle and wrist weights because they're full of lead shot so they're heavy and will conform to the shape of a curved floor.  If the floor is flat, and you used a board in the previous step, just put a concrete block on the board.

5. Plug in the mullion heater overnight, and in the morning the vinyl composition tile will be re-adhered to the floor.

I expect the same process would apply to peel and stick tiles equally well.


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