Floor stripper question

[Paladin (WavyGlass)]

Hey Everyone,

I have a floor in my mud room that is currently covered in puke-red linoleum tile from the '50s and I am aiming to remove it. Here's the problem, the tiles are held in place by a thick, heavy adhesive that it extremely difficult to remove (The floor to the 1/2 bath I've spoken of here was covered in the same tile and it took me three weekends to remove the adhesive from a floor space measuring 4 1/2 x 6.)
I was hoping someone here might be able to recommend a stripper of some sort to aid in the process. What I don't want to do is spend six months on my hands and knees with a heat gun & putty knife, trying my best not to inhale the fumes.
A friend of mine though we might try cutting to the sub-flooring and ripping it up that way, but the sub-flooring is glued to the main flooring - don't ask! The previous owners made a number of unusual "improvements". Anyone? Help?

P

[CS in Low Hud]

Soy Gel works great, in my experience. It's expensive, so you might just order a small sample and do a test first, to be sure it works the way you'd want it to. I believe they have several formulations, including one for mastic. Put it on, and keep it moist overnight (I use plastic cling-wrap) and scrape off all the gunk in the am. It's fume-free, so you can use it indoors, and it won't burn your skin, if you get it on your hands. AND you don't have to neutralize the wood afterwards. I just do a quick clean-up with denatured alcohol. You have to order it online.

Chris

[Texas_Ranger]

I'd start with soaked towels, then carefully pour on some water. If that doesn't work, get the big guns.

[Paladin (WavyGlass)]

Ummmm, ok. What are the big guns?

[Sacto Diane (WavyGlass)]

Jane Powell (RIP) used to recommend dry ice. It hardens the adhesive and supposedly chips off easily. I have also heard of the soak towels method. I have not had a need to use either technique so my tips are purely anecdotal.

Diane

[Nettie]

We had a similar situation in our kitchen- maybe a little older linoleum and glue but the boiling water on towels did the trick. I was surprised how easily it all mopped up- we did a 2 x 2 section at a time, wipe, rinse and repeat.

[Paladin (WavyGlass)]

Hmmmmm, ok. I now have a few ideas to go on and I thank everyone here for throwing their .02 worth in. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

P

[kelt65]

Heat gun and putty scraper. I went through a two monthish nightmare trying to remove the tar paper beneath some old asbestos tile. I tried everything. Finally I tried a heat gun, and it works much faster than you think - I was able to do a 250 sf room in an evening. You will need a quality heat gun that gets very hot - mine was up to 1000F. You just heat up one area at a time until it will lift off easily, then scrape it off with a a scraper. There will be some residual gunk no matter what you do, but the sander should take care of that.

I know this post is old, but for the benefit of anyone googling - heat gun, heat gun, heat gun. I know your misery and I can't say it enough times!

If anyone thinks boiling towels will get anywhere near the temp neccessary to do this you're crazy! Dry Ice? Please! I tried all kinds of dumb crap - HEAT GUN.