I have an old house with hardwood floors that have been coverd by carpeting for years. The problem is the pad that was under the carpeting reacted with the finish on the floor. I'm not sure what I can do besides sanding all the foors in the house. Does anyone out there have any other ideas? Thanks

 

Go to www.finishingwoodfloors.com for some helpful info.

 

Thanks for the info. I have explored the site some, but still need to do some more digging. Once again thank you.

 

After actually scraping the old carpet pad off the floor, sanding and restaining may be your only option to get desirable results.

 

Thanks I think? Just kidding I didn't think I could get away without all the sanding, but one can alwaus hope.
Duane

 

This may sound like a really lame solution, but I had problems with the rubber non-skid pads for area rugs leaving some kind of residue on my old floors too. I tried lots of different products, but finally I tried some orange cleaner (spray bottle) for wood I picked up at Sam's club. I tested a small area and the stuff came up, leaving the floor looking great! Only problem is, it isn't intended for floors, as it leaves the surface too slick( talk about an skating rink in your living room!) . However, one can always wash the floor afterwards and solve that problem. It's a tedious process, but it saves the mess of the dust from sanding, the hassle of varnishing and you can just work on just a small area at a time. I don't know how badly your floors are affected, nor how big an area you are thinking of doing, but it might be worth a small test?