Question from Judith Wisdom
I’m living in an apartment that is about 40 years old. The original flooring was traditional linoleum. Most people have had it covered with various types of carpet, though some have put down wood floors of various sorts.
I can’t afford to buy new flooring but felt that getting rid of the carpeting (that itself is quite old)would surely make for a healthier environment. I had the carpet and its underpadding (looks like corrugated cardboard) removed in the living room.
It took my paying someone who’s very efficient and careful at least three four-hour sessions to get the floor clean (i.e., the original linoleum). The filth was unbelievable. Fortunately it was summer and I was able to keep the windows open and ran an exhaust fan constantly. The man who removed the carpet was supposed to do the same in the bedroom and just never showed up. So it’s still there.
I am much sicker now (many years later). I of course would love to remove the carpet in the bedroom but I don’t see how I could manage that since I so often must be in the bedroom. And also the amount of work it involved for me (the living room) is far more than I’m up to now.
However, were I to come up with a way to have the carpet and underpadding cut out in a way that I could reduce (dramatically) the filth it would be so good for me to live in a bedroom with no carpet at all. (I was thinking of affixing a drop cloth or two to the carpet; cuting it in sections; rolling it encased in the drop cloth but I will have to see what the person doing it thinks). Any ideas? They’d be much, much appreciated.
Debra’s Answer
Readers?
Thanks to every who suggested ways to get up the padding under old carpet in a way to minimize the accumulated filth that’s released. But one I do that I’ll need to find some tiles like the original linolem in order to replace those that have dried out and cracked. Debra suggested safe adhesive (Elmer’s), but I don’t know which flooring material that might be or look like old fashioned linoleum that comes in squares that I could then purchase and place in the spots where the old, cracked, unsafe and ugly tiles are now.
Some flooring places claim that certain vinyls and certain linoleums are “green” or toxic free and don’t off-gas. But I want to find out what material(s) would be safest from those that don’t profit from saying good things about their product. Hence, my turning to this list for help. I cannot use floating floor tiles or planks as they would be too high/deep compared to that comprise most of the floor I can keep, that are actually good looking, and will be cleaned. I’m wanting to go this partial replacement route because laying down new floors is so much more costly than I can do now or likely can do in the future, since this place needs lots of costly attention.
Many thanks.
Judith
COMMENT FROM DEBRA:
Without seeing a picture of what you already have, I will make a guess and recommend Armstrong Commercial Vinyl Composition Tile. This link goes to amazon.com, where you can buy them in many colors for $1.08 a square foot, but they are also sold at Home Depot and Lowe’s.
These are the old speckled floor tiles that have been used on schoolroom floors for decades. I have them on the floor of my office where I sit every day. They are surprisingly nontoxic, with no odor at all–very hard and brittle. Easy to cut and glue down.
These tiles are the cheapest and easiest way to lay a nontoxic floor that I know of. The only drawback is that dirt will grind into this floor as you walk on it, so it really needs to be waxed, but it would be an easy way to cover those edges and might be a great match for your existing linoleum.
As far as removing the carpet, I’d have it steam cleaned first with a company that has a tank in it’s truck, or at least a portable tank they bring in the house, in which they steam then suck the dirty water out and that uses an un-scented, non-toxic cleaner or sanitizer so there is the least amount of stuff left to react to.
I haven’t researched yet what to use to cut the carpet, but I’d probably cut a section, leave it where it was, lift it as little as possible, just enough to pull a huge bag, like a lawn and leaf bag over it and seal it tight before picking it up or dragging it out. I’d try to cut the largest pieces possible to fit in the bags. I’d also try to find bags that are eco-friendly. I tried Bio-bags, but the large ones I got are so flimsy they would just fall apart, so any suggestions on bags would be good. Thanks Debra, for your help!! Love, Patti
As far as removing the carpet, I’d have it steam cleaned first with a company with a tank in it’s truck, or a portable one which they bring in the house, which sucks the dirty water out and uses an u-scented, non-toxic cleaner or sanitizer so there is the least amount of stuff left to react to.
I haven’t researched yet what to use to cut the carpet yet, but I’d probably cut a section, leave it where it was, lift it as little as possible, just enough to pull a huge bag, like a lawn and leaf bag over it and seal it tight before picking it up, or dragging it out. I’d try to cut the largest pieces possible to fit in the bags. I’d also try to find bags that are eco-friendly. I tried Bio-bags, but the large ones I got are so flimsy they would just fall apart, so any suggestions on bags would be good.