Any Danger in Removing Stick-on Linoleum Tiles by Myself?

Is there any danger/risk in removing stick-on linoleum tiles myself?  These are 12″x12″ and I was able to mostly put a fingernail under the corner and pull them off by hand.  I was concerned about possible asbestos issues and called the guy who removed our basement asbestos awhile back, and his feedback was that if I could remove them by hand, they aren’t the 1970’s or before type asbestos-containing linoleum.  But I’m concerned because there was hardwood under the tiles and now the hardwood is all sticky and I’ve put towels down to walk on, but it doesn’t seem like the sticky is going to get rid of itself (the only places it’s not sticky is where we had cat litter from our litterbox that leaked out of the box, ironically enough).  So what do I do about the adhesive that’s still sticky?  And is there any danger to our health?  My lungs have been a little raw, maybe from some of the adhesive fumes, and the room smells funny (maybe this is what renovations smell like during the demolition phase?).  Any input/suggestions?  Should I get an environmental person out to test the air?  I have a child and cats and a spouse and am concerned that perhaps it was a mistake to DIY the removal.  We plan to have the hardwood floors finished before a kitchen is added, so the sticky thing is a semi-short term issue, so I’m worried about toxins from the removal or adhesive etc.

jeanmarine2

in Flooring 12 years and 11 months ago

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Petebklyn | 12 years and 11 months ago

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frankly, you sound like a clueless neurotic hypochondriac.

nintzk | 12 years and 11 months ago

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Assuming they do contain asbestos, how bad is it really to breath?  Is it like cigarettes, where the harm is from steady exposure over a long time or is it like a toxin where once can be all that is needed to cause substantial harm?

stevecym | 12 years and 11 months ago

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plenty of 12×12 contain asbestos.  you must always err on the side of caution if you are not sure.  as for the glue, we used an electric chisel to remove a lot of this.  also when we sanded first pass, we crossed the grain lightly with 36 grit.  sanding across the grain is not something I like to do as it tears the wood fibres, but it removed the adhesive. Steve

jcm | 12 years and 11 months ago

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12″x12″ vinyl tiles most likely do not contain asbestos – the 9″x9″ probably do. If you want to be absoluetly sure, call an asbestos inspector and a sample can be tested.

Bond | 12 years and 11 months ago

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I agree with your asbestos removal guy, if the tiles are coming up more or less in one piece and have the adhesive factory applied, they are probably of a manufacture date after companies stopped using asbestos in floor tiles, which was around the mid-seventies.  You’re probably going to have to remove the adhesive before you sand, unless you go with a really agressive grit for the first pass, otherwise you’ll just clog up the sandpaper really quickly and it gets expensive in a hurry.  I would think that the rawness in your lungs is probably from the dust that got stirred up with the removal. It doesn’t seem like much dust will be on the floor, but it fills up the minute cracks between tiles and since it’s very fine particulate, it’s easily airborne, which in turn is going to lead to irritated lungs.   I’d buy a small container of odorless mineral spirits and a Scotchbrite pad to see if that removes the adhesive.  My biggest concern would be to make sure that you are in fact dealing with self stick tiles, not tiles that over time have just worked loose from the mastic.  Since the mastic is still sticky, that’s probably not the case, but just to be on the safe side, if the glue was put down with a notched trowel or spreader you’ll see a bunch of small rainbow shaped patterns.  If that’s the case, it’s not peel and stick.