When we remodeled our kitchen, we were faced with the daunting task of pulling up old linoleum that had been glued down for at least 30 years. It was STUCK on! After watching a few videos, here is what I did to remove that stubborn linoleum.
I took an IRON on a MEDIUM SETTING and SLOWLY started to iron one spot closest to where there was a small “give” in the glue. As the glue under the linoleum HEATS UP it will melt the ancient binding and start to give. Use a handled SCRAPER of some sort to pry up the loosened linoleum. Keep working over in a line, continuing to WEDGE your scraper, and PULL UP more linoleum as you go. Once I got LARGE SHEETS of old linoleum pulled up I would CUT THEM off with a STRAIGHT-EDGE RAZOR or rip and pull them off.
We were able to get a 10 x 10-foot space of linoleum floor pulled up in one day. I was able to clean off my iron and reuse it for fabric after this project, so it didn’t ruin my iron. I put the iron straight onto the linoleum without anything like a towel in between. If you have your iron on a HIGH setting, I’d first put a towel in between your iron and the linoleum in case it melts to your iron, unless you don’t care, then go for it. I kept my iron on more of a medium setting to prevent the linoleum from burning and sticking to my iron.
My daughter and I took turns ironing and pulling up linoleum because it’s a very back-intensive laborious job. It took us the entire day, but we got the job done. I certainly felt it in my arms and shoulders the next day! Good luck on your project. The effort is worth it when you see the finished product!
