Tip: Remove Resilient Flooring with Hair Dryer

Want a quick tip on removing vinyl flooring?  Before anything, I’ve got quick note:

Make sure your resilient flooring or the adhesive below does not contain asbestos.  This tip really kicks up the wind and loosens asbestos.  Even fairly new resilient flooring (let’s say in the last 25 years or so) can have asbestos in the mastic.

So – here goes.

Use a putty knife to gently pry up the resilient flooring tiles, while keeping a 1,600 watt (i.e., a pretty hefty hairdryer) focused on the top of the tile.  You’ll want to point the heat right above the area where your putty knife is…but don’t point it under the tile.

This mild heat is usually enough to loosen the resilient tiling.