Sometimes, despite all your best efforts to apply paint where and only where you want it, it finds a way to end up where you don’t want it…like on the floor. I don’t sweat it when this happens anymore though. I have found how to get paint off wood using a steamer. It works great for getting stubborn paint off the floor.
This is what my floor looked like after a recent baseboards painting activity, regardless of Madison’s (but we’re not finger pointing here) tedious application of painters tape! Grrrr!
One of my favorite uses for my Steam Machine Plus from HomeRight is getting dried paint off the floor. Even OOOOoold paint. I removed paint that was under the quarter round attached to a wall I removed so I know it was there about 5 years.
This steam machine has different attachments you can put on the end. One of the attachments is a plastic scraper that I find perfect for the task of old paint on the floor removal.
Steam…
and scrape.
I’ll fold rap a damp rag over the end of a plastic putty knife for stubborn areas. After I steam, I’ll rub/scrape this homemade “paint getteroffer” and up comes the last stubborn paint spots.
It’s actually kind of fun and hypnotic so don’t take this on if you only have 5 minutes to play. You’ll end up searching the entire house, looking for more old dry paint to clean up! Do you have any other tips for how to get paint off wood? I’d love to know!
Stephanie @ Sandpaper and Glue says
super helpful tip! Our molding is all messed up from the previous owner’s paint job… I’m going to give this a try this weekend! I’d prefer if my nice wood molding did not have maroon paint drips on it…
Sandra says
Good luck! I hope it works on molding as well as on floors!
TwoPlusCute says
Really? That easy?
*pulls out steamer*
“Let’s see what you can do buddy!”
Thank you for the tip!
Sandra says
It was that easy in my house. Hope it is for you too! 🙂
Val says
Thanks for the useful info! What type of paint is it? And doesn’t the steam disturb the paint you want to stay there?
Sandra says
This is a water based trim paint. It most likely would also effect the finish on the baseboard if I steamed and then rubbed/scraped the actual baseboard. That is why I’m using a thin plastic scraper to rub it off the floor – so I don’t rub the baseboard. Just steaming alone doesn’t make the paint bubble or anything. It just softens it so you can rub it off.
Val says
Thank you! I’ll use the steamer when we start decorating this summer 🙂
Natalie Land says
Now I need a steamer 🙂