Am I the only one who has family help clean before gluing?

Before spreading glue, I ask my partner to vacuum the subfloor with our home vacuum. It picks up pet hair and dust that my big vac misses. This small step has stopped bonding issues on many floor projects.

4 comments

4 Comments

annab911mo ago

Three floors ago, I just swept quick before gluing down vinyl planks. They held fine for two years now, no peeling or anything. I get that dust can make the bond weak, but how much are we talking about. If the glue is made to stick through some dirt, maybe we're doing too much. My buddy who does floors for a living says he only vacuums for big jobs, not every time. Seems like one of those things people stress over but doesn't always matter.

joel_clark371mo ago

Actually, I skipped that once and it bit me, so dakotac75 might be surprised how much it helps.

dakotac751mo ago

Seriously? That seems like overkill when the glue is designed to stick through some dust anyway.

davidmason1mo ago

Wipe it down every single time if you want it to actually last. Glue might grab dust but that's a weak bond just waiting to fail. You're adding a crumbly layer between the adhesive and the solid surface. It might hold for a week when you need it to hold for years. That extra minute of cleaning saves you from redoing the whole job later when it lets go. Trust me, nothing designed to stick works better on a dirty floor.