Gransnet forums

House and home

DIY help needed - removing old tile adhesive

(9 Posts)
Grannyknot Tue 14-Oct-14 15:28:00

We've bought a house which we are renovating so we can rent it out. The house dates from the 1950s and the woman who owned it died last year having lived there all those years. So it is somewhat "retro". We're modernising it but husband wants to keep some of the "original features" including the bathroom tiles. Some were removed for plumbing alterations and I have been tasked with cleaning them for re-use or finding out how to remove the old adhesive.

I've googled and come up with soaking them in hot water - which I've done and it hasn't worked. I think it is adhesive on them rather than tile cement. I'd go and ask at the nearby B&Q but it's raining and I'm lazy.

Any ideas anyone?

pompa Tue 14-Oct-14 15:35:40

I've cleaned old tiles by soaking them in hot water, but you will need to leave them in there for 24 hrs or more, then it should scrap off. If a glue, such as Evostik has been used (unlikely) you won't get it off without a solvent and most of the solvents for those glues are pretty nasty and not readily obtainable, it would probably spoil the tile anyway.
Try hot water, but give it plenty of time to soften.

pompa Tue 14-Oct-14 15:38:16

Don't worry if soaking in water for a long time stains the front of the tiles, it will disappear as they dry out.

Culag Tue 14-Oct-14 15:56:47

I've managed to clean off adhesive from old tiles. I put them in water with some liquid detergent added and left them soaking for ages (weeks in fact). I then put the tile on a few layers of old towel and gently used a hammer and old chisel to remove the adhesive. Messy and painstaking but it was worth it in the long run. I did it on the kitchen worktop using the back wall as support as you don't want the tile to break!

Good luck.

Grannyknot Tue 14-Oct-14 16:28:26

Thank you, all.

Grannyknot Tue 14-Oct-14 16:29:09

Or I mean both smile

peterward Tue 11-Nov-14 11:35:10

Message deleted by Gransnet for breaking our forum guidelines. Replies may also be deleted.

Grannyknot Tue 11-Nov-14 12:04:18

I wasn't sure whether this latest post was an ad (but checked the link yes it is and I've reported it).

Anyway, gives me an excuse for a quick update, thanks so much everyone the long soak in hot water and detergent worked a charm and we managed to salvage enough tiles to repair/replace as needed. What makes me smile to myself is all the young people in the house ooh-ing and ah-ing about the "vintage" look when the tiles are quite horrible (pink, albeit pale pink which is what saved them) with occasional floral ones. Funny how quickly "kitch" can become "retro" "original features". Everyone's happy, which is the main thing!

pompa Tue 11-Nov-14 15:51:56

Watching these design make over programmes where they "up-cycle" junk into useful household items. Unfortunately they still look like up-cycled junk.