Hi folks: I recently have been asked a question and would like some input in order to form a answer. Some friends have removed a wooden floor that was glued to a concrete slab. They now want to lay a new floor (not floating) but there seems to a a fair amount of the old wood floor adhesive on the concrete. I have been asked for suggestions to remove that. Don't like the liquid adhesive removals as the fumes will really kill you! Thought of heat guns and scrapers but they have the same fumes problem. Have heard about vinegar(?) and a scraper. Has anyone heard\tried that ? Hot water? Sanding (mask \dust ) I suggested to just put a vapor barrier over it as that will have to be glued but ..... The people doing this are new homeowners and have a BIG learning curve ahead. Any suggestions appreciated.

Greetings! I just started the process of replacing the carpet in my house with laminate. One of the rooms I did with glue down engineered hardwood, and it looks great but I simply can't afford the material and time cost to do the rest of the house with the same flooring. I live in Texas, so this is a ground level slab built in the late '70's. Anyways, I removed the carpet in the first area that I am prepping and found that there is mildew under the carpet pad. Now that the carpet and pad is up, of course there's a strong mildew smell all through the house. It's no surprise, the last room I did had the same thing. I was able to treat the concrete to get rid of the mildew, then used a very expensive glue that's supposed to have a vapor barrier in it, but parts of the floor have still buckled up slightly. The floor is not wet, per se. There is just enough moisture coming through the concrete that it will grow mold/mildew under probably whatever flooring I put down. I'm still planning on a vapor barrier underlayment and laminate flooring, but what is the best way to get rid of the mildew and then seal the concrete? Is there some sort of coating that prevents mildew from growing? Also, is the slight amount of moisture anything to worry about affecting the wood frame of the house? I am hoping there's a way to disinfect/treat the concrete, then something I can apply so I don't have to worry about mildew growing between the concrete and the underlayment. I know if I had a lot of moisture coming through the slab I would have to lay tile to prevent further issues, really hoping to avoid that. I've heard of redgard, but I always thought that was just for waterproofing. Would that be the best option to paint my slab with before putting the flooring down? Thank you!