Day 8: Removing Paint from Hardwood Floors (success).

Pinterest pin and website link.

I'm about to start a painting project in our downstairs bath, but have a bit of prep to do before taping and painting begins!  First up: removing old paint splatters from hardwood floors.

The previous owners were a little messy with their painting projects (check out the paint on the moldings -- yikes!) and the paint on this part of the hardwoods has always bothered me while cleaning.  I've scrubbed and scrubbed these spots without any success in the past, so I figured the paint on the hardwood floors was there to stay.  However, a Pinterest "pin" said that using rubbing alcohol should do the trick -- and it worked!  I put a little alcohol on a cotton ball, rubbed in a circular motion, and the paint came right off!  The tiny white paint splatters were more difficult to remove than the long, grey streak  -- I used rubbing alcohol and then my fingernails to chip the paint specks off the floor, followed by a wet mop.  I so wish I'd known about using rubbing alcohol two years ago when we moved in -- it would have saved me lots of thinking about these floors!

Cleaned hardwoods!

Next up: removing water-based paint from oil-based, painted moldings!  I'm fairly certain the people who owned our house previously never used painter's tape...!