Getting rid of glue residue on wood floors

Problem: Our wood floors were covered with vinyl. After removing the vinyl, we're left with adhesive residue. Do we haveto use chemical strippers to remove this?

Solution: I had fine luck removing the hard brown adhesive from myhardwood floors by pouring boiling water from a teakettle about 4 feet off thefloor. All that hard brown adhesive turned into oceans of slimy brown stuffwhich we just washed off the floor. I thought I'd have to use chemicalstripper, but the boiling water took it all off. -- Amy on the OHW BulletinBoards

Related suggestions from readers on this topic:

• Apply the hot water with old absorbent towels to avoid getting too much water on the wood.
• To remove the vinyl: Use a heat gun to soften the adhesive and lift the vinyl tiles.
• To remove the vinyl: Try slicing the vinyl into strips about the same depth as the putty knife. That way you can lift up a entire strip as you move across the floor and check your work at the same time. Be careful not to cut into the floor when cutting into the vinyl. A utility knife set with the least amount of blade showing will probably work just fine. Just check the depth of the blade against the thickness of the vinyl.