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Definitely don't use any chemicals as this will just change the property and make it more difficult. Have you tried a blow drier? Possibly by re-heating it up you may be able to pull it away.

When I was cabinet maker, when we refinished counter tops we would use irons to heat the counter top thus melting the glue underneath allowing us to pull it off. I'm not saying use an iron but the heat from a blow drier "may" release the bond between them allowing you to "slowly" pull it away without doing any major damage.

And in the autobody industry they use the same principal to remove decals and stuff.

Just a thought.

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uhoh on the chemicles part... I used pretty much ever cleaner I have on one "small" portion of a mat.

Anyway when it comes to chemicals a member told me that a thing called "goo gone" works and that house keeping staff at a hotel swear by it.

Can you guys tell me if you think the "chemicals" in this product can ruin the mats?

the url is



http://www.magicamerican.com/googone.shtml

I wouldn't know what to look for as "bad chemicals"


And the whole idea of having students clean my mats would be great, if I had any students


I have actually been down on my hands and knees for hours picking the stuff off and am making very slow progress.

If I get your ok then I guess I will buy goo gone

thanks a lot to all of those who replied

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I work for a chemical company so I downloaded the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) to take a look at it. They do not list very much on their MSDS that is useful to really determine much about it. MSDS only require you to list the chemicals that are hazardous and for their individual percentages, so finding all of the ingredients would be impossible by reviewing this information. And unfortunately many companies do not fill out these things correctly enough and because there are no MSDS Police nothing stops them from doing so.

The only thing they have listed is "Proprietary Mixture" which doesn't tell you anything. They have also listed "Citrus and Petroleum Solvent-Based Stain Remover". I'll break this down the best I can.

1. Citrus Solvents - are derived from the grinding of orange and lemon rinds and is known in the chemical industry as D-Limonene (one of its biggest producers actual comes from Florida). From reviewing the MSDS and because they don’t list a CAS Number, it appears they are only using the D-Limonene for its scent purpose as well as for the sake of say it is a natural product. D-Limonene in its pure form is not Flammable (it is considered Combustible).

2. Petroleum Solvents - These would certainly have a CAS Number but they don't list any, which makes me question this MSDS as they specify the main ingredients as either Citrus or Petroleum Solvents, though I state for the record this is my opinion only. There are numerous of Petroleum Solvents such as Fuels (gas, diesel, kerosene; which this would not contain), Napthas, Mineral Spirits, etc. The reason I believe this is the one of the largest ingredients in this product is because when transported by air, it is a Flammable product.

From the site you have attached and I retrieved the information from, the pictures show this packaged in plastic containers. What this tells me is that the biggest percentage of this is “water”, because if the percentage was more solvent then water then the container would need to be metal otherwise the solvent would deform the plastic and make it cave in thus making it leak. The next ingredient would be the Petroleum Solvent, plus probably some sequestrants and surfactants (soap), with lastly the Citrus Solvent. (Sequestrants help bind the water and soap (water-based material) to the Petroleum and Citrus Solvents (solvent-based). Without this it would look like a multi-layered shooter.)

This information probably means nothing … I just get to show off a bit. Basically if you are going to try this chemical I would suggest trying on a small area that won’t be noticed. Also try this on an area that you have not already tried other chemicals with. The other chemicals may have already changed the property of that area so would not be a good test site.

What I always suggest is try something mechanical first before trying something chemical. If you have not tried the heat then I would suggest doing so. If that is unsuccessful and you don’t want to keep picking off each little piece, then certainly try the chemical. If it does work on the small test area, leave it for a couple of days to make sure nothing else happens to be certain. Then if you are happy then go for it a section and again wait a day and if still happy then continue with the rest of it. Just make sure when done to wipe off well with water and some detergent such as dish soap to ensure the surface area is clean afterwards.

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thanks for the detailed response