Help! Joint Compound Dust in Old, Wooden Floor Board Seams and cracks - PhillyBlog

Ella Blue · #1 (**permalink**) 04-22-2008, 10:05 AM

Can anyone recommend a good solution to get joint compound dust out of our old wooden floor seams and cracks?

The floor is pretty old (actually a subfloor), from the late 1800's and was actually refinished about a year ago. However, we had a very sloppy painter/spackler who did not cover some of the floors very well. So, we have white lines of dust between the floor boards which are hard to remove. We've used a toothbrush in small areas, and if you scrub and get it out right away (before the residue dries again, or gets carried to another spot only to settle there) - but I'm apprehensive to do that w/ a large room. Too much work!

Anyone out there have a good suggestion? Thanks in advance!

poortrader · #2 (**permalink**) 04-22-2008, 11:12 AM

Get a shop vac. Great suction power.

brickyard · #3 (**permalink**) 04-22-2008, 11:24 AM

Agreed. I knocked down a plaster wall to expose bricks. Mad dust, yo. The Shop vac took it out of every little nook, cranny, and crack.

Ella Blue · #4 (**permalink**) 04-22-2008, 01:25 PM

Thanks so much for that suggestion...off to get a shop vac, for sure!!!

brickyard · #5 (**permalink**) 04-22-2008, 02:10 PM

Unless you're going to use it for more than this one use, I would check craigslist or see if the West Philly Tool Library has one. The cheapest you can get one at Home Depot or Lowe's is around $75.

somegirl114 · #6 (**permalink**) 04-28-2008, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ella Blue

Thanks so much for that suggestion...off to get a shop vac, for sure!!!

...and if you do buy your own and use it frequently for things like drywall dust be sure to change - or at least shake out - the filter regularly or it loses suction.

we do so much work on our house that i use the shop vac more than a regular vacuum. i even wound up buying the 18 volt rechargeable hand vac variety.

Greg Avakian · #7 (**permalink**) 04-30-2008, 01:48 PM

I love my shop vac. It is much more effective that the $XXX Dyson super-thingie that my in-laws gave us. Yes, It takes up more room, but it's SUCH a great vacuum cleaner! it can be a little tiring on thick carpets, but it does a great job there too!

mfroehlich · #8 (**permalink**) 04-30-2008, 10:44 PM

The West Philly Tool Library does have one.

And speaking of the Tool Library: We're still open only on Saturday mornings, but we're currently hiring a tool coordinator so that we can expand our hours to be open on Tues and Thurs evenings and Saturdays until 2pm. It's $12/hour for about 10 hours/week. If anyone's interested--or knows anyone that's interested--the job posting is on our website, www.westphillytools.org