Removing Paint from Floor

My last post about Pumpkin's room was all about my awesome findings of hardwood floors. Ripping up the carpet is just step 1 of about a million in the bedroom makeover. It definitely was the easiest step. But did you noticed the many different colors on that wood?

That middle section that looks like light brown wood? That's paint.

The darker section that looks like pretty stain? That's swirly paint over the light brown paint.

The white splatters randomly everywhere, but more concentrated on the edges by the baseboards? Yup, you guessed it. Paint.

Layers upon layers of paint.

She's been living with it like this for some time now and doesn't seem to mind. But for me... it's a bother to look at.

We were thinking of just painting over it and making it look something like this (photo taken from this site) with hot pink instead of the white, but some of that old paint's already chipping. That idea might still happen.

(A section of floor with all the paint choices to work with)

My dad suggested I sand the floor up and bring it back to untreated wood before deciding anything though. Having real hardwood floors will definitely be a great reselling point! And it matches everything.

But that's just So. Much. Work. Not my style.

I came across this little tidbit on Pinterest. Apparently, rubbing alcohol makes even dried up paint rub right off. No scrubbing involved. Definitely sounded better to me. Plus, it'll sanitize the floor!

(Same spot, now covered in rubbing alcohol)

It's true. At least Courtenay from The Creek Line House says so. You can read her original post here. 

So I had to try it. This is my results with using it on wood floors....

(30 seconds 2 gentle wipes... Look at that difference!)

Amazing, isn't it?! I can't wait to see how it'll do on the whole floor. It's gonna stink to high heaven, but it'll be clean and hopefully need a lot less sanding. And since I want all of the finish gone, it's not a big deal that it's taking off a lot. That's what I want! But unless you plan on refinishing the flooring you're using this tidbit on, I would probably stray away from wood and stick with using this on tile.

(Close up of the paper towel. A LOT of paint)

As always, I'll let you know when I have the rest of the room done.