Flooring Hopes

Now that our water flow has seemingly stopped, it's time to move on. Our drywall and insulation will need to be redone, and our carpet pulled up. Since we are condo, we have to wait for the condo association to do our drywall and insulation, so for now I am floor crazy!
We have no spare room to temporarily move furniture to, so I am slowly, piece by piece, pulling up the carpet. When I first pulled the carpet up I found hardwood floors (which we knew were there) with a white substance on it.

It didn't come up with a wet cloth, so I figured we needed to call in a professional ($$$$$) to see if they are salvageable. But, I am stubborn, so I got some hardwood floor cleaner and started scrubbing. YAY! It comes off!

It may take us a year to get it all off, but we can do it! My dad mentioned it might be silicone from the backing of the carpet that has flaked off over time. Has anyone else dealt with a similar problem? Any techniques that you can share?
We don't love our rug, but we love the sound reduction it provides from the unit below us. We have thought, since we already own it, that we might try and have a large portion of it bound. Has anyone had a carpet bound for an area rug? I also love the idea of creating your own block print rug  How gorgeous and simple!

We have a long road ahead of us with our floor but I am excited for the change! We definitely see the light at the end of our dark tunnel.