help with cleaning hardwood foors! hope we didn't ruin them...
15 years ago
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- 15 years ago
- 15 years ago
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How to clean hardwood floors
Comments (16)I'm a little confused with the comment: "Murphy Oil soap will ruin your floor. You will never be able to refinish the floor." Maybe you meant if you use Murphy's, you will have to get it totally refinished and not just coated? I didn't think there was too much that made the wood incapable of being refinished. Can anyone clarify because I think Murphy's was used on mine a while ago? Thanks Using Murphy's is not going to ruin your floors. It will not make them incapable of being rescreened, refinished, hand sanded and recoated, etc., etc. The only thing I've ever found to "ruin" hardwood is pet urine that has soaked through rugs (and just sat there) and water (liquid) that had been allowed to sit for extended periods of time (weeks, months, etc.) The pet urine will stain the floors a blackish color making it difficult (nearly impossible) to sand out, the water will warp the flooring. If you use water (water mixed with anything) to clean your floors, wring out your rags as much as possible and use another dry cloth to immediately wipe away any leftover water on the floor....See MoreRuined hardwood? To cover or not to cover
Comments (7)You certainly CAN refinish a hardwood floor to remove pee stains--you don't necessarily need to replace the stained flooring. We bought a house from a woman who had a succession of Golden Retrievers. When we finally got around to pulling up the gawdawful pea soup green wall-to-wall carpet, there were large black pee stains EVERYWHERE. We lived with the mess until we did a major kitchen reno last summer. Our wonderful contractor opened up the kitchen to the rest of the upstairs and patched in new oak flooring (replacing the vinyl in the old kitchen area). It took him 4 times as long as he expected to sand the stains out of the old flooring and he had to do some additional unplanned passes, but it looks fantastic now. Drop-dead gorgeous, and it all looks brand-new. FYI, I work from home and in the 3-1/2 months that the kitchen job was going on, I happily worked through all kinds of demo, noise, confusion, air compressors, hammering etc. The only days that I had to flee the house were the days when he was sanding that floor! If your old girl is getting a little creaky on her legs, taking up all of the area rugs may make it too hard for her to navigate. I had a beloved Jack Russell who developed CCD (canine cognitive dementia) in her last year or two and she was a trip - sweet as pie and thrilled to see me 100 times a day ("Oh, THERE you are - I know YOU!!!"), but she used to get stuck under furniture and in corners and wait for me to rescue her. She made me really appreciate the little things. S....See MoreCleaning hardwood with Windex?
Comments (17)I'm not familiar with Stain X but I did google it after reading your response and it specifically states that it does not leave a residue nor will it build up. Ammonia Free windex does not streak or leave a build up which is one of the reasons why we recommend it. I do not recommend mixing it with water. But we also don't recommend cleaning your floors ALL the time. A spot clean and wipe down is really all that is needed. For black dirt to be wiping off even after cleaning is a bit concerning. What color are your laminate floors? The ammonia free windex helps cut through the film that many cleaners leave behind. Never never put an oil based floor cleaner or a polish on your floor that promises to restore its glow. I'm not sure why the store would say that the windex will cause the laminate to peel. This has never happened to any of our clients or myself personally. I have hardwood floors throughout my home and 1 room of laminate. I only use windex on my floors. If you have been using ammonia/vinegar/alcohol diluted with water and that didn't cause the laminate to peel, I highly doubt a spritz of ammonia free window cleaner every once in a while will cause the laminate to peel. The thing with Bona is that some people LOVE it and swear by it while many, many others HATE it and will never use it again. I have spoken with so many clients where they said the CLEANER left a film. The polish is notorious for leaving behind a film and the polish is not the same thing as a cleaner. Both are typically sold RIGHT next to each other in the store so it is very easy to grab the polish instead of the cleaner. I have been waiting for years for Windex to come out with a floor cleaner. They now have a multipurpose cleaner. If a windex rep happens to be reading this, please come out with a good floor cleaner. :) Before you apply the ammonia free windex, test an area of flooring in an inconspicuous area before cleaning all the floors with it....See MoreHow to clean pet residue/stains on old hardwoods under carpet
Comments (6)Here is how I have dealt with a similar situation. The POs were covering up damage on oak hardwoods with area rugs. I am guessing that in addition to their petÂs accidents, they shampooed the area rug in place which further damaged the floors. We found out about the damage two hours before closing on the house during the final walk-through. This is a very temporary solution and is not the correct way to fix the damage; the experts on this board can advise you how to do that. Wash the floor on your hands and knees (or sitting on the floor using a small amount of water, MurphyÂs oil soap, scrub brushes, scrubbies, and old terry towels- whatever it takes to clean the floor. Do a small section at a time, and rinse with clear water using a clean towel and dry each section thoroughly as you go along. Be careful with the waterÂdonÂt pour it onÂyou donÂt want to cause more damage than is already there. This will take a long time as you will be crawling around the floor. With a damp sponge mop using water and vinegar, rinse again. Remember while you need the water to clean the floor, water also damages the floor. DonÂt let pooling water sit on the floor. Dry it with a towel. On the stains you can try several things to at least lighten the color of the damaged spots. I used a combo of lightly sanding and household bleach. The stains have not disappeared, but they are lighter and cleaner. Wait till the next day or several hours to be sure the floor is completely dry and temporarily fill in the spots where the poly is gone due to damage of pet stains, water and sanding/bleaching by judiciously using a small amount of wipe-on-poly. Wipe-on-poly is for furniture and is not recommended for floors, but a small amount can fill in and blend the areas where the floor poly is completely gone. After the poly is completely dry, use a shine product. I used Holloway House Quick Shine for about $9.00 (Orange Glow does not work). I have added a few throw rugs and the floor looks about 50% better and will get me buy until I can have the floors refinished....See MoreRelated Professionals
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