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4 Responses to “How should I clean my newly uncovered wood floors ?”
I think it should be more then enough. Before buffing take the paint stains off with paint remover and wash the floors properly with a good bleach (dilute in water). You can sand lightly rougher areas a little bit.
Some of the grayish black stains may be where to floor absorbed moisture and will fade now that the floors are exposed and the moisture can evaporate. We had a similar experience with our house and took the carpet up. (Apparently the previous owners found it too difficult to let there dogs outside. Gross.) The paint stains are a bit trickier. The first thing I would try is a product called Krud Kutter. This is a great, great product that gets all kinds of tough stuff off, including latex paint. I used on our hardwood floors when we repainted. If it’s oil based paint, that’s going to be trickier. Anything that will get up oil based paint will probably damage the finish on the floors. But try the Krud Kutter first.
I think the buffer might be overkill and depending on the machine could damage the floors. Try a good cleaner made for hardwood floors like Murphy’s Oil Soap or liquid gold. I know Minwax makes a good one, too. Be careful with the scrubber pads too. They may put scratches in the finish. If the finish is dull it won’t be that noticable, but if it’s shiny it will be.
If the stain is in good condition, it is also possible to just add a coat of polyurethane without sanding down and starting over. This will bring back some of the luster of the floor too. We did this with our floors and it turned out really nice! Just make sure the polyurethane is meant for floors.
Each stain has to be treated differently.
I cleaned up the floor in a room without refinishing with these methods:
Paint: First carefully chisel off any chunks with a putty knife or something similar.Then use steel wool.
Cleaning: I used simple green!
The grayish black area might be water stained, which would need a good sanding –sand paper stronger than the effects of steel wool, to see how deep the stain goes. If it goes deep, then it could have penetrated the wood too deeply for you to put a light stain over it when you are finished, so in that case, refinish with a polyeurethane coat that contains a darker stain.
I also used the putty knife to remove the carpet tape along the wall/floor base.
Then I lightly sanded the entire room with a fine grade sandpaper, then used steel wool to get a smooth finish, and then wash and vacuum very well before putting down a coat of polyeurethane because you will see every granule in the finish if it isn’t completely vacuumed.
Looks great now, and it is always good to refinish a floor without using a commericial sander which thins the wood making the boards weaker.
You’re best off using the most gentle method possible. The paint may be hard to remove if the floor has a varnish or polyurethane finish. Maybe some GooGone or mineral spirits will soften it up enough to scrape it with a plastic putty knife (go with the grain). The dark spots may not come out but you could try some extra fine steel wool.
If the floor is waxed or if there is any raw wood showing do not use anything containing water. This includes Murphy’s Oil Soap, Simple Green and bleach. There are very few instances where any of these should be used on a wood floor. If you must use something with water, use a hardwood floor cleaner that contains alcohol. It evaporates quickly and doesn’t leave residue like Murphy’s or Simple Green. Also never use any ammoniated products.
Clean off the paint, steel wool the dark areas and reseal, then either clean by hand with hardwood floor cleaner or if it has a wax finish, apply a very thin coat of paste wax and buff.
Also, any type of hardwood floor product that says it polishes is best to be avoided. It may be good short term but not long term.
April 26th, 2009 at 2:20 am
rarodr
I think it should be more then enough. Before buffing take the paint stains off with paint remover and wash the floors properly with a good bleach (dilute in water). You can sand lightly rougher areas a little bit.
April 27th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
terrbuck
Some of the grayish black stains may be where to floor absorbed moisture and will fade now that the floors are exposed and the moisture can evaporate. We had a similar experience with our house and took the carpet up. (Apparently the previous owners found it too difficult to let there dogs outside. Gross.) The paint stains are a bit trickier. The first thing I would try is a product called Krud Kutter. This is a great, great product that gets all kinds of tough stuff off, including latex paint. I used on our hardwood floors when we repainted. If it’s oil based paint, that’s going to be trickier. Anything that will get up oil based paint will probably damage the finish on the floors. But try the Krud Kutter first.
I think the buffer might be overkill and depending on the machine could damage the floors. Try a good cleaner made for hardwood floors like Murphy’s Oil Soap or liquid gold. I know Minwax makes a good one, too. Be careful with the scrubber pads too. They may put scratches in the finish. If the finish is dull it won’t be that noticable, but if it’s shiny it will be.
If the stain is in good condition, it is also possible to just add a coat of polyurethane without sanding down and starting over. This will bring back some of the luster of the floor too. We did this with our floors and it turned out really nice! Just make sure the polyurethane is meant for floors.
Good luck, hope that helps.
April 30th, 2009 at 9:21 am
jomead
Each stain has to be treated differently.
I cleaned up the floor in a room without refinishing with these methods:
Paint: First carefully chisel off any chunks with a putty knife or something similar.Then use steel wool.
Cleaning: I used simple green!
The grayish black area might be water stained, which would need a good sanding –sand paper stronger than the effects of steel wool, to see how deep the stain goes. If it goes deep, then it could have penetrated the wood too deeply for you to put a light stain over it when you are finished, so in that case, refinish with a polyeurethane coat that contains a darker stain.
I also used the putty knife to remove the carpet tape along the wall/floor base.
Then I lightly sanded the entire room with a fine grade sandpaper, then used steel wool to get a smooth finish, and then wash and vacuum very well before putting down a coat of polyeurethane because you will see every granule in the finish if it isn’t completely vacuumed.
Looks great now, and it is always good to refinish a floor without using a commericial sander which thins the wood making the boards weaker.
May 1st, 2009 at 4:25 am
walter
You’re best off using the most gentle method possible. The paint may be hard to remove if the floor has a varnish or polyurethane finish. Maybe some GooGone or mineral spirits will soften it up enough to scrape it with a plastic putty knife (go with the grain). The dark spots may not come out but you could try some extra fine steel wool.
If the floor is waxed or if there is any raw wood showing do not use anything containing water. This includes Murphy’s Oil Soap, Simple Green and bleach. There are very few instances where any of these should be used on a wood floor. If you must use something with water, use a hardwood floor cleaner that contains alcohol. It evaporates quickly and doesn’t leave residue like Murphy’s or Simple Green. Also never use any ammoniated products.
Clean off the paint, steel wool the dark areas and reseal, then either clean by hand with hardwood floor cleaner or if it has a wax finish, apply a very thin coat of paste wax and buff.
Also, any type of hardwood floor product that says it polishes is best to be avoided. It may be good short term but not long term.