Just bought a house with hard wood floors, the previous renters were not too kind to them. We can't afford to refinish them right now but how can I make them as good as possible.
2006-10-06 02:58:39 · 20 answers · asked by Anonymous in Home & Garden ➔ Cleaning & Laundry
I always use vinegar and water. 1/2 bucket water to 1/2 cup of vinegar. Sometimes I squeeze a little lemon juice in it as well. Leaves a nice smell.
It's cheap, it works, and it makes your floors nice and shiny.
People often mention the smell (without the lemon) and say that it smells of vinegar. But that's only when you're actually mopping. When the floor dries, there will be no odour, but a noticeable freshness.
Also, wash twice at least.
2006-10-07 17:16:00 · answer #1 · answered by Nikki 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The best thing to do is start with a good cleaning with water and white vinegar. Only use a damp mop, as water is not good for wood. Then get a good waterless cleaner and go over all that. Then get a good paste wax (Minwax) and rent a small buffer to buff it out. If you have a small car buffer and don't mind the work, it will do. It will set up hard and keep for about 6 months. (Use lots of ventilation) After that, the best thing is any of the new microfiber floor dusters, a wool dust mop and nothing better than a canister vac with floor brush. Do not use a rotating beater bar on them. It's just too rough on the floors and if it picks up any of the wax, it could get in carpet if you have any. If you don't have carpet and do have an old beater bar upright vac, I suppose it would buff the wax the first time. If you wax, put about 3 coats before you stop. It's hard work, but it seals the wood as water is your worst enemy. Also in winter, use a humidifier in your house as the wood tends to dry out and little cracks that catch dust open up. It's a natural process and nothing to worry about. A duster is fine, but a vac pulls all the dirt out of the cracks. The BEST vac is by Sears. It's about 350.00 and on the studies I have read it is equal to the 2000.00 models in cleaning. PS? In the old days when the Mom put the wax down, the kids all put on wool socks and slide and played on the floors until they got them buffed............
2006-10-06 03:06:41 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
vacuum all the dust up
put a kettle of water on the stove
place 3-5 lipton teabags in the wash bucket
pour in boiling water, steep for 3 minutes
add cold water untill the water is tepid
7-10 drops lemon or orange essential oil
damp mop
the tannins in the tea cover up dings & scratches, and the lemon or orange oil give a nice shine.
The orange glo refinisher is a good deal cheaper than paying someone to refinsh the floors, but you still have to stay off of them for about 3-5 days, and you will need to sand out the rough spots. If there is an area that tends to throw up slivers, put a throw rug with a non slip backing down to protect bare feet.
I have lived with great wood floors & terrible wood floors, both are improved by this method of cleaning.
2006-10-06 08:49:11 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well, the people before "us" did the same thing, so this is what I did. First I just mopped all the floors with plain warm water, then let it dry. Then I mopped it with "Murphys oil soap." It is spacifically for hard wood floors, and you don't have to use a lot of it. Just fill the bucket 3 quarters full, and put about a cup of Murphy's in with it. After that dries, it you have a "dust" mop, go over the floor with that. It should have a pretty good shine to it. After you've used Murphy's oil soap, you only have to repeat that about once a month or so. Otherwise, just a damp mop, & the dust mop, okay? I hope this helped you. Good luck.
2006-10-06 03:08:30 · answer #4 · answered by Republican!!! 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We had the same situation. We did two things. First, we got a Hoover Floormate that did a really good job of cleaning them. Second, for price reasons, we got that new Orange-Glo refinisher? We were really impressed. I know it sounds crazy, but it was only $14 for a bottle of the sealant, so we figured we had nothing to lose. It worked really well and is holding up pretty well. We have 2 small kids, 9 neighbors kids who come over, and dogs. So it's getting a workout.
The other trick I tried was to get a very small amount of deck cleaner and brush it on areas that were damaged to remove the black/grey appearance to the wood, and then touch it up with a an artists brush and semi-gloss polyurethane for floors - you can get it at Lowes or Home Depot.
2006-10-06 03:04:51 · answer #5 · answered by itsnotarealname 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Dust Mop and Then For Small Sticky Stains Use Something Similar To A Swifer Wet Jet!
2006-10-07 10:53:24 · answer #6 · answered by bananaz 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Use Murphy's oil soap and give the floors a good scrubbing. Don't soak the wood and follow the directions on the bottle.
2006-10-06 03:01:48 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Oh. I have this same problem. I have found that scrubbing on my hand's and Knee's with Warm water and Vinager works the best. Than I use orange glow wood cleaner and that shines it up like new. Bad part about it is. If you have any pets or children, It is very slippery, but it does last a few week's if you keep on top of them every other day with regular sweeping/dusting!!! Good Luck!!
2006-10-06 03:06:48 · answer #8 · answered by Niecy 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
DO NOT use Murphy's oil soap - it will leave a filmy gunge over time and ruin the floors. Use a very slightly damp, lint-free cloth and have someone follow you with a dry one. Otherwise, dry Swiffer cloths and occasional spot cleaning with a damp cloth and then dry towel. The worst thing you can do is allow moisture to get under the finish.
2006-10-07 09:31:29 · answer #9 · answered by ? 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Dust mop, then wash with old english wood floor soap.
2006-10-06 03:01:20 · answer #10 · answered by foreveryoung 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋