how can i clean an unsealed hardwood floor?

Question

i recently sanded down and restained the hardwood in my hallway. circumstances prevented me from getting any polyurethane on it at the time, and now there are 'dirty spots' on it. is there a way to clean it, then seal it, or do i need to re sand (ugh). thanks

Answer 1

murphy's oil soap

Answer 2

I've sanded and refinished many a floor. The fact that you have stained your floor, may complicate things.

First, I'll tell you that my stand-by, never-want-to-be-without, cleaner is "TSP" [tri-sodium phosphate]. It is simply the best cleaner/prep; I use it aLL the time for wood projects, and usually in combination with bleach, because I deal with a lot of old wood and this cleaner combination gets the wood back to it's cleanest, eradicating all grease/dirt/etc. [NOTE: the TSP phosphate-free product is NoT nearly as good.]

But no, I am not suggesting you use bleach on your floor now for the "dirty spots", mainly because you have stained them, and I can't know how this seemingly, spot-cleaning, will work. Regardless of what product you use to clean the dirty spots, do you think you will be able to re-stain those spots, feathering to outlying areas? [this is what I meant by "complicate".]

I doubt Murphy's Oil soap will do the trick. Since your floors are not yet sealed, you probably have to figure that the dirt is "in" the wood. TSP WiLL remove this dirt, but will also remove some of your stain. If you use TSP, you can try feathering-in additional stain on your newly-cleaned areas, then thinning that stain w/paint thinner as you approach the outlying [previously-stained] areas. Or, it might work to re-stain the entire floor. [grrrrh....., I know].

I'm not a floor-stainer; I sand them, prefer the original wood color [assuming hard, good quality, wood], then varnish. My other suggestion is NoT to use polyurethane; it's an inferior product: scratches easily; PLuS, is practically impossible to remove [even by sanding], and impossible to spot-fix. I use a good quality Varnish; sometimes use TungOil Varnish; always labeled for Exterior [& Interior] use.

Hope this helps. There's nothing like hardwood floors!

Answer 3

Mineral Spirits might work, try a little in spot close to the wall that you can cover up with molding. I mean with a Q'tip or vary small. You can use tack cloth and get most of the dirt up. Just be careful the mineral spirits don't change the stain you already have done. DON'T use bleach keep everything oil or solvent No water at all.

Answer 4

If you want to polyurethane it, do NOT use oil soap as the answerer above me recommended. Any oil soap or wax will cause the poly to break down after a few months, and the only way to remove it from wood is to sand.

You need to clean your floors with denatured alchohol and/or mineral spirits. Also, bleach and water may do the trick. If you are using water based poly, you could also try trisodiumphosphate (TSP).

Answer 5

you can just try to buff it hard. than hit it with some more stain.
depending on how deep the marks, it should do a fairly fine
job.
good luck