Steam cleaners and hardwood a myth????
needsometips08
9 years ago
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beaniebakes
9 years agoneedsometips08
9 years agoRelated Discussions
How do you keep your hardwood floors clean?
Comments (8)foreverfarm11 - you are doing everything right...except the steam cleaner and the swiffer. Stick to vacuuming/sweeping regularly. The hardwood floor cleaners are a 1/week damp mopping. If you must use a swiffer, please use the "Hardwood Floor" version. The others will ruin you finish faster than the steam cleaner. You have 4 animals that shed...and shed heavily. Spring is in the air which means both the cats and the dog will go through their spring molt. So long as you have the animals and the hardwood, you will have this problem. There is nothing more to be done. You are already doing it. Remember: sweep/vacuum (turn off the beater bar...or else you will cause micro-scratches in your finish very, very quickly) 3-7 times per week, damp mop (water only...no additives...NO regular swiffer) a few times per week...hardwood floor cleaner 1/week. That's it. There is nothing more to it. If you feel this isn't enough, you may want to look towards a lower gloss (satin is best). If you have never had wood before you will feel over whelmed by the visible debris...if you had carpet you still had all this stuff but you didn't see it. Try to relax. Let it go from time to time and clean/damp mop only when mud/kitchen spills are visible. The floor won't change and neither will the amount of hair...unless you rid yourself of all your pets (don't do it...it's not worth it) there is only one thing left to change...your reaction. Imagine keeping up this pace for the next 25-100 years. Exhausting is the word I come up with....See MoreAdvice on my Hardwood Floors
Comments (3)Oh no. Steam cleaning has been known to "cook" polyurethane finishes. They turn dull, milky/murky, bubble or turn to an "orange peel" texture. It sounds like your steam cleaner achieved all three forms of damage. That's why steam cleaning is never allowed on hardwood/cork/vinyl/laminate/lino. Only cement, metal, glass or ceramic/porcelain tile are allowed to be cleaned with steam. Please stay away from OrangeGlo, Quick Shine and Rejunenate...these will make refinishing your floors VERY expensive in the future. To get rid of the texture = sand and refinish. To get rid of the milky look = sand and refinish. To fix the "dull and uneven sheen" = buff and coat. At this point, you have a damaged finish due to the steam cleaner. You can do a complete sand and refinish (again...the finish is damaged = needs to be sanded down and refinished with new product) for (roughly) $5/sf. Or you can "hope and pray" that a "buff and coat" will do the trick. A buff and coat is where the floor is lightly sanded (not sanded down...but "buffed") and then a single coat of new product is applied. This is roughly 1/2 the price of a sand/refinish ($2.50 - $3/sf). If you are LUCKY the floors will perk up nicely. If you are unluck...you will have paid for a service that didn't help. Again, because you have used some shiny products on these floors, you may have problems getting a new coat of product to sit on this damaged finish. Bring in a hardwood floor professional (or 3) to get some opinions. By the sounds of it the steam cleaner just robbed your finish of 10 years of service. You may have to bight the bullet and get the sand/refinish done....See MoreHow do you clean your hardwood floors?
Comments (60)I hate poly because it looks fake and scratches in a non-patina like way. I also don't like when things look new and perfect (which is what poly gets you at least at the beginning). I have seen some nice poly jobs, and certainly if I had kids or a dog that is the way I would go, but for my needs some sort of tung oil or waterlox finish is what I am leaning toward (I have not sorted it out yet). I wish I could figure out what was used originally (still learning about wood). Keep in mind I am an historic preservationist and poly is not period correct so that is clearly a part of it....See MoreKnotty holes in hardwood flooring
Comments (30)@JudyG: I have mixed feelings about the Bona line up. The Bona line up should be used with the Bona finishes. No doubt about it! I don't think Bona cleaners should be use willy-nilly with any ol' finish. Bona has several cleaners and a "polish". I've seen the cleaners work beautifully with BONA finishes. I've seen Bona cleaners streak/leave residue over non-bona floors. I've also seen Bona pads (polyethylene pads soaked in the cleaner) polish up a "matte" finish (turned it to a semi-gloss) and then eat through the finish (weekly, aggressive cleaning). This was probably more user error than any problem with the cleaner. Some people can't stop themselves from over cleaning...sigh. The "polish" is not something you want use without first knowing your floor's finish. This is a problem because 99% of us don't know what is on our floors. A "polish" is a temporary application that adds material (polymers that wear off over time) to the finish. Over "Bona Traffic" or "Bona Mega" that's fine. Over anything else = could spell disaster (like Varathane, Minwax, Glitsa, Samaan, Loba, Rubio, etc). These polishes wear off in high traffic areas...but build up to a thick mess at the edges of your room. That means every 5 years or so you are STRIPPING the polish from your floors (not the finish...the polish gunk you applied for years) and then you are back down to your finish. The whole point of using a high-end hardwood floor finish is to reduce your need for heavy maintenance...a polish, to me, adds more labour to a floor that probably doesn't need it. A 'good' finish shouldn't need the polish. That's why I'm confused about why Bona would produce a polish. They make amazing finishes. Technically their finish shouldn't need the polish. Probably a "marketing" ploy. My problem is that Bona is a success in marketing terms. They are everywhere and on every shelf! It is hard for homeowners to know what to use and what not to use. Their marketing campaign makes them out to be perfect for every hardwood. This is not always the case. Thankfully they are better than Murhpy's Oil. That's my 2 cents on Bona cleaners and polish. Whew. Nice stuff for Bona floors. Other than that, maybe not "all that"....See Morebeaniebakes
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4 years agoKendra Sullivan
4 years agoKendra Sullivan
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoJamie Loop
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4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoApolonia3
4 years agoCancork Floor Inc.
4 years agoAvry Byington
3 years agoMary Reynolds
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoCodi Phillips
6 months ago
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