Software
Houzz Logo Print
webuser_18750950732

Haze on flooring

6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago

I just bought my house a week ago. My first walk through and the floors looked great. The last walk through they were all hazy I'm assuming they did a quick mop after they finished fixing some things the house was a flip. I've attached the photo of what I'm dealing with. I'm assuming the floors are engineered. The flippers just said exotic hardwood but it's awfully thin. I've used regular mop, bona, murphy soap and last rejuvenate. None of them really work. Some were awful. Rejuvenate seems to have done the best but it looks great wet then dull when it dried. Please help this sucks. I bought ammonia and vinegar from home Depot but I'm not really sure I should try it.


Comments (16)

  • 6 years ago

    You should never, ever use Murphy's oil soap on wood floors! My floor refinisher said it seeps into the wood and makes a refinish impossible because the new finish won't adhere. Not sure if you can refinish engineered, but I wouldn't risk it (but obviously too late in your case).

    I'd try your remedies in an inconspicuous spot if there is one and see if anything takes it off. They obviously used something to clean the floors that didn't agree with them, hopefully not permanently ruined. Any way you can ask them?
    Don't use Murphy's on your wood floors

    James Silver thanked Olychick
  • 6 years ago

    Thank you. I've reached out to my realtor to try and figure out what these floors are. She seems to believe they are just laminate not engineered wood like I thought. I just don't want to make it worse.

  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    A flip? Gosh help you about the rest.

    All of the products you listed are the worst thing possible to use. Consider them ruined. Anything you do can only help. So, try white T shirt with mineral spirits and open windows. If that doesn’t do it, nothing will. Plan on replacement.

    James Silver thanked User
  • 6 years ago

    I found out they are Home Legend High Gloss Santos Mahogany 3/8 in. T x 4-3/4 in. W x Varying Length Click Lock Exotic Hardwood Flooring. They said based off pictures I sent to use a 2 to 1 distilled water and isopropyl alcohol mix in a spray bottle to clean off the film and get them back where they should be. I'll let you all know tonight after I try it. I guess nothing to lose.

  • PRO
    6 years ago

    Good luck James!

  • 6 years ago

    The floors are definitely better however every step I take in the floor makes the floor look exactly how I think it should. I wish I could drag my foot over the entire floor. Anyone know the equivalent of doing that I tried buffing by hand with a microfiber and then a dry spray mop to no avail. I'm assuming it's the oils in my foot. Im thinking about renting a buffer from home Depot or something.

  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    It sounds like your last cleaning attempt did NOT remove everything. That's normal. It often takes as many as 4 passes to get everything off - especially the Rejuvenate.

    You might find you get a better cleaning with regular Windex (original formula with a little bit of ammonia). Many, many, many people have done this and had GREAT results.

    By the sounds of what you are talking about, you are about half way through your 'cleaning'. Keep going. I often suggest working on hands and knees with windex and MANY white cotton rags.

    You will soak a 2ft x 2ft square with Windex...let it sit for 20-30 seconds and then wipe it up with a clean white rag. Once the spot is dry, you MIST it with a little bit more Windex and then (with a NEW white cloth) you wipe it up immediately.

    That gets you the 2nd and 3rd cleaning passes done in 1 minute. Then you move to the next 2ft x 2ft square and do it again. These steps should get you what you want.

    What you are looking for: a clean cloth that just looks 'damp' when you've wiped up the windex. If there is residue left over, the cloth will look a little yellow. That tells you another pass is needed.

    James Silver thanked SJ McCarthy
  • 6 years ago


    Windex hmm what can I say I'll give it a shot. Thank you and I'll keep going hopefully I'll get these back to where they should be.

  • 6 years ago

    If you have a house full of flooring, go ahead and purchase the GALLON size Windex refill (found at Costco). And you can always stop by a Value Village or a Salvation Army store to pick up some cotton sheets that you can then tear into rags. Those two purchases should get you through the entire project without having to run out to buy more stuff.

    James Silver thanked SJ McCarthy
  • 6 years ago

    I did one full cleaning of Windex and yes I agree it looks like it's working thank you all so much. I'll let you know after a few more passes.

  • 6 years ago

    Any updates? Photos?

    James Silver thanked SJ McCarthy
  • 6 years ago

    Actually actively doing it again will follow up with pictures in a few hours.

  • 6 years ago



  • 6 years ago

    Great job! I now it was a lot of work but well worth it I would say. And I'm guessing those are engineered hardwood and not laminate floors. Laminate has a repeat pattern (every 7th or 8th plank will be identical to one another).

    James Silver thanked SJ McCarthy
  • PRO
    6 years ago

    Those are engineered. Although I'm pretty sure the top layer is VERY thin. We've tried to stay away from using the "exotic hardwood" variety of imported (typically Brazilian) lumbers, because they are so VERY temperamental, which is the price paid for having lumber that is extremely hard. Be forewarned, that using TOO much water on them, too often, will bump the moisture content up, which will result in cracking/splitting when the moisture content drops back to normal. Many people think the "engineered" products are more stable due to the cross lamination in the production phase... but the TOP layer, can & often does, get into a conflict with the platform it's been glued to.

    James Silver thanked Select Hardwood Floor Co.