Urgent! Problem with an engineered hardwood floor.

6 years ago

Hi! About a month ago, I applied the Rejuvenate Wood Floor Professional Restorer to my engineered hardwood floor. After applying it, the floor was beautiful. However, a couple days ago, after washing the floor for the first time after having applied the restorer, the floor came out as a disaster.

As soon as the floor was washed, with the same cleaner I always use (Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner), there were stains on the whole floor and all the footprints were showing. I tried to wash the floor again, but nothing was working. Nevertheless, when I rub the floor with a wool sock, the stains and the footprints disappeared.

What do you suggest to bring my floor back to normal?

Featured Answer

SJ McCarthy

6 years ago

#1. Stop using Rejuvenate - throw it in the garbage.

#2. Purchase a gallon of Windex original and a few bags of white rags from Walmart.

#3. On hands and knees (yes...I said hands and knees) spray a 1ft x 1ft patch of wood with Windex.

#4. Allow the Windex to sit for 30 - 60 seconds. Wipe up the liquid with a clean cloth

#5. Reapply the Windex to the same spot this time wiping up immediately with ANOTHER cloth

#6. Keep reapplying windex and wiping the same spot until the cloth comes away 'wet' without any yellow on it.

#7. Continue in this manner until your floor is completely stripped of Rejuvenate

#8. Contact a Lawyer to start a class action suit (I'm hoping someone will do this...but 5 years and no luck!)

OK....so you've fallen for the "Rejuvenate" the look of your floor scam these products encourage. Rejuvenate has damaged millions of square footage of flooring. Rejuvenate is a polish. It is not allowed on wood floors of any kind.

If you look up your wood floor's care and maintenance guide, it will specifically say "No polishes". In essence the Rejuvenate has voided your warranty.

There is nothing you can 'add' to a wood floor that will 'bring it back to life' other than a full sand and refinish. There just isn't.

As for Bona cleaner, it does NOT like to 'play nice' with other products. What you have seen is the POLISH has grabbed some foot prints (because polishes are sticky). Because the polish (aka Rejuvenate) is a hot sticky mess, it doesn't clean up very well. Nothing removes those sticky foot prints other than 'buffing them out or something like windex (windex is a mild degreaser/stripper). But windex also strips the rejuvenate leaving you more of a hot sticky mess than you had before.

Sigh. Now you have to add more Rejuvenate to get the floors looking good again. But Oh Wait! Isn't that making a bad situation worse? Yep. That's why I call these types of temporary polishes as scam. I would love someone to start a class action law suit. The manufacturer is WELL AWARE their product is not to be used on hardwoods yet they target owners who want 'fresh' looking floors.

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Comments (6)

Sammy
6 years ago
What did it say to do on the product (Rejuvenate) website? What did they say to do when you called?
Zakariia Lotf
Original Author
6 years ago
I’m waiting for their answer. When I called the company, the person I spoke to sent me an email with some questions to answer about my floor and they asked for pictures of the problem.
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Zakariia Lotf
Original Author
6 years ago
I just received the answer from Rejuvenate. They assured us that the product can be safely removed from the floor with an alkaline-based floor stripper. What de you think about that?
lindac92
6 years ago
Frankly I'd wash the floor with a diluted household ammonia solution....and skip the Bona stuff. I have real (not engineered) old oak flooring poly coated over the original shellac ( which was in surprisingly good condition when I tore up the carpet.) about 18 years ago. Used bona once....and had to wash it off with 409....now I just use a vinegar solution.
SJ McCarthy
6 years ago
Windex does the same thing - it has a small amount of ammonia in it ...but you are welcome to look for an alkaline based stripper. House hold bleach is also considered alkaline....but you never want to use bleach on hardwood - ever.

Be careful with what you use. The reason Windex works is the ammonia is a VERY low level AND the alcohol content is very high. That means the solution evaporates VERY quickly. The fast evaporation rate means the wood is not left 'too wet' for too long.