Will cooking oil stain engineered wood floor?

6 years ago

I used to have old school orange, 25 year old solid hardwood floors (I’m guessing thick polyurethane was used back then?), and i never had to worry about cooking oil staining it.

Now I have brand new engineered white oak floors. They are not oil stained. So I think that means they are polyurethane stain if I remember correctly. they have mild wire brushing.

Question is, will spills of cooking oil, or gravy running off a plate as you put it in the dishwasher, etc, leave a dark spot stain on the floor? I ask because I dripped “vegetable oil based” stainless steel cleaner when we first moved which left a big dark spot. Now I’m not sure if it was the oil or if there’s another chemical that caused it to penetrate so quickly. At any rate, should I be wiping the floor after hubby loads the dishwasher with gravy dishes and after he cooks stir fries and splatters the floor?

not sure how much I need to fuss over it. Thanks.

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Comments (3)

SJ McCarthy
6 years ago
The heavy duty stainless steel cleaner (vegetable or whale or petroleum based doesn't make any difference) will penetrate any polyurethane. Polyurethane finishes are NOT water proof (nor oil proof). They are moisture RESISTANT but they will EVENTUALLY push past the finish to reach the wood = dark stain. The heavy oil probably sat too long AND it took ++ effort to remove it (like many swipes of soap to remove all the oil from the floor).

The duration of time the liquid sits on the finish will predict how much stain you can expect. The COLOUR of the floor will also dictate how much you will see.

I don't like to see wood floors babied. They are floors. Of course you want to be mindful of what you are doing, but they are supposed to take the abuse. That's what they do. The finish is what keeps the wood healthy so that it can be refinished in the future.

The wire brushing helped the stain appear. The texture means there is more surface area for the oil to grab hold of as well as more valleys to fill. They are notorious for grabbing dirt and grime and liquids and oils. More surface area on the wood means more surface area to try to clean.
chispa
6 years ago
Do you have any leftover boards of your engineered floor? You could do some stain testing, similar to the stain testing they recommend here when choosing countertop materials.
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Lana Benge
Original Author
6 years ago
I had tested defrosted blueberry and tomato sauce left overnight and both left no mark. Water tends to pool on top unless left a long time. I should test oil I guess. Just curious how others have found it to live with it/what happens over time.