How To: Polish Wood Floors

Think of the defeating your wood floorings withstand on a daily basis: high heels, pet nails, kids's toys, and also shifting furnishings, among others! Tough as wood floorings may be, their coating is still susceptible to scrapes as well as scuffs. Redecorating-- the process of sanding floorings down totally to apply a brand-new surface finish-- is costly and truly only needed every couple of decades. Yet polishing with a product especially created for your floorings is a simple, low-cost way to reclaim sparkle, even out blemishes, and also prolong the life of your handsome hardwood. All it takes is a flat-head wipe with a microfiber cleansing pad and also industrial wood floor polish, which can be found in reduced- or high-gloss lusters to accomplish your wanted look.

Whether or not you ought to polish your floors, nonetheless, depends on their surface. Those with a safety surface-- a water resistant obstacle such as urethane, as an example-- will certainly benefit from polish, however floors with passing through finishes like tung oil or unsealed timber need wax as opposed to polish. Utilizing the wrong product can cause a host of issues, from making floors too glossy to dulling the surface, as well as impair appropriate refinishing later on. So it's important to figure out which sort of floor you have (our Action 1 in this guide on how to brighten wood floors) prior to you dive in and cause damage.

STEP 1: Examine the coating on your wood floorings.

If you're uncertain what type of surface gets on your flooring, remove a little bit from an unnoticeable location with a sharp knife blade.

If the finish is smudged but no clear product is scraped up, your flooring probably has a permeating finish. Stop below, and do not brighten these wood floorings; these should only be waxed.
If you see a clear product, your flooring likely has a surface area coating. It's risk-free to polish these timber floorings. Still, be sure to check out the polish in a small surprise or inconspicuous area on the wood prior to tackling the entire flooring.

ACTION 2: Clear and also tidy your wood floors of dust and dirt.

Empty the room, removing as much furniture as possible, after that clean the floor extensively to eliminate dust and also dirt. Sweep or vacuum, then wipe with a business wood floor cleaner or option of a quarter-cup of recipe soap as well as a gallon of warm water to lift any type of sticking around gunk. Offer the floorings a final pass with a clean, water-dampened mop to get rid of any type of cleaner deposit. Dry completely with a soft, tidy towel.

ACTION 3: Polish timber floorings to a sparkle.

Begin in a back corner of the area, outlining a course that will have you end up near an exit, pour a tiny S-shaped quantity of timber flooring gloss onto the flooring.

Making use of a flat-surface mop, function the option back and forth in the direction of the wood grain, raveling any kind of air bubbles. Work in tiny locations (concerning three to 5 feet large in either direction) to finest control the amount of polish you've applied.

While you have to see to it to entirely coat the flooring, slim layers will dry out much more quickly than thick ones, as well as you can always apply one more layer if needed.

Keep in mind: Gloss can discolor drywall and baseboards, so stay clear of splashing on these locations.

ACTION 4: Hold off bring back the area for at the very least a day.

Wait at the very least one hr prior to permitting light website traffic with the area and also a full day before moving your belongings back in as well as returning to normal use. To prevent scratching, take care not to drag or glide furnishings; get each piece up as well as position them where they belong. Connect felt furniture pads beneath hefty items for added security.

ACTION 5: Adhere to a couple of safety measures to keep timber floorings looking excellent, and you can put off your following polishing work!

Since your floorings look like new, maintain them by placing carpets at entrance doors to avoid dirt from being tracked inside. If your cooking area has timber floor covering, likewise place a rug at the sink to capture stray drops of water.

Adhere to a regular cleansing regimen, vacuuming regular and also providing the floorings a deep clean month-to-month. Avoid any type of homemade cleansing remedies that consist of watered down vinegar or ammonia on timber floorings-- all they'll do is boring a surface-finished flooring. Instead, for a far better natural method.

These actions will go a means to make preserve your timber floor's luster. You might still intend to repeat the brightening procedure a couple of times yearly, as required, yet do not exceed four applications per year.