Wood Floors

I have an older home and we did the same thing in my living room...there were quite a few black spots like that and that is what they floor guy said was it was urine or maybe other liquid. I believe he said doing anything to them would just release the smell out of it, there were a few other things on them as well. I had them resealed, it's an older home and it actually looks good, adds character to the floor. The floor guy said I should use like a sweefer on floors, he said you should never clean them with a mop because any type of liquid isn't good for them, I am guessing the same would be for unsealed. Hopefully someone can offer advice on what can make the spots less noticable.

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If the urine soaked in a long ways you won't be able to do anything to the wood to make it better. If it's on the surface it could be sanded out. I've tried just about every stain remover on the market for some stains I accidentally got when my bunny cage leaked. I've lighted the stains some with the various urine removing type cleaners. But, mine was stained when they were sealed so I think that someday if someone sands the stains will not be too deep into the wood.

I've lived in many houses with wood floors and I mop like any other floor. It may not be the best but I HATE dirty floors. Most of my floors look really nice and fortunately, they all do in the front of the house. In the room I messed up, I brought in those 2ft by 2ft carpet squares in slightly different colors creating a checkerboard look. The colors are almost the same. It's a nice look and you don't have to put them down with glue or nails. This way, if we sell the house someone can work on the floor under it. If we stay it just is what it is.

S.

1 mom found this helpful

We have an older home with real wood floors and once you have them sealed there is they are beautiful! You will want to check for nails that hide when you pull up carpet. We use a microfiber swiffer. You want to use as little water as possible. I hand ring out the cloth before i stick it to the velcro which is probably even more inportant with unfinished

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Don't wait to seal them!!! Any stains that are spilled on your floors now mean more work (and $) to get rid of later.

When we pulled up the carpet in our house, there were plenty of black stains, paint spills, etc. and since it wasn't sealed - it took a bit of repair and lots of sanding before we could seal.

Our guy replaced the blackened wood pieces with new ones and you couldn't tell a difference between old and new... He said sanding wouldn't get all of the stains out and once seeing them, I would agree.

Let me know if you want his name/number. He's kind of a one-man show that's been doing this for years. We were happy with his work and his price!

J

Good Morning J., What a beautiful find under Ugly carpeting. With is being unsealed I wouldn't use any type of cleaner on it. Maybe water and a little bit of vinegar is all and wrung out pretty dry, just to pick up the odds and ends on the floor.
Then do make a small vac you could use before the H2O & Vinegar. I think it is a Swiffer brand also.

I used a Mr Clean eraser on one of our side tables, someone had burned it and covered it up ......:)) it took the burn mark OFF so well lightened the color very little. The erases took off nail polish remover stain from a table also, same results. Do not rub hard. You could try it on a place that wouldn't show it see if it would remove some of the stain.

Only other thing would be to sand it down, seal it and clean as normal. Been there done that too...lol

God Bless J. and Hope your floors reveal much beauty and charm. I love older homes.

K. Nana of 5

Vinegar is really good if it is a urine stain. It will break up that protein. Pour it on the stain and let it sit for about 5 minutes, then wipe it away. You could always try some baking soda for the smell. We did this when we lifted the carpets off our wood floor. It is an older home. Original floor. You can't even see the stains anymore. It doesn't smell either. If it is sealed you will need to sand it first before you redo it. Tip about sanding make sure you cover everything and block doors because the debris will get everywhere. All over the walls, everything. If it isn't urine they make a wood bleach you can get at any hardware store and it will lighten the stain.

If they are not sealed you can use some light sand paper to go over the spot. Murphy's oil is great soap to clean hard wood floors.

I would probably strip them down and then pick a stain color that it dark enough to make the spots not noticable.

I love the dry swiffer cloths. They attract the dirt and do a really good job.

if you go to lowes, home depot or true value there is a product that restores floor shine made only for hardwood floors. Do not use water or oil unless the bottle states for your type of floor.
They also have a certain mop to use to apply this. You have to leave on for several hours and no walking on it during that time. I used it and it was so good that my floors still shine. it is by mini wax....

I have newer hardwood floors and love them. I would recommend that you vacuum then use something like murphy's oil soap to hand clean them. Then possibly use something to like orange glow to give them some oil. Watch out, they will be slippery after that for a while. I don't have any idea's about the stains. If you are in the St. Louis area there is a great place that refinishes floors reasonably. My sister and neighbor used them and loved them. Let me know if you want their name (I'll have to look it up.)

I prefer the mop that has a towel on it. After you mop you take off the towel and put in the washer. To make it go better on your floor you do need to dampen it. As long as you don't drinch your floor with water or liquids it won't hurt to get them wet with a damp mop, otherwise it is hard for the mop to slide across the floor when it is totally dry. Do not use pinesol or other cleaners on your hardwood floors. You can use a hardwood floor cleaner or plain vinegar and water. Some hardwood floor cleaners leave a build up though so you may not want to use them everytime.

You need to rent a sander and sand your wood floors (this might get rid of the black spots). Sand the floors and THEN seal them.