Thursday, March 3, 2011

Remove Stains From Hardwood Floors

Stains can ruin the look of a hardwood floor. Removing them can be a simple process, or as involved as sanding and refinishing your entire floor. The condition of your floor, the nature of the stain, and the length of time the stain has been on the hardwood floor all determine remove the stain. Does this Spark an idea?


Instructions


1. Assess the condition of your floor. If your hardwood floor is relatively new and is sealed well, the stain may be only on the surface and hasn't reached the wood. In this case, chemical removal should work. If your hardwood floors are older and the seal has worn off or down, you might need to strip and sand the floors for stain removal, and then refinish and seal them.


2. Determine the nature of the stain. Choose a cleaning product that works best with the stain on the hardwood. If the stain was caused by alcohol, candy or other non-greasy foods, fruit, ink, lipstick, nail polish or shoe polish, mix a few drops of a mild dish detergent into a bucket of warm water. Rub the stain with a soft cloth wet with the solution.


3. Use cold water, or cold water mixed with a little ammonia, to remove a stains caused by blood, grease or iodine. Rub the stain with a soft cloth dampened with the cold water or the ammonia and water mix. If this does not remove the stain, saturate the cloth, spread it out on top of the stain and let it sit until the stain vanishes.


4. Eliminate urine stains on hardwood floors. Scrub with a cloth wet soaked in hot water and some scouring powder if the stain is fresh. If the urine stain is old, mix liquid bleach in with your hot water. Use 1 part bleach to 10 parts hot water. Rinse the area with clear bleach after the stains are removed.







Tags: cold water, hardwood floor, condition your, condition your floor, hardwood floors, nature stain