How to 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 how to remove the stain.

Difficulty: Easy

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.

Tips & Warnings

• Scuff marks from boots may be removed from hardwood floors by erasing them with a pencil eraser. If this does not work, use 000 fine steel wool to rub them out gently.
• Keeping your hardwood floors finished can prevent or minimize stains. Refinishing a small portion of the floor as part of a repair is not always successful, as often the finish does not stick. Repair refinishes work better if you refinish an entire board length or an entire room or area from wall-to-wall.

[deab]

on 6/28/2008 Here's one of the best tips for cleaning hardwood floors: Brewer some 4-6 tea bags (any tea will do I use green tea cause that's what I have), let it stand until lukewarm. Next, soak a paper towel in the tea and rub the hardwood floor wit it. When your done with that paper towel toss it and take a clean paper towel and just wipe the area you just cleaned. Repeat until you clean the whole floor. The shine is unbelievable, and you won't have to clean your floor as often. It works. I promise.