How to Restore Old Hardwood Floors

Have you just found hardwood floors hidden under an ugly carpet, or are your wood floors starting to show their age? Not to worry. Restoring those floors back to new is not as hard as it sounds. It just takes some time and good old fashioned sweat.

Things You'll Need

• Floor cleaner
• Random orbit floor sander or a professional
• Wood putty
• Hammer
• Stain in the color of your choice
• Bristled paint brush

Instructions

1. Remove any existing floor covering.

2. Clean the floor with standard wood floor cleaner and let it dry thoroughly.

3. Reset the nails to below the surface of the floor and fill any holes with wood filler.

4. 

   The floor now needs to be sanded or smoothed out. This is a tricky part because using a commercial sanding machine improperly can leave tragic results. You can hire a professional to sand the floor or rent a random orbit floor sander, which is far less risky.

5. If you go with the random orbit floor sander, guide it in no particular pattern until all of the finish is removed. Then, take a finer grit paper and repeat the process. Finally, go to an even finer grit, 80 or 100, to smooth the wood before finish is applied. Be sure the surface is completely clean and wipe the floor of sawdust and surface contaminants.

6. 

   Before applying the stain, test the color on a piece of scrap wood. Don’t shake the can, it can result in air bubbles. Stir the contents and, once you start, don’t stop. Use a brush or a synthetic-based pad to apply. Don’t use steel wool, as it can leave flakes and rust. Start staining on one side of the room and work your way across. If you stop in the middle, you will end up with an overlay mark.

Tips & Warnings

• Drying agents can be added to a stain to speed up the drying process.

• It's important to maintain the floor on a regular basis. Daily dusting and cleaning up spills.

• Clean every two weeks with a cleaner made for wood floors.

• Light wood floors show dust less than dark wood floors.

• Stay away from general purpose or wood furniture type cleaners.. These are harmful to the long life of your floor.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish