How to Clean Oiled Wood Floors
There are some older wood floors that have an oiled surface on them. Many times this surface can become dirty or dingy. Cleaning this surface is not the same as cleaning other wood floors, however. Some of the cleaners will actually ruin the oiled finish on the wood. This means that you will need to take care in selecting your cleaning method. You may also find yourself in a situation where you will need to reapply a new oil finish. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Broom or hardwood floor vacuum
- Oil soap (or other cleaner made for oiled surfaces)
- Several clean rags
Instructions
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1
Remove all of the furniture and rugs from the room. This will give you a larger space to work in and will also allow you to clean the entire floor, rather than just the floor that is showing.
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2
Sweep the entire floor. Make sure you get all of the dust and dirt off of the floor or the final product will not look as good. In fact, you may end up putting dirt into the floor that you can't get back out. You can also vacuum the surface if you would rather.
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3
Apply some of the oil soap to one of the rags. Do not apply the cleaner to the floor. This will put too much in one spot. Having the oil soap on the rag will allow for a more even distribution.
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4
Press hard and work the oil soap into the floor. Make sure you are cleaning with the grain of the wood. This ensures that the floor looks uniform.
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5
Replace your rag as often as you need to. Normally you will need several rags for even a smaller room. Allow the room to dry for 1 to 2 hours. Make sure that no one walks on it or ruins the cleaning process during this time.
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6
Repeat steps 3 to 5 for a second coat, only this time use less of the oil soap on the rag. This will simply be a lighter pass over the floor and will allow you to get any spots that are still showing on the ground.
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7
Allow the floor to dry once again for 1 to 2 hours. Buff the floor using some dry rags and then carefully move the furniture back into the room.
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Tips & Warnings
Make sure that you sweep the floor on a regular basis. This will not only lengthen the amount time before you need to clean the floor with oil soap, but it will actually increase the life of your hardwood floors.
