How to Get Stains Out of Wood Floors

Many homeowners have removed carpeting to reveal stained hardwood floors. This can be disappointing when a gleaming magazine style floor is in your dreams. You can lighten or remove pet, wine, water, and unidentifiable stains with cleaners available at hardware stores.

You can lighten even the hardest to remove stains with sandpaper, cleaning solutions, and refinishing. You don't need to refinish an entire floor for great results.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Acid cleaner
• Vinegar
• Sandpaper
• Stain
• Sealant

Remove the stain

1. Identify the stain, then use the proper cleaner to try to remove it. Soak a white washcloth with peroxide and leave it for several hours over a colored stain produced by wine or drinks such as Kool-Aid. Use the same method with vinegar for pet stains.

2. Follow the instructions on wood bleach containers purchased from a hardware store for stubborn, set-in stains such as old urine stains.

3. Sand small stains that you cannot remove with chemical cleaners with fine-grit sandpaper. Do not rub too hard or a pit will be produced. Cover the sanded area with a stain that matches the rest of the floor. Let it dry, then seal it.

4. Rent a sander from the hardware store if the above methods do not work. Sand the entire floor lightly, using both grits of paper provided with the sander. Do not use too much pressure as this causes dips in the flooring.

5. Vacuum, then stain the entire floor. Allow to it dry, then seal it.

Tips & Warnings

• Wipe up liquids as soon as you can. Pour plain white vinegar onto fresh urine to prevent stains. You can sometimes buff water stains from the floor with a mix of vinegar and olive oil.
• Never use caustic acid cleaners in a household with small children. Never use chlorine bleach to remove the stains--fumes can be absorbed and released for long periods of time. Bleach weakens wood fibers and causes breakage and splinters.

References

• Tips to remove stains from wood floors
• Alcohol to remove mildew stains on wood

Resources

• How to remove stains from any floor