Steps to Strip a Wax Floor
Waxing your floor gives it uniform sheen and helps protect the floor from liquid spills. Natural wood floors benefit from an occasional coat of floor wax, but you can also wax linoleum to add sparkle and shine. Floor wax ingredients vary from product to product, but some may contain hardeners, such as beeswax, that can build up on the floor after a few applications, trapping dust and grime between coats. If your waxed floor doesn't shine the way it used to, you can strip off the old buildup before you apply fresh wax. Does this Spark an idea?
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Stripping Products
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Using a commercial wax stripping solution is your best bet. Only use a stripper made for the type of floor you have. A product that strips wax from linoleum may contain ammonia, which can damage a hardwood floor. You will dilute a commercial stripping solution with water as directed on the container. For a linoleum or tile floor, "Consumer Reports: How to Clean Practically Anything" suggests mixing 1/2 cup of powdered floor cleaner and 2 cups of ammonia in a gallon of cool water to make an inexpensive stripping solution.
Tools and Supplies
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A sponge mop with a handle saves your back when applying the stripping solution, but you'll still need to get down and dirty to scrape away stuck-on bits of wax and gunk from around the edge of the floor, so get a cushioning pair of knee pads. You'll need a couple of plastic buckets, one to hold the stripping solution and the other to hold clean rinse water. Grab a few clean absorbent rags, and locate a plastic putty knife and a stiff nylon scrubber before you start.
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Roll up Your Sleeves
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Strip the floor section by section. A 3-foot square area is about right. Spread the solution evenly with a sponge mop, and leave it on for a few minutes. You may see the surface of the wax turning white or opaque as the stripping solution softens it. Scrape the edges of the floor with a plastic putty knife to remove accumulated wax buildup. Scrub the softened wax off the rest of the floor with a nylon scrubbing pad. If the wax doesn't come off easily, wait a few more minutes and try again. Use an absorbent rag, dampened in the clean water bucket, to wipe away gunky residue. Rinse out the rag, and rewipe as needed.
Considerations
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Don't pour the stripping solution onto the floor. If it runs down into the cracks, it could cause the subfloor to swell. On a wood floor, use only a stripper approved for use on wood. For the best results, before rewaxing, let your floor dry completely and wipe it down with a tack cloth to remove all traces of dust. Use a floor wax made specifically for your type of flooring.
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References
Resources
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