Cleaning Hardwood Floor Help

[Anonymous]

I just bought a house with hardwood floors. I don't know much about hardwood floors- the house was built in the early '80's and the planks are very skinny. During inspection, walk through, first day in house the floor looked great- nice and shiny. I noticed spots on the floor which I am thinking was droplets of sweat from the movers.

Yesterday, I used BONA to clean the floor. There is now a square spot (maybe 5x5 ft) on the floor that looks like it has a whitish residue on it; it is easily seen when the curtains are open during the day. The square part is directly in front of where they had their couch. They did not have a rug there when we looked at the house but they could have before they put the house on the market. It is so weird bc the rest of the floor looks fine.

Today I have used Murphy's Oil- no change. And I have used a vinegar/water mixture- no change. With the vinegar water mixture- I tried to immediately wipe it up/buff it with a towel.

Questions:
I'm pretty sure BONA has a whole system. I just used the spray. Should I go buy the whole thing? Should I go buy a microfiber cloth/mop or something special to use with vinegar/water mixture? Do I just need to keep cleaning it? Any other suggestions? It looks pretty bad- even my husband said something- and my MIL is coming in a few weeks. I'd rather do the scrubbing on my hands and knees, if I have to, before she comes instead of in front of her.

[Anonymous]

I have hardwood throughout my house. We ripped all the carpets out before moving in. I clean it by first sweeping it, then with a wet cloth which i put on a broom or a swifter. It sounds to me like the floor needs to be refinished.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have hardwood throughout my house. We ripped all the carpets out before moving in. I clean it by first sweeping it, then with a wet cloth which i put on a broom or a swifter. It sounds to me like the floor needs to be refinished.

+1 What is being described is not dirt or a stain. The floor finish has been worn/removed in a high-impact area. Cover with carpet, refinish or live with it.

[Anonymous]

OP - Contact Bona.

[Anonymous]

you need to refinish

[Anonymous]

Fellow HardWood floor homeowner here. I use just Bono products btw.

The whitish residue area-hard to say. Sounds like build up of something-prior waxes, cleaners over an area that perhaps was faded in finish.

I'd look through Bono products and call their Customer Service for further advice. Perhaps ask to send a picture.

Hard wood floor maintenance and analysis can be tricky. Sounds like your on the right track, but do encourage no waxes, soaps be applied. good luck.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you for your advice. I don't think it is just a worn area- i can clearly see the outline of the square of residue. I am able to scrape it up with my fingernail. I just took a plastic chopstick and was able to scrape up a lot of clear/whitish residue from a small "hidden" piece of floor. I will call Bona- I didn't think to do that. Thanks again.

[Anonymous]

OP

Is your floor an engineered wood, such as Bruce
or is it real tongue and groove flooring? There are different ways to clean the two types of flooring.

[Anonymous]

OP. Spoke with BONA. They said I needed to call Orange Glo since the previous owners left a half used bottle of that and Rejuvenate here, I'm guess that is what they used. From what I'm reading online, Orange Glo seems like a big no no. Ugh!

[Anonymous]

it is real tongue and groove flooring

[Anonymous]

Orange glo kills floors. Murphy's oil is for poly only. Sounds like u need to refinish and then clean properly.

[Anonymous]

OP - Google "Orange Glo ruined my hardwood floors".

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

You need a steam mop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP

Is your floor an engineered wood, such as Bruce
or is it real tongue and groove flooring? There are different ways to clean the two types of flooring.

New poster with a question. We moved into a house with beautiful hardwood floors. They said they were brazallion cherry. I'm positive they didn't sand/stain them after installation, so they're prefinished (I assume they're not engineered, but guess I can't know for sure). Woudl I be able to refinish these floors at some point?

[Anonymous]

PP -- Did the previous owners leave any planks behind? How thick is it? you usually get one refinish with this type of flooring, depending on the thickness of the planks.