Cleaning a really dirty wood floor

rosie383

Hi all.
I'm sure there is a thread on this that I can't find and this will be added to it (thanks mods in advance ��).
Moved to a new house with a wood floor in the kitchen which I was so delighted to see. Since moving a few weeks ago I have only hoovered it and gone over it quickly with the mop.
The house is clean looking until you look closely and discover it is actually pretty grimy.
Anyway, the floor... Bent down to clean a wee spill off it and was shocked to see how dirty it actually was. What I thought was wear and tear and patination (sp? Been watching too much Flog It!) is mostly dirt. I've just gone over it with some cleaning wipes that I bought for the move to do quick clean ups. They are black after cleaning a tiny bit of floor. Thankfully it's dry and not sticky but how do I really deep clean it without ruining the wood?
I don't mind having darker, worn areas, but it is really, really dirty. Help please.
Btw, I have fairy liquid, astonish, some grease spray stuff, Brillo pads. No stardrops as I have run out and can't find them anywhere.

VfM4meplse

rosie383 wrote: »

The house is clean looking until you look closely and discover it is actually pretty grimy.

Living in someone else's dirt would drive me nuts; although I'd be tempted to eradicate everything with a steam cleaner, else strip with a sander and re-varnish I realise that neither is an answer. I hope you find a solution soon and am interested to hear what it would be.

rosie383

I'm finding it hard even though I love the house to bits. I literally am going to have to scrub every door, skirting board etc. And door frames. Light switches etc. We had to replace a ceiling and are sanding and painting in every spare minute so I am gradually cleaning bits.
We are normally a shoe-free house and everyone automatically takes their shoes off when they come in but I have to tell them all to keep their shoes on. We are Muslim and it is just such an automatic thing for everyone that I have to persuade them!!
The previous owner let slip just before we moved in that the deep pile hall stairs and landing carpet was there before they moved in 14 years ago!! Yikes! And if they weren't shoe-free then I dread to think what is lurking. Gross.
We are going to get rid of all the carpets gradually but yuuuurgh!!!

rosie383

Btw I did buy a steam cleaner just before I moved as I was using one on holiday and it was fab! First time using it was great but then the next two times it malfunctioned and I had to send it back so my enthusiasm for them has waned somewhat.
For your other suggestion of sanding, I did think of that but it isn't really practical in a kitchen as the thought of not being able to walk on it with every new coat of varnish would be difficult. We will be hopefully doing a kitchen and extension in the spring so I just need something short term to clean.

TiredTrophy

Hire a commercial steam cleaner for the floors and a big carpet cleaner for any carpets. Do everything twice and then put on a dehumidifier if the weather damp?

GreyQueen

rosie383 wrote: »

Hi all.
I'm sure there is a thread on this that I can't find and this will be added to it (thanks mods in advance ��).
Moved to a new house with a wood floor in the kitchen which I was so delighted to see. Since moving a few weeks ago I have only hoovered it and gone over it quickly with the mop.
The house is clean looking until you look closely and discover it is actually pretty grimy.
Anyway, the floor... Bent down to clean a wee spill off it and was shocked to see how dirty it actually was. What I thought was wear and tear and patination (sp? Been watching too much Flog It!) is mostly dirt. I've just gone over it with some cleaning wipes that I bought for the move to do quick clean ups. They are black after cleaning a tiny bit of floor. Thankfully it's dry and not sticky but how do I really deep clean it without ruining the wood?
I don't mind having darker, worn areas, but it is really, really dirty. Help please.
Btw, I have fairy liquid, astonish, some grease spray stuff, Brillo pads. No stardrops as I have run out and can't find them anywhere.

Hi rosie, not a Muslim myself, but love to pad around indoors barefoot and my toesies are just curling at the thought of other people's dirt underfoot, ick.*shudders*

What style of wood floor is is? Are we talking floorboards, and if so, are they painted/ varnished/ oiled/ otherwise treated? Is it wood block (i.e. parquet?) or is it something like a laminate?

The answer will determine the best ways to clean it.

You can't go far wrong with an old-fashioned wood and bristle scubbing brush and something soapy (washing up liquid) on proper wood. If it's planks, you rub up and down with the grain. Will require wiping up the dirty water with something like old towel rags in the meantime, and rinsing. I've brought some truly filthy floorboards up lovely using this technique. It's hard work but very rewarding to see the improvement.

If you sand, all that dirt will become airborne (well, the bits that arent's clogging the sander) plus you lose a fraction of the wood and, with floorboards, can end up with them getting bowed and squeaky as a result of too much sanding.

Besides, sanding floors is an absolute pig of a job and everyone I know who has done it has vowd never again, hire someone.

If funds stretch to it, can you get the inherited carpets professionally shampoo'd? Depending on how good they were originally, they might end up worht keeping once cleaned. HTH.

ancientofdays

You might like to try hiring a rug doctor for the carpets, not expensive and the amount of dirt that comes out is quite scary but very satisfying. For the wooden floor, I would do what Grey Queen suggests, wipe as dry as you can and then you shouldn't get too much of the grain raised.

LHW99

Rug Doctor machines are fine, but on some types of carpet I've found steam cleaning does a better job. and the carpet is generally dry quicker (and I feel the steam does sterilise it)

rosie383

Thanks for the suggestions. I wouldn't bother shampooing the carpets tbh as we are planning to take them all up anyway as there are great floorboards throughout and we want to sand them all and varnish. We have a dd with eczema, asthma etc who goes to bed sneezing, wakes up sneezing, poor kid. As the whole place needs decorating anyway we figure that there is no point getting rid of the carpets, painting, then having to clean paint splashes off the floor.
Sanding is a difficult job but I have done dd's room already so it is doable.

GQ the floor in kitchen which I want to clean looks like solid wood. Smallish, very tightly packed bits of wood but not parquet. Thankfully it is a small kitchen so should be easy enough.
I will have a go with a bristle brush and washing up liquid solution. Good idea to have towels ready to mop up.

PasturesNew

If you do it by hand, do it in 2' squares. Get a bowl of water and wash one 2' piece thoroughly (I say 2' but I mean a comfortable reaching distance, which might be 18" if you're short). Then dry that piece and move onto the next one.

That's the only way to concentrate to really getting it clean once and for all.

allybee101

Rosie, it sounds like wood mosaic which I have (sets of 5 rectangular bits of wood in a square, set at 90 degrees to the next one, looks a bit like a weaved pattern?) - though only in the hall and lounge.
If so, go with the warm water and a bit of washing up liquid as GQ recommends - with it being a kitchen there may be grease that needs cutting through so the WUL will help.
Make sure you have plenty of towels /rags to mop up the water and don't let the water sit for too long on it.
And put a folded towel under your knees!