Parquet flooring-is it ruined?

boo81

Last night my cat knocked over some oven cleaning fluid fortunately not the megs strong stuff but I woke to find it spilt on my oak parquet flooring. It has gone black and looks like a coating but im wondering if it will have stripped the wood.

Do I just scrub the coating off and if so what with?

If it has ruined the wood treatment what would you do to revive it again? It looks like a dull varnish but the same flooring is likely to have been there for 20 years or more so I dont want a spot to stick out too much.

Any advice appreciated
Thank you

SnowyOwl_2

bump!! I think if I were boo I'd be desperate for a reply to her query. Thinking caps on please....

HariboJunkie

Not too sure about Parquet but I have natural wood flooors and I would scrub it with a mild detergent, then sand very gently and revarnish. Sounds like the whole floor could do with being sealed properly.

AussieLass

SnowyOwl wrote: »

bump!! I think if I were boo I'd be desperate for a reply to her query. Thinking caps on please....

Let's wake everybody up then shall we? I've never had parquet floors either but I would call first thing this morning a flooring place and get some expert advice. You could make it worse.

HariboJunkie

AussieLass wrote: »

Let's wake everybody up then shall we? I've never had parquet floors either but I would call first thing this morning a flooring place and get some expert advice. You could make it worse.

What she's trying to say is " don't for God's sake follow Haribo's advice" :rolleyes:















Probably right though....I was just scared that Snowy would get cross if I didn't reply.
Or you could try asking on the In My Home Board.

Debt_Free_Chick

Oven cleaner is generally caustic and 99% of the time it will burn wood if it comes into contact with it - sounds like this is the case as the wood has gone black.

The best way to deal with this at the time is to flood the area with cold clean water to neutralise the cleaner and wash it away. Do this quickly and dry the wood as there's likely to be minimal damage.

After the event (which is Boo's situation), the only option is to sand back the burnt part of the wood. You can gently scrape the affected area with the blade from a stanley knife. Applying some water first will help to lift the grain so you can scrape away the raised part. Be careful as you risk getting splinters in your fingers or worse, down the nails :eek:

You'll then need to seal the bare wood with wax or varnish. My preference would be for wax, even if this is not the same as the other part of the floor, as with a wax coating the bare wood is more likely to colour, giving you a better chance of it blending in with the rest of the floor.

Whatever you do, this patch is going to look different from the rest of the floor for a while. Eventually, it should blend back in, but it could take years.

As the floor is burnt, you can only make the best out of a bad situation - you're almost certainly not going to restore it, immediately, to match the rest of the floor. If you want the best, possible fix, you'll need to strip the whole floor, sand it and then re-seal it :eek:

Let us know how you get on.

Seakay

Old parquet is much more likely to be waxed than varnished - we used to have some at a house built circa 1930's, and one of my parent's wedding presents (I think) was an electric buffer which made cleaning it much less of a chore (actually, it was one of my jobs from about 10, the pride when I graduated to being allowed to use the buffer all on my own when I was 11ish!)
Anyway, your floor
Rinse and mop with cold water as Debt-Free-Chick says - several times rather than leaving water to soak for ages.
Mop really dry and leave to air dry.
When it is dry, access the damage.
If it is really pale and dried out looking then treat with linseed oil in the first instance - floors were often cleaned and polished with linseed oil rather than a wax polish because less buffing was involved (see above). The oil will sink in and feed the wood. Keep applying a little at a time until it won't sink in easily any more.
Wipe off excess.
Apply wax floor polish on top and buff as usual
OR
consider using linseed as a permenant solution and cleaner. It will oxidise over time and melow to a really good colour. It will treat the wood. Over time it will build up a surface which will repel liquid in te short term at least as well as a wax polish.
If you decide to do this then you do need to sweep the floor as near to daily as you can manage with a soft brush, and treat it once a week - this latter is easier than it sounds! Put a cuple of tablespoons of linseed oil into a plastic bag, then put in a soft mop head (or absorbant cloths if you don't mind being on your knees) and then elastic band around the mop handle to close the bag. The oil should absorb evenly without making any point soggy - use the mop (or cloth) to wipe over the floor. It will take longer to build up a really shiny surface, but easier than buffing and cheaper than an electric buffer.
Here is a page from someone who is restoring a floor, it shows the effect of oil on bare wood:
http://jake.typepad.com/house/2004/12/parquet_linseed.html

Debt_Free_Chick

Seakay - I would like to have the opportunity to "thank you" more than once. Not just because you agreed with me, but because your advice stands "on its own".

I'd forgotten about the linseed oil, despite the fact that I have litres of the stuff in the garage! And, yes, repeated application will build up a water repellant (though not fully waterproof) surface.

Thanks :T :T :T

pavlovs_dog

its days like this when the community spirit in this place really shines through :T

how did you get on boo?