Wood floor cleaning – Why you may have an unsatisfactory finish

29 July 2010

Hardwood floors are a beautiful addition to any domestic or commercial setting, and when carefully looked after and cared for, should be a long lasting and durable floor which despite the initial outlay, should offer good value for money over time. Cleaning and maintaining the floor is not always easy and there will be times when, even after due maintenance and care, that the floor still acquires a dull or unsatisfactory appearance. Why is this and, more importantly, what can be done about it?

The starting point should be to look at the floor and see why the appearance is unsatisfactory. It could be that there is surface scratching, that some of the floor has lost its ‘shine’ or that areas of the wood have become stained. When you identify what the problem is – you will need to think about previous treatment the floor has received.

The finish applied to a floor (the sealer) is a very important aspect of the floor caring process, and it is useful to know what has previously been applied. If the floor has a good sealer, it will prevent spillages from damaging the wood, and help stop staining. It effectively acts as an extra layer on top of the surface of the wood.

One or two of the problems mentioned above could be as a direct result of the condition of the sealer. If the floor is dull or has lost its shine, it is possible that in some areas (possibly where there is plenty of traffic and use) that the sealer is simply wearing down and the wood may or may not be exposed, but will offer an uneven finish.

Surface scratches and abrasions can, as well as damaging the wood, also remove this sealer and protective layer – exposing the surface of the wood. This is where staining can occur and a different solution will be needed.

If the sealer seems to be ok and the wood is not damaged or stained, it is possible that, over time, staining and layers of bacteria have simply built up to form a stain or finish which is difficult to clean. In this case a specialist wood floor cleaning company should be contacted to perform a surface clean and polishing and buffing to restore the original appearance.

If the sealer is damaged or worn at certain points, something different may be required. Exposed wood can be susceptible to staining from certain spillages or other factors, and once the wood is stained there is no cleaning solution available. A wood floor cleaning specialist would, in this case, probably need to sand the floor – essentially removing a thin layer from the top of the wood to expose a new finish, before polishing and then applying a new sealer to aid future cleaning efforts.


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