cleaning 100 year old wood floors

[masraum]

Folks, you were a great help when cleaning the carpet pad glue off of the floors in our new home.

What are your recommendations for a regular, but deep cleaning of the floors?

These are 3/4" tongue and groove floors

[Jims5543]

I am guessing you want them to be cleaned up and refinished? I kid of dig the old beat up look of them but can understand making them look nicer.

A lot of work but worth the effort. BIL used this on the floors in a 80 year old Florida Cracker house and they came out amazing once he refinished them. Again, a ton of work and time but worth it in the end.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Jims5543

I am guessing you want them to be cleaned up and refinished? I kid of dig the old beat up look of them but can understand making them look nicer.

A lot of work but worth the effort. BIL used this on the floors in a 80 year old Florida Cracker house and they came out amazing once he refinished them. Again, a ton of work and time but worth it in the end.

I prefer the patina on them, and the missus is OK with it as well. We are just looking to clean, not sand/refinish. We'd just like to ensure that whatever stuff is on them that can be cleaned is cleaned. I suspect it won't make much difference.

[look 171]

Screen it, apply another coat of finish over it. Make sure its compatible. Old houses should be oil based finish.

[masraum]

"screen it" < google to the rescue >

Ah, screen it is using the floor equivalent of a scotchbrite pad on a machine.

[GH85Carrera]

Just put down wall to wall carpet!

[look 171]

Originally Posted by masraum

"screen it" < google to the rescue >

Ah, screen it is using the floor equivalent of a scotchbrite pad on a machine.

Yep. Not nearly as aggressive as sanding. It only takes away a very fine layer off the top or dirt. LIke color sanding on a car and reapply top coat. With that machine, the floor can't be damaged that badly unless you sit the pad over an area for a few seconds unlike a drum sander or the big old sander shown on the other pic. There are different grits of pads so be careful.

[look 171]

Steve, this will help
https://www.peteshardwoodfloors.com/Wood-Floor-Techniques-101/what-is-a-screen-and-recoat.html

[masraum]

Originally Posted by look 171

Steve, this will help
https://www.peteshardwoodfloors.com/Wood-Floor-Techniques-101/what-is-a-screen-and-recoat.html

Awesome, thanks!

[gacook]

Not the answer you're looking for, but I'd tile over it. The "old" look has never done it for me.

Not really a fan of wood floors, and I hate carpet.

Murphy's has some good wood soaps, though. I've used it to deep clean some really old cabinetry and it works well.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by gacook

Not the answer you're looking for, but I'd tile over it. The "old" look has never done it for me.

Not really a fan of wood floors, and I hate carpet.

Murphy's has some good wood soaps, though. I've used it to deep clean some really old cabinetry and it works well.

Thanks I'll look at the Murphy's. I think we used to have some.

Tile would never work in this instance. Too much movement and flex and not flat. And I don't want to be cleaning grout constantly or regrouting because it's cracked or dirty or... Tile would be super odd in this particular instance, I think.

[look 171]

Try the Murphy Soap on some small area. If not, make sure there's no other incompatible chemical that will not mix well with the finish should you change your mind on screening and top coating it.

Are you asking how to clean the floor or how to clean the years or the fine layer of dirt on it that can't be removed with a mop and soap?

[Zeke]

Steve, there is too much grain and unevenness there to use a screen. Basically a screen is a mesh coated with abrasives. It's not much different than sandpaper, just better and will glide over long swoops and valleys. It will take the top 10 to 15% of your floor off and leave all the depressions, dents and stains.

IDT you want to do that. I would, however, rent a buffing machine with a scrub brush like used on vinyl tiles in offices and stores. There are a lot of cleaners that will bring out the buried dirt, but plain ol' TSP will do the best job. Not too strong either and not an excess of water.

Here's how I would tackle it: using a floor mop and ringer on a good sized bucket, I'd swab the deck sailor style followed by a couple of passes with the scrubbing buffer. Immediately after use the mop and ringer to pick up as much water as you can. Don't let it sit if possible.

Then either hit it again or rinse with again a minimum of water. The color of the rinse water will tell you how you are doing. Then again, immediately use towels to dry the floor as best you can and put some fans in the room with the windows open. Do some closets first doing all the steps.

Once the floor is completely dry it should be lighter in color. At that point you can use a colored wax or a natural wax. Keep the buffer around for this stage and use a bristle buffing wheel to polish the floors.

There is an intermediate treatment that you could do which I'll loosely call in your case, French polishing. It's not meant for floors so much but I can guide you if you want to get fancy and really make those floors pop.

I think the main thing is to not make any splinters. If you see that happening, stop and reassess.

Tools needed:

Large bucket with ringer attachment preferably on casters
Cotton floor mop and handle
Some kind of towels or other absorbent cloth.
Commercial buffer with scrubbing and polishing brushes (they have a felt pad too, but you can forgo that).
Floor wax

You'll probably want to wax it at least 2wice over 2 days. You can walk on it at any time.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by look 171

Try the Murphy Soap on some small area. If not, make sure there's no other incompatible chemical that will not mix well with the finish should you change your mind on screening and top coating it.

Are you asking how to clean the floor or how to clean the years or the fine layer of dirt on it that can't be removed with a mop and soap?

The missus wanted me to ask. I think her concern is just giving it a good cleaning. I suggested mild soap and water. I also mentioned murphy's (lots of folks on the Murphy's site complaining that the "new and improved" formula is only half right).

I don't know how far she's going to want to go.

I'll give her a few options, and let her think about and decide which she's interested in. I suspect she'll want to try soap and water before she gets around to screening.

I have no idea what's on the floors now. Someone at some point has "refinished" them, I think with a belt sander, and I don't think they did a very good job. I can see marks in various places, next to walls, next to door thresholds, etc..., where the roller at the end of the belt sander was pressed down too hard or let sit there too long and now there's a cylindrical groove. It's not horrible, but if I look, I can see it in several spots around the house.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Zeke

Steve, there is too much grain and unevenness there to use a screen. Basically a screen is a mesh coated with abrasives. It's not much different than sandpaper, just better and will glide over long swoops and valleys. It will take the top 10 to 15% of your floor off and leave all the depressions, dents and stains.

IDT you want to do that. I would, however, rent a buffing machine with a scrub brush like used on vinyl tiles in offices and stores. There are a lot of cleaners that will bring out the buried dirt, but plain ol' TSP will do the best job. Not too strong either and not an excess of water.

Here's how I would tackle it: using a floor mop and ringer on a good sized bucket, I'd swab the deck sailor style followed by a couple of passes with the scrubbing buffer. Immediately after use the mop and ringer to pick up as much water as you can. Don't let it sit if possible.

Then either hit it again or rinse with again a minimum of water. The color of the rinse water will tell you how you are doing. Then again, immediately use towels to dry the floor as best you can and put some fans in the room with the windows open. Do some closets first doing all the steps.

Once the floor is completely dry it should be lighter in color. At that point you can use a colored wax or a natural wax. Keep the buffer around for this stage and use a bristle buffing wheel to polish the floors.

There is an intermediate treatment that you could do which I'll loosely call in your case, French polishing. It's not meant for floors so much but I can guide you if you want to get fancy and really make those floors pop.

I think the main thing is to not make any splinters. If you see that happening, stop and reassess.

Tools needed:

Large bucket with ringer attachment preferably on casters
Cotton floor mop and handle
Some kind of towels or other absorbent cloth.
Commercial buffer with scrubbing and polishing brushes (they have a felt pad too, but you can forgo that).
Floor wax

You'll probably want to wax it at least 2wice over 2 days. You can walk on it at any time.

Thanks. If she ends up wanting a deep clean, a scrub brush sound like more what we'd be looking for. Lots of the boards are cupped and there's a lot of unevenness.


I'll give her several options.

1 light duty - mop with soap or Murphy's soap/cleaner
2 medium duty - Zeke's scrub brush machine
3 medium/heavy duty - screening
4 with the sanding and refinishing being heavy duty. I already know neither of us want to do this.

I suspect she'll start with #1, and then at some point, may want to try 2 or 3. But with the unevenness, 2 may be better.

[Bill Douglas]

Steve, my old 1899 built cottage need the floors done. they were very cupped and had borer (wood worm). I used a hand held belt sander and took off only about a millimetre. This way the floor was clean with a "brand new surface" but I hadn't dug down to the borer holes, and the belt sander worked in the hollows of the cupping. Then I did gloss polyurathane over it and gave it a week to harden. It looked fantastic.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

Steve, my old 1899 built cottage need the floors done. they were very cupped and had borer (wood worm). I used a hand held belt sander and took off only about a millimetre. This way the floor was clean with a "brand new surface" but I hadn't dug down to the borer holes, and the belt sander worked in the hollows of the cupping. Then I did gloss polyurathane over it and gave it a week to harden. It looked fantastic.

Good to know, Bill. Thanks.

[Rodney Nelson]

I did the wood floors of my first house with my friend. It was a 1932 home with original oak floors. We rented the stand up belt sander like in the pic above and a edger sander. We rented both. My buddy used the stand up and I used the edger which is low to the ground so you have crouch down when you use it. Well of course the entire house needs the edger because the stand up belt sander can't get along the walls. We did it over a weekend. On Monday I went into work and could barely walk, seriously it was comical. My hammies were absolutely toast. I couldn't get out of a chair and I couldn't walk down the hallway!

There is a technique to applying the urethane. I messed that part up because we put it on with a roller. Well that left air bubbles. I think you need to mop it on brush it on. Investigate that part to make sure you do it right.

My house was only 1700 square feet. With the whole house completely empty it took two 10 hour days for us to do it and we were in our early 20's.

Good luck.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Rodney Nelson

I did the wood floors of my first house with my friend. It was a 1932 home with original oak floors. We rented the stand up belt sander like in the pic above and a edger sander. We rented both. My buddy used the stand up and I used the edger which is low to the ground so you have crouch down when you use it. Well of course the entire house needs the edger because the stand up belt sander can't get along the walls. We did it over a weekend. On Monday I went into work and could barely walk, seriously it was comical. My hammies were absolutely toast. I couldn't get out of a chair and I couldn't walk down the hallway!

There is a technique to applying the urethane. I messed that part up because we put it on with a roller. Well that left air bubbles. I think you need to mop it on brush it on. Investigate that part to make sure you do it right.

My house was only 1700 square feet. With the whole house completely empty it took two 10 hour days for us to do it and we were in our early 20's.

Good luck.

Yep, we live in this house with our dog. It's a tiny bit smaller at just over 1500sqft, but we're both over 50. I don't want to sand the floors. I also don't think we want super smooth glossy floors. So we're fortunate that we don't have to go through what you did.

[1990C4S]

I would sand, or clean it with varsol on rag/brush/scotchbrite. With a LOT of ventilation.

I think you want to refinish, or go Zeke's route and wax. But a new finish is long term work, the wax will need to be redone occasionally.