WAS Window pane, now, Hardwood
I have hardwoods underneath carpet in my new house. I would like to remove the carpet and would have when I moved in, but got a bit put off after hearing horror stories from several people who said hardwoods needed to be sanded and poly'd every year, which I don't have the time or money to do. My floors were laid in the 40s/50s. Don't know the type of wood. As far as traffic, it is myself, a 5-year-old, and a 70-pound dog. The lady I bought from said she had sanded and refinished the floors several times during her 50-year tenure in the house before covering with carpet, so I don't think the floors are in terrible shape to begin with. What is the maintenance/care for hardwood floors? Thanks -- Mary M. Oak Ridge, TN Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2002 01:54:36 -0400
I pulled up the carpet to get to hardwood floors in two rooms of house of about the same age and yours. I thought it was going to be a major undertaking but was pleasantly surprised. After a good sweeping I scrubbed the floor several times with Murphy's Oil soap. I worked in small areas around 4'x4' would scrub with a yellow sponge with a green pad on the back. It was actually a sponge from the paint store for smoothing sheetrock joints. I would work in small areas scrubbing rinsing with clean water then drying with a towel. When I finished cleaning I waxed the floor with a paste wax. I put an area rug in the high traffic area. The floor only needs sweeping or vacuuming and rewaxing about once a year. Robert