Question: I just discovered hardwoodfloors in the home i purchased. They’re in good shape except for the previous owners Stapled padding to the floor. What is the safest way for me to remove the staples without causing damage to the floor? Thanks! Answer: Dear Kim I use a Lee Valley’s restorer’s cat’s paw at www.leevalley.com (prod. # 60K21.06). It will get under most of the staples and with it’s large surface prying against the wood, with care it shouldn’t harm the wood. And for really stubborn staples, ones that have broken in half, I use the nail puller, Prod. # 64K02.01. And if that just snaps some off, simply use a fine nail set to set the errant staple wire below the surface (prod. # 23K17.01). You can then fill all the little holes with a colored latex putty (#80K86.01), but be sure to wipe it off BEFORE it dries with a wet rag. If you found this information helpful, please explore the Wood Floor Doctor.com by visiting the rest of our website. As always your Most humble servant, Joseph, the Wood Floor Doctor.

Question: We have very old, turn of the century pine floors. Unfortunately they have been stained, and the question is: how to remove the stain without sanding? Sharmini Answer: Dear Sharmini You could possibly remove the floor finish (not the stain) with the chemical stripping method I describe in the article available in the search box at the top of this web page. But once the finish is off you will still have to deal with the stain. You see the wood was sanded first, then stained then a few coats of floor finish was applied. You will need to reverse the order to get to that freshly sanded wood. And stripping of the finish is the first step. If the floor was dye stained (very unlikely) you may be able to remove the stain color with swimming pool bleach (dry calcium hypochlorite). Mix with hot water, until solution is saturated. Apply to the spot and it should work right away, but try twice if needed and wait overnight. Wash off with lots of distilled water and let the wood dry overnight, before refinishing if it did work. You will have raised the wood grain quite a it by now so the floor will need a gentle sanding with a floor buffer and 80 grit screen. If the floor was pigmented stained (more likely), things will be a bit harder. You see pigment stains are little particles bound in the wood itself, and if the chemical stripping didn’t get any of it out, it very unlikely any other chemical will. But in this case you might try a powerful solvent like lacquer thinner or naphtha to unbind the stain, and scrub the wood with a nylon brush. A messy and fume laden business. You could also at this point “screen” the floor with a buffer instead. The screen is a abrasive disk, that will remove slowly the surface of the wood until the stain is gone. You will have to hand sand where the machine cannot go. Be sure to try any of these methods on a small area first, and discover what works best and EASIEST, before you commit to the whole floor. All in all these chemical methods are not an easy way to go, you might choose instead to have the floor professionally sanded, but consider doing the finish yourself. That’s the fun part any way.

Question: I have been using Bruce wood cleaner (old wax removal) and Bruce’s liquid floor wax for many yrs. It is good in some ways but is not sufficiently scuff resistant. Is there a good scuff resistant wax for my hardwood floors. Aris Answer: Dear Aris That’s all I use for waxing floors, the same product. Although odorless mineral spirits is cheaper and the same thing as the cleaner. I’m sure all waxes scuff a bit, and all you need to do is run you bristle buffer over it to remove the scuff. And the thinner the coat of wax the better. You should already have a floor finish on the wood, so the wax is merely a top dressing or the finish. It’s meant to be soft so that scuffs are easy to buff out and will deflect most scratches with this lubricating affect. That said, you could try one of the harder and more difficult to work with drying oil/waxes, at http://www.ecopaint.com/floorfurhar1.html. Or use one of the more traditional small cans of regular paste wax (less solvent) at http://www.leevalley.com. Order product #80K49.06. Read more about waxing floors in the my floor maintenance article in the Floored News section of this web site. As always your Most humble servant, Joseph, the Wood Floor Doctor.

Question: I have pet stains on my wood floors. How do I get the stain out and the smell? Thank you. Apparently they have been there for a while. We just moved in and they smell. Thanks, Jan Answer: Dear Jan, If you have dark stains in the wood, and an odor that goes with it, you can certainly try bleaching with the strongest wood bleach available. Do this after all the floor sanding is done, but before any finish goes on. Try a wood bleach called Klean Strip at http://www.kleansrtip.com. It will turn the dark areas an off white color. The off white colored spots will need a light colored wood stain to blend them in to the rest of the floor. It’s quite an art. You will want the color to blend in with the final finished color of the floor, not the bare wood. Test for the finished color of the wood by splashing some naphtha on the clean wood. You will have to fine sand the spot before staining, but be careful not so sand out the bleached effect. Then complete the finishing of your floors. And lastly, try major repairs, or replacements. Or a combination of all of these methods. Find an old (or young) floor master in your area that does these things, and will give you advise in person. But you certainly can do the bleaching yourself. Oh, and if you just have an odor and no urine stain, try the Cleaning Center at http://www.cleanreport.com for their DXO odor remover.

Question: I had to use a solvent (Goof Off) and a scotchbrite pad to remove paint drops from my surface finished Oak floor. Predictably, I wound up with dull spots in the finish where I used the solvent. How can I best restore the luster finish in those areas (without re-surfacing the whole floor)? Answer: Dear Gabe The dull spots were made from the scrub pad, next time try a white, non-abrasive one. But now you will have to recoat at least that part of the floor, wall to wall to have it look good. I don’t know what kind of finish you have (you didn’t say), but most reactive finishes will not touch up very well. So, instead you should scuff sand all the boards involved. This means in most cases the whole room. Apply a fresh coat of the same floor finish. Please read my floor maintenance article, which can be found in the search box at the top of this web page. I do suggest, in the article, various waxes and treatments, and their advantages and drawbacks.

Question: I had to use a solvent (Goof Off) and a scotchbrite pad to remove paint drops from my surface finished oak floor. Predictably, I wound up with dull spots in the finish where I used the solvent. How can I best retore the luster finish in those areas (without re-surfacing the whole floor)? Gabe Answer: Dear Gabe The dull spots were made from the scrub pad, next time try a white, non abrasive one. But now you will have to recoat at least that part of the floor, wall to wall to have it look good. I don’t know what kind of finish you have ( you didn’t say), but most reactive finishes wiil not touch up very well. So, instead you should scuff sand all the boards invoved. This means in most cases the whole room, and apply a fresh coat of the same floor finish. Please read my floor maintenance article in the Floored News section. I do suggest, in the article, various waxes and treatments, and their advantages and drawbacks. As always your Most humble servant, Joseph, the Wood Floor Doctor.

Question: Heather I have just pulled up carpet to find hardwood floors underneath. I would like to keep them, but I need to fix them up a bit. There is dried spackle or something stuck to it. I don’t know if I should try to sand it off, or if there is something I can put on it to dissolve it. How should I do this? Answer: Dear Heather You can usually remove old plaster off floors, by applying warm water to it. Then once it has softened use a blunt putty knife to push it off. You could also wet a white clean rag, and apply this to the plaster and then apply a hot clothes iron, this might work better on really suborn plaster. If it’s latex paint try a product called Goof-Off at http://www.goof-off.com. You might also want to use a pH neutral cleaner on all the floors. Be sure to read the second half of my cleaning article in the Floored News section of this site. It will give you lots of ideas on how to identity and fix up the finish on these old floors. You could spot sand the areas, but know your finish, so you can do effective touch-ups. If you find after reading the article that you have a fairly sound finish, and you intend to re-coat the floor, you can try some TSP with the warm water to help dissolve the old plaster spots. But if you are going to re-sand don’t bother with the plaster at all, it will come off with the first pass of the sander. Oh, by the way if you re-sand all the floors be to hire a pro to do at least the sanding, but consider doing the floor finish yourself. Save some money and become a floor finish expert. As always your Most humble servant, Joseph, the Wood Floor Doctor.

Question: I removed the carpeting from my floors to begin refinishing them. I’ve had trouble removing the old foam from the wood floor, as it appears to be ground in. What’s then best way to remove this? David Answer: Dear David Try a PH neutral cleaner (you can find my suggestions in my floor maintenance article) and warm water. Sometimes carpet was stuck down with water disolvable glue. But if that doesn’t work try odorless mineral spirits. and if that fails try lacquer thinner, and lastly try xylene in a product called Goof Off (www.goof-off.com). Squirt some of the solvent under the pad and push off with a good quality putty knife. Or you can just dry scrape it off if it’s not too bad, and the little bit left will simply sand off. Hand sharpen a paint (hook style) scraper with a 10″ mill bastard file until razor sharp with eased corners, nothing will stop this, with plenty of elbow grease. As always your Most humble servant, Joseph, the Wood Floor Doctor.

Question: We have an old floor furnace vent in our wood flooring, we have put in a forced air furnace and need to replace the metal vent, about 2 1/2 ft. square? Any ideas? The flooring is old oak tongue and groove. Answer: Dear Kathleen Why don’t you hire a good carpenter to inlay a hand made wooden grate into this somewhat non-standard square. This could be installed flush with the floor and sanded and finished to match the old floor finish. It’s not an easy job so be sure you hire the right carpenter. I’ve had it done for me with great results. You might also try a cabinet making shop, just be sure they know you have to walk on it, it has to easily support the heaviest member of your household, or visitors. I just found a grate vent supplier who may have your size at http://www.period-homes.com/brochure/grtvent.htm. Just keep surfing you’ll find something on the web I’m sure.

Question: Matt In the process of moving a heavy dresser (placed on a furniture blanket), “drag” marks were left on the floor. I am unsure if the marks are compression marks, as they don’t appear to be scratches. If they are compression marks, what is the best method for repairing them? I heard that using a hot iron was one method of re-raising the grain. Would that work? Answer: Dear Matt This is especially difficult repair to do. And after you hear what it takes to remedy the situation, you might well sand and refinish the whole floor. instead. Or leave it all alone. You will have to remove the finish first. You can do this by sanding the dented area, or applying a chemical stripper to expose the bare wood. Then apply a wet corner of a white clean rag to the spot, just as you apply the hot tip of a clothes iron. Use distilled water so you don’t cause a mineral stain if your water has iron in it. This should puff the wood back to the surface. You should let this dry overnight, and then fine sand and attempt a touch up. You can also try drops of rubbing alcohol and the tip of a hot new clean soldering iron. Rubbing alcohol contains enough water to puff out the dent (on bare wood) without damaging the finish next to it too much. But now you have to touch up the finish, and most likely re-coat the entire floor. You will need to know your floor finish. they may have use a sealer as the first coat. Most floor finishes, and especially poly will not blend in well, and you will have to re-coat the whole floor, and even then it will not perfect. I know, because I have to do such repairs for insurance companies, and even I have a hard time making the repair invisible. If you are unsure of what your floor finish is please read the second half or the cleaning article in the Floored News, it has a simple finish identifier guide. But it can be done. Sand well between all coats, and allow each coat to dry 1-2 days. I’m talking about the touch-up coats. Once the area is filled in with at least 2-3 coats of finish, let this cure for about a week, and sand level, with 120 grit sandpaper, then re-coat the whole floor. You might consider puffing out the dent, and having the whole floor re-sanded, instead. It’s called hardwood, but it’s still wood, be careful with heavy objects. As always your Most humble servant, Joseph, the Wood Floor Doctor.