Whether you live in an old house that has original wooden floors, or if you have a pet problem with staining, taking care of stained wooden floors doesn’t have to be difficult. Before you think about replacing expensive wooden floors, there are a few options that you can try that are much more cost effective. These simple solutions may help you save quite a bit of money.
The first step to take is to determine what the stain is, if at all possible. If you are dealing with pet stains, then the cause should be obvious. This can be a problem, especially if urine or feces have soaked through the boards, and into the subfloor. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to replace the entire floor. Here are some tips to get you started.
First, purchase an enzymatic cleaner that is rated for removing pet stains. These can usually be found in pet supply stores. You may also want to purchase a special blacklight that can be used to help highlight any old urine stains that may no longer be visible to the human eye. Follow the instructions on the enzymatic cleaner, and use the blacklight to determine whether or not any residue has been left behind.
The stains should be lessened and any odor problems should be removed, provided that the material did not seep through the boards and into the subfloor. If the odor is still present, you can try cleaning it one more time, since many enzymatic cleaners do require two applications. If you’re still not seeing the desired results there is one more option that you can try before ripping out the entire floor.
Purchase some Killz paint at your local hardware store. This type of paint is usually oil based, so you will need to get the proper clean-up supplies for your brushes and rollers. While there is a Killz that is water based, it is not generally as effective as the oil based solution. If you like, you can start with the low-odor, water based Killz first, and then top coat it with the oil based version if it does not work.
Paint the entire floor with Killz and allow it to dry. You can typically add a second coat after an hour if necessary. For bad stains or particularly awful odors, two coats or even three may be necessary. What this paint does is basically seal in any odors, giving you a clean slate. You won’t be able to refinish the wood floor, but then again, you won’t have to replace it either. A few gallons of Killz are a lot cheaper than an entirely new floor.
This solution works well for other types of stains, especially if they are soaked into the wood. However, for slight problems or if you want to retain the look of your wood floors, stripping them and restaining them is probably the best option, even if it is a little more expensive.
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Originally posted 2008-10-22 05:52:51. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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1 comment so far ↓
I always try to be careful when doing home improvement jobs myself. I do keep a list of reputable contractors handy if I ever get in over my head though!
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