How do I fix my wood floor?help!! my landlord is gonna kill me?
Question:My wood floor is really messed up. Ive spilled every substance known to man on it.paint,bleach,hair dye, glue,beer...( I have many hobbies LOL) what can I do to remove that stuff? can i sand it and re-stain it? should i just leave it alone?
Answers:
You would have to do the whole floor. Most wood floors are prefinished hardwood...meaning they are layered with a polyurethane finish.
Try these suggestions. My Dad owns a flooring store and has for the past 35 years. I had several *hobbies* myself and I learned these the hard way. If all else fails, just let the landlord keep your security deposit and cover it with rugs where you can. Been there-done that! :)
*Alcoholic drinks
This may be easily removed by a simple solution of detergent and warm water. If this is not successful, use a soft cotton cloth moistened with any of the following: ammonia, linseed oil, liquid or paste wax, denatured alcohol or silver polish. You will need to re-wax and polish.
*Extremely dark stains or spots
If you have tried several applications of vinegar on these stains and have had no success then you may apply a solution of Oxalic acid, use this strictly according to the label instructions. This is a bleaching medium and can be purchased in hardware and paint stores. You will definitely have to re-stain and refinish the floor once oxalic acid is used, to rematch the first color. Follow the directions and allow the mixture to set on the spots and stains for a time and then sponge off. More than one attempt may have to be attempted before stains will fade or come off completely.
*Cigarette Burns
If the burn is not deep and penetrating, there is a good chance it can be removed by using steel wool moistened with soap and water.
It is always important to start processing at the edge of any spot or stained area, and move into the center to avoid spreading the solution outward. It is most probable that re-waxing and buffing will need to be done after each stain removal.
*Blood
This requires ammonia to remove the stain. Use cold water and ammonia in equal parts, to remove the stain. Re-wax and buff.
unless you plan to do the entire floor I "wood" say leave it be. Besides, it adds charictor, land lord should pay you for your artistry.
lay down a bigass rug and take it the sec you leave the apt
You can have it sanded and refinshed if there is enough veneer thickness left. But you would have to have a floor guy look at it and give you and estimate.
I would stain it a few shades darker.
The first question is it a real wood floor or is it laminate? A real wood floor you can sand and stain. Laminate you can not. I'll say it's real andI'm guessing your just trying to get out of the place without having to pay the landlord for a new floor.
Get a good cleaner and clean the entire floor. There are some good cleaners out there, talk to your hardware store guy. Really scrub the bad areas and let everything dry and see how the bad areas looks compared to the rest of the floor, it may not be as bad as you think. Paint, glue try to use a putty knife, but try not to scratch wood.
Sanding and restaining the entire floor will be alot of work and trouble not to mention cost. Depending on the size of the floor it will take a minimum of 3 days. One for sanding and cleaning, one for staining and drying, and one to varnish. If the stain is deep (like hair dye) then sanding and staining won't cover it up. If you can match the stain you might be able to get away with just staining the real bad areas. Just make sure you sand out the area including going into some of the good area so you can blend the stain and it won't be so noticable. You might be able to get away with cleaning it real good and putting on a clear varnish. Again I don't know what the floors look like or even if they have varnish on them. You can also try a good coat of wax, this might give enough luster back to get past your move out inspection.
Rent a belt sander and get a 120 grit belt for it. Sand only enough to get the stuff off, try to avoid sanding down to the bare wood. You will then need to put down at least one coat of floor finish, water based polyurethane works easily but is not cheap.
be honest with the land lord honesty from a tenant goes along way you may not get all of your deposit back but if you paid your rent on time and were a good tenant up until the floor your land lord will probably give you a good reference for your next digs
give it a good once-over and let it go; your time and effort could be futile anyway. sounds like you are college student maybe your landlord has seen somebody else with a lot of hobbies in there before, they probably expect a certain amt. of work done in there anyway. good luck landlords are a bunch of goons and cannot be trusted
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