Stains, scratches and deep cleaning: clean, refresh or sand?

Every wooden floor that is lived on picks up marks. You can deal with many of them yourself if you act quickly and know which finish your floor has. Always go from the gentlest approach to the stronger one, and test any product in an inconspicuous spot first.

First: act fast

Wipe up spills such as water, coffee, wine, soft drinks or pet urine straight away. Blot with an absorbent cloth rather than rubbing, so you do not spread the stain. The longer a liquid sits, the deeper it soaks in, especially on an oiled floor or where the finish is already worn.

Common stains

• Scuff marks from shoes: rub with a dry microfibre cloth or a tennis ball. If that does not work, use a little parquet cleaner on a cloth.
• Mud: let it dry completely, vacuum up the loose dirt and then clean damp. Rubbing wet mud only works it into the grain.
• Kitchen grease and oil: soak up as much as possible with kitchen paper and clean with a parquet cleaner. Special stain removers exist for oiled floors.
• Candle wax and chewing gum: let it harden, with an ice cube in a bag if needed, and scrape off gently with a plastic spatula. Never with a knife.
• Ballpoint or marker: try a parquet cleaner first. Only use something stronger after testing in a hidden spot, as it may attack the finish.
• Pet food and water: clean up daily and put bowls on a waterproof mat.

White and dark water marks

A white ring on a lacquered floor usually sits in the lacquer itself. Sometimes it fades on its own once the moisture can escape. A dark or black stain means the water has got into the wood. On an oiled floor you can often lightly sand the spot with fine paper or a pad, clean it and re-oil it. On a lacquered floor, a deep dark stain is hard to remove without sanding and relacquering the area.

Scratches

• Fine scratches in lacquer: a polish for lacquered floors fills them and makes them less visible.
• Scratches in an oiled floor: clean, sand lightly along the grain and touch up with maintenance oil. After a while they often disappear from view.
• Deep scratches and dents: touch-up pens or repair wax disguise small damage. For deep damage to boards, a repair by a professional is the better choice.
• Scratches from pets: keep their claws short and put a mat where they like to run or lie.

Deep cleaning: when normal care is no longer enough

After years of daily use, dirt can work its way into the texture of the wood and the finish, especially on brushed or distressed floors. The floor looks grey even right after mopping. An intensive clean can then make a big difference, without sanding straight away.

1. Vacuum the floor thoroughly.
2. Use an intensive cleaner made for your finish, at the dosage the manufacturer specifies.
3. Work it in with a soft pad or brush, by hand or with a scrubbing or buffing machine fitted with a suitable soft pad. Work section by section.
4. Pick up the dirty water immediately with a well wrung-out mop, a cloth or a wet vacuum. Do not leave water on the floor.
5. Let it dry completely.
6. Then restore the protection: maintenance oil on an oiled floor, polish on a lacquered floor.

This is a particularly good choice for floors with a worn or aged look. Sanding would remove the character of the wood, while a deep clean followed by a fresh maintenance coat revives the floor and keeps its appearance.

Clean, refresh or sand?

• Cleaning is enough: the floor is dirty, but the finish is still intact everywhere.
• Deep clean and refresh: the floor is grey and dull, but the wood itself is not affected.
• Repair: a few boards are damaged, cracked or deeply dented.
• Sanding: the finish is worn through over large areas, many deep scratches or stains have got into the wood, or you want a different colour or finish.

Janssen Parketvloeren repairs damaged boards and sands floors before refinishing them. In the webshop you will find cleaners, stain removers and repair products to tackle things yourself.