Hardwood floor question

[jnich74]

Hi all and thanks for the posts very informative. I have a restuarant that wants their floor cleaned with a buffer/stripper.
My question is about a hardwood floor that was washed a few times by the owners employees with some chemical that he is unsure about (seems like a possible degreaser). But I am unsure this is the proper way to clean his floor (buffer/stripper) and I am new to this. The floor itself is sticky and grimey. I cannot tell if the floor has had wax on it or not because it is so dirty. I found a article that states determine if the floor has been wax 1st by taking a small amount of #2 steel wool (or green pad) and water and scrub a test area to do this. Check the wool or pad to determine wax type (how do you determine the wax type). Will I screw up his floor if a use a stipper product to take off a small area of the wax? Are their any suggestions. He doesn't know the wood floors manufacturer either. I have a background in small flooring jobs (construction). It looks like it needs to be sanded and redone but he doesn't want to do this. He wants it cleaned.

Most of the articles I have read say to strip it and even sand it.

Any direction to take is appreciated. This is actually my first job so thanks a bunch.

J

[Kevin]

I would try just soap and hot water to start with, try with a green scrubby or black pad handheld in a small discrete area. Once you got a small area clean, put a tablespoon of stripper on it. If you get a grayish white spot that looks like wax, it is waxed. More than likely it doesnt. See if it comes clean just by hand scrubbing, show the client, if they approve this spot and it looks like the cleanliness they want, proceed with a full clean with the floor machine and hot water and soap. You may need to go over it a couple times to get all the grime up, but it will come up. After it is clean then it can be sealed.

P.S. Joy Lemon Fresh Soap is the best.

[logan5127]

If it is a urethane type finish then there are finishes that can be applied on top of it. Interlink supply has a wood cleaner and the finish to put on top of it. They recommend a maroon colored pad which they sell. If urethane is worn through to the actual wood then this type finish does not work and would require sanding and refinishing the floor.
If it is just the greasy film on the floor that they want removed then I would use an alkaline floor cleaner first to see what results you get. The dish washing liquid might work but it will suds up a lot. I would use a brown deep scrub pad or a dark color pad. You may have to go to a degrease chemical. I would suggest that you make sure the owner knows that you do not know what is on the floor and you cannot guarantee that surface of wood will react to it. Do a small test area first. If he is happy with the results , then proceed. Be sure to not over wet and suck up slurry as you go followed by clean rinse.
If it is a type wax/finsih for vct tile , then you may have to use a mild stripper solution. Again do a small area and get approval to do more.

I have scrubbed wood floors with black pad at a Cracker Barrel Rest. I had no problem with cleaning the floor , however it did leave the dark finish around edges that was urethane and had not worn off. They were not concerned with that. They just wanted it clean and said it actually gave it a more rustic look.

[jnich74]

Thank you very much guys I will be getting on this as soon as I can.
J

[nalexander]

I was wonder how much to charge for hard wood floor cleaning. Owner of 5 resturants and bars are not pleased with the last person doing the floors. One because of slipping with water and the bright look. What is the best product and how much would I charge?

[rosalind]

Jan 6, 2010 10:51:31 GMT -5 jnich74 said:

Hi all and thanks for the posts very informative. I have a restuarant that wants their floor cleaned with a buffer/stripper.
My question is about a hardwood floor that was washed a few times by the owners employees with some chemical that he is unsure about (seems like a possible degreaser). But I am unsure this is the proper way to clean his floor (buffer/stripper) and I am new to this. The floor itself is sticky and grimey. I cannot tell if the floor has had wax on it or not because it is so dirty. I found a article that states determine if the floor has been wax 1st by taking a small amount of #2 steel wool (or green pad) and water and scrub a test area to do this. Check the wool or pad to determine wax type (how do you determine the wax type). Will I screw up his floor if a use a stipper product to take off a small area of the wax? Are their any suggestions. He doesn't know the wood floors manufacturer either. I have a background in small flooring jobs (construction). It looks like it needs to be sanded and redone but he doesn't want to do this. He wants it cleaned.

Most of the articles I have read say to strip it and even sand it.

Any direction to take is appreciated. This is actually my first job so thanks a bunch.

J

Well, Make sure that you are not using water or water based cleaners. You can recover a wax finish with more wax. But not to use wax on a floor finish like as strike, cover, or polyurethane.

[lolitabonita]

I am starting to do some after remodelation cleaning...my problem is that they place the laminated floor before the painter shows up, the painter mess up all the floor with drops of paint and overspray...the laminated floor is new so I can not use any harsh chemicals to remove the paint, but it takes me a lot of time to clean them....also, there is a white film left after I clean the floors and the only way I am able to eliminate that is to clean the floor on my knees...is any other way to do it fast, efficient and without damaging the floors.
I also remove as much drywall dust as possible, but looks like is not enough.
Help....I am not making any money due to the time I am spending cleaning other people's mess

[eriklitt]

Hey, we'll help you out on this. We do all types of cleaning services including carpet cleaning mesa.