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Am I crazy?
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amother
OP


 

Post Wed, Aug 28 2019, 12:51 pm
We have hardwood floors. They were refinished when we moved in, but 10+ years later they look horrendous. I mean absolutely awful.

House is high traffic (ie, all rooms are walk throughs). The floors get dirty very very quickly and need to be washed frequently and easily.

But hardwood floors cannot tolerate frequent washing. I'm trying to research better options than just refinishing the floors (so they'll look shiny and great for about a year or so, and then look scratched and dull again).

But every flooring site I go on touts hardwood flooring as the "best" and often easiest option. Am I crazy? How are they easy or ideal? They are impossible to keep clean and easily ruined.

Am I missing something here?? I'm dreaming of Israeli type marble/stone floors that you can wash, and they are CLEAN. Hardwood never feels clean. And the sites that I went on spoke about using a duster type mop (like fibercloth) and spot cleaning with some solution every few months. Every few months??? This is my dining room! It is literally dirty every single day!
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ShishKabob




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Aug 28 2019, 12:55 pm
You're not crazy, but hardwood floors need to be refinished much more often than 10 years. Some people polish it every two or three years. Otherwise it will look horrendous.
They can also be washed every week for sure with Murphy Oil Soap or vinegar and it stays shiny and beautiful.
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amother
Bisque


 

Post Wed, Aug 28 2019, 12:55 pm
Maybe ask a hardwood floor store for advice on what to use to shine the floor on your own.

I just keep washing mine with Murphy water...
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amother
OP


 

Post Wed, Aug 28 2019, 1:00 pm
ShishKabob wrote:
You're not crazy, but hardwood floors need to be refinished much more often than 10 years. Some people polish it every two or three years. Otherwise it will look horrendous.
They can also be washed every week for sure with Murphy Oil Soap or vinegar and it stays shiny and beautiful.


But redoing the floors (ie scraping and finishing) entails moving all the furniture, unpacking bookcases etc... It's an enormous job, no?
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ShishKabob




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Aug 28 2019, 1:03 pm
amother [ OP ] wrote:
But redoing the floors (ie scraping and finishing) entails moving all the furniture, unpacking bookcases etc... It's an enormous job, no?

It is, most people save this for Erev Pesach or something like that.
There's also cheap floor shiners that they sell in Walmart or Shoprite or Target that'll give the floor a new shine and a breath of life, short term. It's very easy and quick, like mopping the floor. Some people do the shine thing every 2 or three weeks. I'll try to see if I can remember the name of a good one.
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FranticFrummie




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Aug 28 2019, 1:23 pm
You might not even have hard wood. Sometimes floors are finished with pine or fir, because they were meant to be carpeted. Soft woods get trashed very easily.
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amother
Cyan


 

Post Wed, Aug 28 2019, 1:27 pm
I put in tiles in the foyer and front hallway. Otherwise I would have to scrape every year.
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Rappel




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Aug 28 2019, 1:40 pm
We used to refinish the floors every year. We did it ourselves, by rubbing in butcher's wax with a rag. It was an annual chore, and not one I relished, but it got the job done. If you have kids aged 5+, have them do one room each month, as a group. They'll have fun, and your floors will stay in good condition.


As for Israeli floors - stone/parquet here is great for scrubbing, but I don't think a wooden-framed multi floor house (I'm making assumptions here) can support that weight.
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Rappel




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Aug 28 2019, 1:41 pm
FranticFrummie wrote:
You might not even have hard wood. Sometimes floors are finished with pine or fir, because they were meant to be carpeted. Soft woods get trashed very easily.


Even hardwood will weaken if it isn't maintained annually.
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perquacky




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Aug 28 2019, 1:49 pm
There's a product called Quick Shine that really does make hardwood shine. It can't compare to refinishing your floors, but when I used it, it worked.
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ShishKabob




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Aug 28 2019, 2:05 pm
perquacky wrote:
There's a product called Quick Shine that really does make hardwood shine. It can't compare to refinishing your floors, but when I used it, it worked.

This was the product. thanks
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nanny24/7




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Aug 28 2019, 2:06 pm
Ok this will sound weird. But it works to some degree. I find when mopping hardwood floors no matter how often we mop there still stays more dust stuck to the floor and like you said it still looks horrendous. Besides the money and headache involved in refinishing I don't love the idea that the products used for refinishing are not exactly healthy. Moving out for a day or two can help ameliorate that, but still perhaps I am too much of a health nut combined with the fact that I don't care terribly much about how aesthetically pleasing my floors are in my rented Brooklyn apartment and for now we are leaving it be.
When we really want to make the floor look nice we wipe up the entire floor with fresh wipes again and again until the fresh wipes come out clean when wiping. It's a big job but it really looks much nicer afterwards then it would from mopping.
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saralem




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Aug 28 2019, 2:10 pm
Halloway House Quick Shine. I've been using it for years. super easy, and you can do it every week. so nice and shiny!
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lcraighten




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Aug 28 2019, 3:11 pm
What about the plastic flooring that looks like wood?
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amother
Oak


 

Post Wed, Aug 28 2019, 3:27 pm
We moved into a house with most floors hardwood. I learned that you must put down a new coat of polyurethane, probably once in a year in high traffic areas. Good for those who go away. For us it just didn't work.

We re-scraped a couple of times but once you do that there's not enough wood left and you're hitting nails.

We ended up putting in a high end vinyl wood look. It's put down in strips, and we even did a border around the living room/dining room and separately in the foyer.

It held up so well that when we extended the dining room a couple of years later, you could not see which were the new pieces and which were the old.

I am extremely happy with it and you have to really look closely to see that it's not real wood. But it's not cheap.
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amother
Powderblue


 

Post Wed, Aug 28 2019, 3:27 pm
Our floors were coated with polyurethane after scraping. The two coats are not enough—you need multiple coats because the first two sink right into the wood. I never wash them, just vacuum or sweep and every so often inspect for splatters and spot clean with a tissue or rag dampened with water or spit. Every few years I slap on another coat of polyurethane. I don’t move the furniture for this.
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asmileaday




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Aug 28 2019, 3:36 pm
LVT is the way to go. Such pretty designs and it's waterproof. I have some hardwood floors now and I hate it.
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amother
OP


 

Post Wed, Aug 28 2019, 5:47 pm
I really appreciate the feedback! I heard about lvt planks. I suppose I will look into it. The effort of scraping and varnishing the floors I feel will not be worthwhile. Like someone mentioned, you can only do that so many times before there is nothing left to scrape.

In the interim I will experiment with some of the products mentioned.

Also, I have no idea re: the quality of the floors I have, whether they are a good wood or not.

I'm not super picky, I don't mind the house looking lived in per se, but the Dr floor looks so incredibly awful, it's begin to bother me. And it's smack in the center of the house! Reminds me of the floor of a barn!! Sad
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amother
OP


 

Post Wed, Aug 28 2019, 5:48 pm
amother [ Oak ] wrote:
We moved into a house with most floors hardwood. I learned that you must put down a new coat of polyurethane, probably once in a year in high traffic areas. Good for those who go away. For us it just didn't work.

We re-scraped a couple of times but once you do that there's not enough wood left and you're hitting nails.

We ended up putting in a high end vinyl wood look. It's put down in strips, and we even did a border around the living room/dining room and separately in the foyer.

It held up so well that when we extended the dining room a couple of years later, you could not see which were the new pieces and which were the old.

I am extremely happy with it and you have to really look closely to see that it's not real wood. But it's not cheap.


Are you referring to the lvt planks?
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ra_mom




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Aug 28 2019, 8:03 pm
Use furniture socks on all chairs (made special for this, same color as chair legs - looks great), couch legs. No slip DuraGrips under beds, armoires and other heavy furniture pieces that aren't supposed move. Also clear office-chair-mats for under recliners. Makes a huge difference. Wood will retain its beauty and finish.
Even in high traffic areas, it's the movement of these pieces that rub out the floor, not much else (also riding toys and such).


Last edited by ra_mom on Thu, Aug 29 2019, 11:19 am; edited 1 time in total
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