Two Easy Ways to Remove Stains From Wood Floors
Like any surface, wood floors can get dirty and dirty, but you need to be very careful when cleaning them. You shouldn’t use harsh chemicals whether your floor is sealed or not because you don’t want to damage the wood itself, but it leaves you with fewer options. I tried two—well, three, but we’ll get to that—simple methods that don’t require any intense chemicals these days, and they both worked well.
Remove stains from wood floors with vinegar
First, I assessed the stains I was dealing with that I noticed while cleaning under the couch earlier in the week. They looked like they were left over from a project I did a while ago using glue, newspaper and paint, so I had a large selection of stain types to test my methods on. In general, whether you’re working with a sealed or unsealed floor, you want to blot rather than spill the stain to prevent liquid from seeping into the cracks and causing damage underneath, which is something I kept in mind when I went to work with my first test: vinegar. If you are not sure whether your floor is sealed or not, place a few drops of water on the surface. If they remain as beads on top, they are most likely sealed, but if they are absorbed quickly, they most likely are not. I rent my house and I wasn’t here when this floor was built, which means I don’t know anything about it for sure, so it was important to check. If your floor is not sealed, try these steps with soap and water before moving on to vinegar if necessary, but since my floor is sealed, I went straight to the cabinet brace.
I mixed equal parts vinegar and warm water, then worked the mixture up and down the stains, pausing every few seconds to give the stain I was working on a good scrub with the rag. Dilution is important here as straight vinegar can be too acidic and can break down the sealant if it is too strong. It definitely took a while (and of course smelled bad), but gradually the darker spots began to fade. After I removed most of them, I went in with a melamine sponge and they practically disappeared, and with them went the fear that I would have to make an emergency trip to Target to get something stronger.
Remove tougher stains with a baking soda paste.
Some of the stains seemed deeper, but I knew I didn’t want to leave them soaked in vinegar and compromise the integrity of the floor. To do this, I made a paste by filling a small bowl halfway with water, then adding and stirring baking soda until it thickened. I’m a big believer in baking soda’s abrasive properties when cleaning, as well as its lack of acidity. I left the paste on the stains for about 20 minutes, wiped it off, and got to work with the melamine sponge. They came too.
This method should not be used to clean the entire floor. This is not necessary. The best way to use baking soda paste for wood floors is:
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When the stain is truly set in and regular cleaning does not remove it
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When the stain is oily or greasy
Bonus: The glue and squashed sticky stuff comes out with a hairdryer.
These two methods worked very well and luckily didn’t require any harsh chemicals or damage my floors, but I was still left with stains at the end of the experiment. They weren’t technically “spots,” but they deserve inclusion here nonetheless. I was afraid that they were made of glue, but now I was sure. I tried to pry them off with a knife, but it didn’t work; they are stuck . I read up on what to do and found that most professionals told me to go to the hardware store for a professional adhesive remover. You can definitely do this for under $15 , but before I spent my hard-earned money on a solution I only needed to use once, I had the idea of trying something else for free.
Two weeks ago , I wrote about how easy it is to remove stickers from household items by blowing them with a hairdryer. It wouldn’t hurt to try it on the floor, right? I applied heat to all four spots of glue one at a time for about 45 seconds. Each of them separated as if by magic, despite the fact that just a moment ago it was very firmly attached. Besides not having to spend $15 on a product that would then clutter my cleaning shelf for years, I didn’t have to put anything harsh on the floor. If dirt is congealed, stuck, or otherwise smeared onto your wood floor, try using a hair dryer first.
General tips for removing stains from wood floors
Whatever method you try, first do a spot test in an inconspicuous place, such as under a large piece of furniture. As mentioned, dab on, don’t wet, and avoid using anything really acidic or harsh like acetone (which I came close to doing with glue before changing my mind, what a nightmare it would be for my caulk). If the baking soda paste isn’t abrasive enough, don’t use anything too hard to scratch the stains. Instead, choose a semi-stiff sponge or an old toothbrush. The goal here should also be just spot treatment. Do not spread the vinegar or baking soda paste further than necessary. Just hold it on the stain and massage up and down.
When I was done and removed all the stains, I definitely had some hard baking soda left, as well as some suds from using Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Ultra Foamy , so the work doesn’t end there. I wiped down the entire surface with Fabuloso , just like I would for regular cleaning, and then let it air dry. If you don’t have any luck with vinegar to begin with, it’s not a quick process from spot testing to completion, so make sure you allow enough time.