Should you use steam cleaning on hardwood floors? Absolutely NOT and here’s why... Humans will…
Seems Like Only Yesterday . . .
Fifty years ago, I took the big plunge. I was at a point in my life where I wanted my own business. Fortunately for me, and my two brothers, our father had established himself as a master craftsman in the wood flooring trade and trained us all. They were firmly rooted in Charlotte, but I was done with the Queen City and it was either Atlanta or nothing for me. Having already been in Atlanta for four years, I wasn’t about to turn my back on a city that just exuded excitement and energy. So, there you have it.Here’s one of my original handouts that I put on doors all over Inman Park, where I had just rented an apartment in the “Lizzie T” at the corner of Edgewood and Elizabeth. If there was ever any doubt about my mission statement, just read the last two sentences. It’s been about old floors from the get-go!
When Hollywood Comes Calling, Don’t Be The Fall Guy
They Know Their Part, Do You? Let Me Give You A Quick Tutorial So You Aren’t Part Of A Tragedy.
It’s no secret that the movie industry is well invested in the Peach State. It’s commonplace to see notices in newspapers and social media about what’s being filmed and where. Consequently, there’s a (literal) cottage industry of location managers who scout the state looking for the perfect place to complement the story line of a film. As you might guess, one of their primary searches is for private residences, handsome institutions, public buildings and most of the time, these are older structures.
My introduction to location filming revealed the downside of these events. I started getting phone calls from some very unhappy homeowners who sent me photos of badly damaged floors. In every case, these were old floors and that narrowed down their options for mitigation quite a bit. The calls came in from all over the state. Within the last six months, I’ve had three calls about damaged floors from distressed home owners so this is still very much an issue.
One of my reactions to these situations was to approach my good friends at The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation and suggested they let me put together an article to alert homeowners of this issue and what steps they could take to protect their homes and avoid unnecessary damage. They were kind enough to agree and I’m proud to say the article is still very timely. Many of my clients’ homes would be ideal locations for movies, so I hope you will read the article if you are similarly inclined. Forewarned is forearmed! Take care.
Acrylic Waxes And Wood Floors: A Futile Exercise In Wishful Thinking
If you or your cleaning service use acrylic waxes, get ready for a generous (and expensive) dose of tough love. Acrylics can take a handsome wood floor and make it look as if it has pond scum on it. Let me show you the risk and dark side of this faux wood floor cosmetic product.
As someone who has seen thousands of wood floors over the last 50 years, I feel uniquely qualified to share some observations about how homeowners’ best intentions can turn into disasters. At the top of this list is the long-term effect of using acrylic products to enhance the look of a residential wood floor as they age. I often describe acrylic waxes as being cosmetic and remind people if you put on makeup and don’t take it off, you will have problems. Let me elaborate.
As wood floors age it’s not unusual for the finish to start losing its luster from simple use. You can develop wear patterns in high traffic areas such as kitchens, family rooms, entrances and so on. In an attempt to freshen up the look of their floors, homeowners, and sometimes their cleaning services, fall prey to the marketing claims of acrylic waxes. The typical hype that comes with acrylic products is they “restore lost luster, add protection and shine and eliminate smudges.” They are found at hardware stores, building supply houses, super markets and online. Some of the most popular names are Quick Shine, Orange Glow, Rejuvenate, Lundmark’s Acrylic Wax, Bona Kemi Floor Polish and Mop & Glo to name a few.
Acrylic products are used all the time on many hard surfaces like terrazzo, marble, vinyl, hard tiles and concrete with good results but they are always removed and not allowed to build up and therein lies the problem when they are used on wood floors. For whatever reason, when the last application of acrylics starts looking bad on the wood floor, the impulse is to put down more. And more. And more. As the build-up increases homeowners learn a painful lesson: heavy accumulations of acrylic waxes don’t look good and do not age well. Aside from creating an unnaturally high build look they often discolor, easily abrade, scratch, delaminate, look muddy and in general make a nice wood floor look cheap and lousy. This is not an “ugly” you will easily hide, my friend, and it’s becoming a common sight in many very nice homes. Hence, my analogy of acrylics being comparable to layering makeup on your face and then not taking it off. Cosmetic products don’t look good when they’re being misused.
Here are a few photos to back up my comments and a request that if you or your cleaning service are using acrylic products, please stop. They may help initially but time will not be kind to your floors if you continue. The greater challenge is what the heck do you do to address this eye sore? I will be making a video on this subject to discuss it in more depth. Visit my Rosebud Company YouTube channel to see it and other videos I’ve put together that you may find helpful. I also have lots of additional information at rosebudfloors.com and on Facebook.
Start At The End
A Radical Approach To Protecting Finished Floors
Protecting a finished floor on your project can open doors you never knew existed and create valuable time when you need it the most. It may be considered radical now by some but it is rapidly becoming the norm to bringing order and sanity to what used to be the most frantic part of a project. I wrote an article about this approach for the Journal of Light Construction.
Finishing Wood Floors With Hardening Oils
These European finishes exceed expectations where American “penetrating finishes” have fallen flat. This in-depth article I prepared for the Journal of Light Construction gets down in the weeds and was fun to write. It’s part of my continuing education to make homeowners have a good understanding of what products are available and how they perform.
Michael Purser has spent more than 50 years working with hundred-year-old floors, and he’s happy to share what he’s learned. He and his business partner, Jenna Novic, have worked on historical sites throughout the southeast, midwest, and Washington, D.C, and consulted on historic properties across the U.S. Learn more at rosebudfloors.com.
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