cleaning wood floors

[1930artdeco]

How did people clean wooden floors back in the day. Did they use a dust type mop.

Mike

 

[LizzieMaine]

A special dust mop, moistened with an oil-based floor polish. The mop head would be kept in an airtight tin when not in use to keep it from becoming a spontaneous-combustion hazard.

 

[1930artdeco]

O.K. Lizzie..this scares me "airtight tin when not in use to keep it from becoming a spontaneous-combustion hazard."

Right now my floors are not in the best shape, but I am trying to not have to buy swiffer pads every couple of weeks. I may need to do that in addition to a dust type mop.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The cleaning products used in the Era were usually linseed-oil based, which was a notoriously combustible product, especially when stored in open air. When you read stories about "oily rags catching fire," it's usually old linseed-soaked cleaning rags they're talking about.

Use something like Lestoil or Murphy's Oil Soap to moisten your mop and you should be fine.

 

[vitanola]

I f your floors have not been recently refinished, cleaning them with a rag dampened with denatured alcohol (shellac thinner) can greatly improve their appearance. The alcohol will remove the discolored upper layer of the finish, and spread its of the softened shellac into scratches, minimising them. Note that the rag must be merely damp, not wet, for if too much alcohol is used the original finish on the floor can devolve into a gummy mess.

When one is not entirely familiar with the process of re-amalgamation, a less concentrated solvent is often helpful. I have had great success with a mixture of 33% Denatured Alcohol, 33% Turpentine, and 33% linseed oil. This mixture, carefully used, will remarkably improve the appearance of an old floor. The improvement may then be made permanent by a coat of a good old-fashion floor wax, Johson's or Minwax, for example. After waxing, the floor may be maintained with a simple oil-mop, as suggested by Miss Maine.

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

Here is a cheap environmentally safe and pet/kids safe wood floor cleaner that I use.
Wood Cleaner
One bucket of hot water
½ a cup of Apple Cider Vinegar
One drop of Olive Oil (more then one drop will make the floors greasy)
Can be used on anything wooden.

 

[vitanola]

Here is a cheap environmentally safe and pet/kids safe wood floor cleaner that I use.
Wood Cleaner
One bucket of hot water
½ a cup of Apple Cider Vinegar
One drop of Olive Oil (more then one drop will make the floors greasy)
Can be used on anything wooden.

That is fairly good, but it does not restore a damaged finish. Your cleaner will strip old wax, and remove old deposits, but will also raise the grain of the wood. Modern (post 1950 or therabouts) finishes will hold up to this cleaning regemin, but older finishes, particularly the better jobs where the open grain of the oak flooring was filled with a plaster-based wood filler will not fare so well. On these older finishes, the grain will raise, and the filler will push the finish out of the pores of the wood.

When was your house built? Have you a photo of thfloorin question?

 

[MPicciotto]

The need for an airtight container is actually twofold. Linseed oil left in a rag and bunched up has the potential to catch fire as it polymerizes. So with rags you hang them out to dry and then throw it away. But with a brush that you want to re-use you need to seal it up, otherwise in a short amount of time the brush will become useless. If you are considering using linseed oil do a search for gun stock finishing. Those of us with classic firearms use Boiled Linseed Oil (BLO) quite a bit. (the differences between BLO and raw linseed oil can be a long, long discussion, but the short answer is raw linseed oil will never/be very slow to cure)

Matt

 

[1930artdeco]

Thanks folks,

My house was built in 1940 and I don't think that the floors have ever been refinished. They also have been subject to some sever beatings so they will need to be refinished at some point. But, I would like to clean them probably for the first time in 40 yrs. I do have pets so with these cleaners do they need to be outside/boarded for an extended period? I am overseas right now but will be home late next week and take some pics.

Mike

 

[LizzieMaine]

Here's a typical example of a mop tin from the Era -- they were about the size of a cake tin, maybe a little bigger, and had a lid that snapped snugly into place. You'd store it under the kitchen sink or in the cellarway until needed. A lot of old houses still have one of these tins jammed up in a cellar cupboard or broom closet somewhere.

I don't think you'd have a problem with pets -- I use Lestoil on my floors, and my cat pays it no mind other than to suggest that she doesn't like the smell much.

 

[Gingerella72]

Our house was built in 1935 and has the original wood floors, that have never been refinished. They had been covered for years with carpet, which a prior owner removed, but never bothered refinishing the floors, lol. They look awful with uneven splotchy varnish, scratches, etc. However, since we have pets that are really hard on the floors, it doesn't make sense for us to refinish them because they'd be ruined in no time flat. So I live with beat up floors and call it "shabby chic."

To dust them, I have a dust mop with a washable/reusable head that I use dry (no oils or anything on it), and I vacuum up the areas the mop won't get into.

To clean, I just use a bucket with a couple of gallons of warm water and a few drops of regular dishwashing liquid - no more than a few drops because you don't want to have to rinse the floors. I use a Libman's mop and squeeze it out really good because you also don't want alot of standing water on the floor, you want it to dry quickly so the wood doesn't warp.

 

[1930artdeco]

Well here are the floors that I would like to clean up. Previously covered in carpet which I ripped out as fast as I could.

Mike

 

[vitanola]

Well here are the floors that I would like to clean up. Previously covered in carpet which I ripped out as fast as I could.

Mike

Your floors appear to be practically bereft of finish, as is typical of a hardwood floor which has long been covered by wall-to-wall carpeting. Grit works it's way down through the padding and practically sands the old finish away with time.

I would suggest that your best course would be to clean the floor with denatured alcohol, just a light wipe, and then oil it with a mixture of 50% boiled linseed oil and 50% turpentine. Apply rather heavily, allow to soak in for forty minutes or so, and then wipe nearly dry with a soft cotton rag. The used rags should be disposed of in a bottle or jar filled with water. These floors will take two applications of oil, at least, which must be allowed to dry for a day or so between applications. If a richer, deeper color is wished, a small amount of stain, say Minwax Special Walnut, may be added to the oil mixture, in the place of some of the turpentine. A mixture of 50% oil and 25% each of stain and turps will not be too dark, but will have a rich color.

The floors should then be waxed with a good quality paste wax, Minwax Dark, preferably. A light wax will dry white in the cracks between boards, whilst a dark wax will only enhance the grain. If you wish to make quicker work of this, the second coat could be shellac mixed 50-50 with Denatured Alcohol thinner. The shellac will nicely seal the surface of the wood, and allow the wax to provide the necessary wearing surface.

I would strongly advise against the use of water on hardwood which is so poorly sealed, as it will tend to greatly raise the grain of the wood and make the floors quite rough. your floors are in such nice shape that they really only need a finish repair to be quite lovely, though perhaps not entirely perfect.

 

[1930artdeco]

Thanks Vitanla for the info. The pic is of a rather heavily travelled area. There are soem better and worse areas. Will the 50/50 Shellac/alcohol hold up to a dog? And I assume that I will need to at the minimum open up all of the windows or wear wear a mask-correct?

Mike

 

[vitanola]

The alcohol/shellac mixture is not bad as far as odor is concerned. An open window or two should be more than sufficient. The oil/turps mixture is a bit more malodorous, but to terribly so, compared to a mineral spirit solution. As far as durability is concerned, note that the shellac is not the wearing surface. The wax provides the wearing surface. The sort of finish that I have described holds up well, even with animals, and can be very easily touched up when necessary. This sort of finish may be renewed time and again without the heavy sanding necessary when removing poly.