Removing stains from floor.

June 30, 2007 12:05 PM

Any 'real' success stories with getting water/mildew stains out of an oak hardwood floor?

While renting I've taken great care of my landlord's house. But was bummed to discover a big discoloration on the hardwood floor when I moved a large potted plant that I'd had sitting there through the year. (Yes, I had a water catch under it, but I think condensation gathered and did the dirty work).

I've Googled this and found various suggestions -- which are fine and good. This one sounding the most involved. But I'm wondering if anyone here has had real success in doing this. Or if anyone might have some other, less involved directions/suggestions. Or other stories to share.

I'm dreading the house 'inspection' when I move out end of July.

posted by zenpop to Home & Garden (2 answers total)

I haven't had some success, but I've had a lot of wood-finishing experience. Those black stains probably aren't mildew; they are the result of the minerals in the wood reacting with the water. I don't know if this distinction matters, except that mold can be bleached out pretty quickly with chlorine bleach and the natural wood stains cannot.

1. You can use wood bleach as descibed in the article you linked to. The instructions there are very good. After applying the wood stain, you would clear-coat the area with polyurethane of the same sheen level that is on the rest of the floor. At first, it will be very obvious that there's new polyurethane there, but as the finish cures and the floor gets walked on, it will hardly show. The way to do the poly is to tape (using blue painter's tape) along the long and short edges of floor boards, lightly sand the old poly so the new will stick, and brush the finish on out to the tape. There really is no way to "blend in the finish."

2. You can sand the stain out, exactly the same way that entire floors are refinished. Sand three or four times times, starting with 40 grit and progressing to 100 grit. You'll need a sander; hand sanding, even with a sanding block, isn't really practical. If the wood was previously tinted with stain, you'll need to stain the sanded area; if the wood is natural color, you then move on to the polyurethane.

Both of these methods require some bravery on your part, and a good eye for color if you're working with stain. The good news is that you really won't make the floor worse if you screw it up. You'll just have to call in a pro.

My suggestion: as soon as you can, ask a couple of floor finishers for free estimates for the repair. When the people come, ask what your options are and how (in detail) they would go about doing the job. Then, armed with your knowledge, talk with the landlord well in advance of the inspection. If he/worries that the whole floor needs to be refinished, you'll have your notes, estimates, and floor-finishing business cards ready.
posted by wryly at 1:56 PM on June 30, 2007

The Victorians supposedly treated stained wood floors with tea, but wryly's advice sounds best.
posted by BrotherCaine at 3:01 AM on July 1, 2007