Stain Removal Tricks for Floor Types
In the past decade, the idea of home improvement has gone from a private concern to a public obsession. What with various reality television shows, and even entire networks, dedicated to the topic of home improvement, remodeling, and sales -- while once upon a time there was just PBS’s “This Old House,” there are now “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” “Design on a Dime,” and all their twins and spinoffs -- and with entire sections of the average corporate book store full of reference works that purport to help helpless home owners make good on the old phrase, “a person’s home is his or her castle,” home improvement is a cultural phenomenon. Whether it’s because, in troubled times, we like the thought of a comfortable home to return to, or whether it’s a lingering response to the real estate boom of the past decade, we know more about building materials than most of us ever expected to.
This means that many of us know more about our options, in terms of the kinds of floors we can install, than any of us ever expected to, as well. But with new options for flooring, we all need to learn new tricks for stain removal that go far beyond the traditional tactics we learned from mom or dad. Below are some ideas for consideration – and of course, pre-testing.
First of all, there’s the hottest floor style of the past decade -- which is also, in so many ways, the simplest, and one of humankind’s oldest. Of course, we’re talking about hard wood floors. It is one of the paradigmatic home improvement anecdotes of the past decade: the old house that, with its tacky, disco era kitchen tile removed, reveals to the waiting viewing audience a gorgeous hard wood floor. But how do you keep hard wood floor from staining, or remove stains from hard wood floors once they’ve happened? Stain removal for hardwood floors is actually not that big a problem. The main question to ask is how old the floor is, and how long the stain has had to set. A stain that has had time to set itself into the grain of the wood, which is a danger with older floors or with stains of long standing, may have to be sanded away. But otherwise, the chemical stain removal tricks that work with other kinds of floors -- water with a bit of detergent for non fatty foods, alcohol, and polishes; cold water with a little ammonia for blood and grease, a bit of bleach with hot water for pet or other urine.
With increased public concern for the environment has come a spike in the popularity of bamboo as a building material. Though it can be more expensive than other materials, it is easier to replenish than wood (bamboo is actually a grass), and it is an excellent, effective, durable building material. But many North Americans don’t know how stain removal from bamboo floors works. If the floor’s surface has been sealed, a stain should come out with a little soap and water. If a stain is large and extensive -- water damage from flooding or pet stains is most likely to wreak such damage -- rent or borrow a sander, and buff the stain out, then reseal by applying polyurethane to the sanded area with a mop.
Laminate flooring is a popular option for high traffic areas of a home. The problem with this kind of flooring, in terms of stain removal, is that, because it is built up from multiple levels of laminate, it can be hard to do deep cleaning without injuring the floor at a more fundamental level. Heel scuffs are a problem for this kind of flooring, since it tends to be laid down in areas of high foot traffic. But all these stains require is a kind of buffing away with a rough cloth. Stain removal problem solved!
All these kinds of flooring respond well to a commercial stain removal agent, but because some of these floors are vulnerable, it’s best to choose an all natural stain remover, one not based on harsh chemicals.
About StainHotline.com
StainHotline.com, operated by The Casite Company, offers safe, environmentally friendly stain removal and upholstery protection products.For stain removal products to help with leather stains, carpet stains, wine stains, ink stains, and for odor removal, please visit http://www.stainhotline.com.
This means that many of us know more about our options, in terms of the kinds of floors we can install, than any of us ever expected to, as well. But with new options for flooring, we all need to learn new tricks for stain removal that go far beyond the traditional tactics we learned from mom or dad. Below are some ideas for consideration – and of course, pre-testing.
First of all, there’s the hottest floor style of the past decade -- which is also, in so many ways, the simplest, and one of humankind’s oldest. Of course, we’re talking about hard wood floors. It is one of the paradigmatic home improvement anecdotes of the past decade: the old house that, with its tacky, disco era kitchen tile removed, reveals to the waiting viewing audience a gorgeous hard wood floor. But how do you keep hard wood floor from staining, or remove stains from hard wood floors once they’ve happened? Stain removal for hardwood floors is actually not that big a problem. The main question to ask is how old the floor is, and how long the stain has had to set. A stain that has had time to set itself into the grain of the wood, which is a danger with older floors or with stains of long standing, may have to be sanded away. But otherwise, the chemical stain removal tricks that work with other kinds of floors -- water with a bit of detergent for non fatty foods, alcohol, and polishes; cold water with a little ammonia for blood and grease, a bit of bleach with hot water for pet or other urine.
With increased public concern for the environment has come a spike in the popularity of bamboo as a building material. Though it can be more expensive than other materials, it is easier to replenish than wood (bamboo is actually a grass), and it is an excellent, effective, durable building material. But many North Americans don’t know how stain removal from bamboo floors works. If the floor’s surface has been sealed, a stain should come out with a little soap and water. If a stain is large and extensive -- water damage from flooding or pet stains is most likely to wreak such damage -- rent or borrow a sander, and buff the stain out, then reseal by applying polyurethane to the sanded area with a mop.
Laminate flooring is a popular option for high traffic areas of a home. The problem with this kind of flooring, in terms of stain removal, is that, because it is built up from multiple levels of laminate, it can be hard to do deep cleaning without injuring the floor at a more fundamental level. Heel scuffs are a problem for this kind of flooring, since it tends to be laid down in areas of high foot traffic. But all these stains require is a kind of buffing away with a rough cloth. Stain removal problem solved!
All these kinds of flooring respond well to a commercial stain removal agent, but because some of these floors are vulnerable, it’s best to choose an all natural stain remover, one not based on harsh chemicals.
About StainHotline.com
StainHotline.com, operated by The Casite Company, offers safe, environmentally friendly stain removal and upholstery protection products.For stain removal products to help with leather stains, carpet stains, wine stains, ink stains, and for odor removal, please visit http://www.stainhotline.com.
