WoodFlooringGuy.com

Polyballs are beads of paint or finish which protrude from cracks in floors when the moisture content (MC) of the wood rises, causing the cracks to close up. Paint polyballs are a bad problem, as they can be smeared over the rest of the floor, possibly requiring screening or even recoating.

We always knew that we had hardwood floor under our carpet, but we had no idea what shape they were in. So we pulled the carpet up to discover beautiful floors, but with paint stains. How do we remove the paint without dulling the floor? Or do we have to sand them and then restain? We are willing to leave the staple holes.

Under my carpet I found hardwood flooring. Unfortunately, there is leftover glue and linoleum backing adhered to the hardwood. I would like to remove the carpet and refinish the hardwood flooring. What are my options or steps to remove the glue/linoleum?

I just stained pine hardwood floors, and didn’t get all the glue cleaned up. It looks horrible. How do I remove the glue before I put the finishing coats on? I tried sanding, but it didn’t work.

Someone used a wax product on my laminate flooring. Since it has been put on my floor, all I see are scratches. They don’t feel like scratches– just look like scratches. They’re all over my floor. Someone said it’s the wax finish buildup causing the scratch marks. What do I do? Should I remove the wax product from the floor? How? Washing it with soap and water did not remove the marks, or the wax finish.

We just bought a 60 year old home and found it had beautiful hardwood floors under the carpet. We had them professionally re-finished and then we painted the walls and trim. When we removed the painter’s tape we found the paint had seeped onto the floor in many spots. Is there any way to safely remove paint from hardwood floors without damaging the finish?

Then I had the idea that maybe the wax used was not real wax (and that is why the cleaners did not really work), and I tried using ammonia, which after some rubbing on a test spot, took off all the finish. Probably too much. So I concluded that the floor was waxed with acrylic.

The drywall guys left lots of plaster dust ground into our nice oak floor. What’s the best way to start cleaning it?

I had my oak hardwood floors sanded down and refinished. I have for the most part been satisfied with the job the contractor did; however, within the last week I have noticed that I have small rough spots forming in the cracks between the boards. These look like little black balls of stain or finish. It has been relatively dry this year and within the last week we have received a good amount of rainfall, so I wondered if the boards have maybe expanded and are squeezing something out? I am not sure what I should do about this or it is a problem or just normal.

A house cleaner cleaned our newly refinished floors with ******* ***. The floors are very sticky. How can we remove the oil without damaging the floors?

How do I remove tape adhesive from wood flooring without stripping the floor?

I am refinishing a staircase that has oak treads. The treads were finished with some sort of clear finish that’s about 60 years old. I sanded and sanded until it felt smooth and then stained three of the treads with an oil based minwax walnut. It couldn’t look worse. Every scratch, mark, and slightly different texture turned black, and the rest hardly changed at all. I was going to flip the treads over, but they are all glued, nailed and shimmed. When I tried to sand them again, the sand paper instantly clogged with hard melted looking varnish chunks. Is there any way I can get this varnish off?

How can I get old paint off a hardwood floor?

I have oak hardwood floors that were covered in the 70′s with vinyl type tiles. They laid a type of tar paper over the hardwood flooring. the tiles were then glued to the tar paper. The tiles come up very easily, but the tar paper doesn’t. In some areas the tar just peels up with light pressure from a putty knife. How can I safely remove the rest without damaging the floors?

We have Brazilian cherry wood floors that were prefinished, most likely with a urethane before installation. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of using ******’s oil soap. Now we have cloudy smears in some areas, but still some clear areas that have that original satin sheen. What should I use to remove the cloudiness and clean and maintain the floor properly? The floor is only about 2 years old.

We just removed carpet/pad and subfloor (particle board subfloor) to see a painted( flat white paint) original fir floor. There was mold/mildew in all 3 layers (rug to subfloor) and it still smells 2 weeks later after being sprayed with straight white vinegar, cleaned with simple green, and then sprayed with tea tree oil and water mix. Is the floor salvageable? Is there anything that will take the odor away? We’ve scraped patches of the paint off and the smell is in the wood as well.

We have some kind of glue residue from a carpet tape (used to keep our oriental carpet in place). How can we safely remove this from the floor without damaging the wood?

We are moving into a new home and we just had the floors sanded and finished with a water based urethane. During some renovation, the floors were covered in dust and grit from workman’s shoes. Our house cleaner used an oil based cleaner, which left the floors with a tacky surface. How can we safely remove this tacky finish and restore floors to shiny finish without having them sanded and refinished?

I recently purchased a home that was built circa 1921. The home has the original hardwood floors throughout, oak with a maple inlay. They have been covered with carpeting for many years and are in good shape structurally, but they are very dirty. I have been told that they do not need to be sanded. However, they do need to be cleaned thoroughly and buffed. I am seeking advice as to what product would best remove the dirt buildup without destroying the finish that still exists.

I am using a cloth hardwood floor mop and using M*** *** on my floors. It is leaving a greasy residue that shows footprints. Why would it do this? What should I use to clean pre-finished hardwoods, without leaving spots or residue?