Dust and grit

Q: 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?

A: Use Bona Pacific Floor cleaner. www.bonakemi.com

Q: We had brand new real wood flooring put in about 8 weeks ago. When the floor was complete the workmen said they had cleaned it. It still felt gritty. My husband and I cleaned it many times, but it was still gritty-feeling. We had a store manager come out to our house. He said it takes awhile for the construction dust to settle. We accepted that, but the gritty feeling has not gone away. Today I got down on my hands and knees and swept one piece of wood over and over with a brush and dustpan. No matter how many times I swept, a layer of dust would come up. The finish of the floor has also never looked that nice for a new floor. I’m wondering if it’s that grit. I’m very discouraged.

A: Give the floor a thorough vacuum cleaning with a soft brush as an attachment. Then, using a good cleaner spray and wipe the floor with a micro weave or terrycloth mop. You can get such cleaners from companies such as Poloplaz, Bona Kemi, Mirage, Basic Coatings etc. These are the type of cleaners that contain likely alcohol which evaporates rapidly and leaves no residue. Any wood flooring retailer should carry one such product.