Q: I have a new engineered wood floor. I cleaned it with floor cleaner. Now I have a dull look that I can’t seem to get rid of!
A: Whatever you have used has left a residue on the surface of the floor. Any of the cleaners from Bona Kemi (Bona Pacific cleaner), Poloplaz, Basic Coatings, Min Wax, Mirage etc., will do a much better job and will likely remove the haze you now see. You local hardwood flooring retailer should carry at least one of these products.
Similar Q: Two years ago we had silver maple installed in our living room. I first used the O***** G*** cleaner and then heard that wasn’t a good idea, so I switched to M******’s. My floor used to have a shiny look to it and now it’s dull and it shows every scratch. I also noticed when I was trying to get this residue off of it that it is peeling in a few areas. I loved my floor at first and now I’m starting to regret buying it. And, by the way, I bought it at an auction so I can’t talk to any manufacturer.
A: A number of floor finish and hardwood floor manufacturers have created cleaners to remove such residue from polyurethane coated floors. You can check out Poloplaz, Boa-Franc, Basic Coatings and Bona Kemi.
Another Similar Q: Hi there, I am really hoping you can help me. I looked around you site and could not find the exact answer I need so I thought I would just ask. I recently had dark hardwood floors installed. They are complete and utter nightmare. I cannot keep them clean for more than a few minutes and Bona cleaner makes them super dull. Orange g** makes then mice and shiny but makes them worse in the long run and footprints show up everywhere. I either vacuum and or clean everyday and they only look good for a few hours, no matter what. I want them to look at least somewhat shiny without any film or residue that dirt clings to. Can you please help me?
A: It is very clear to me there is a film of some contaminant on your floors surface. I recommended to one person years ago to use the Bona cleaner. They were having the same issues as you. They said the Bona cleaner caused the glo and all else to peel right off. They have likely changed the chemistry of it.
I would suggest perhaps 2 products from Poloplaz. They do have a product called tie tac which is designed to remove contaminants and not leave a residue as well as their floor cleaner. You may want to try first just some denatured alcohol on a spot to see if it removes the haze. Not everything in main line that says it is for hardwood floors is really good for a top coated floor.
Related Q: I used “original L*****”, a wood floor polish and cleaner, on my floors. Now my floors have a film coating on it that makes the floors dull looking. I’ve washed the floors many times and that film is still there. Is there a product to remove this film or do I need to sand down? The manufacturer of this product could not help me out.
A: I’ve never heard of this product and don’t know what the ingredients are. There are a number of things you can try. Numerous wood floor manufacturers and makers of floor finish also make cleaners for polyurethane finished floors. For example, Poloplaz has their version of such a cleaner and also have another type which is more intense, both designed to remove contaminants from the surface. Bona Kemi makes something that is designed to do the same as does Basic Coatings. You could also try denatured alcohol, TSP or ammonia. It might be a good idea to read the bottle carefully to make sure there isn’t anything in the product which might have a bad reaction with any of these products.