Q: We recently installed new prefinished hardwood floors, Bellawood solid maple, 3/8 thick with a clear finish. I am concerned about the little grooves between the planks. Our dogs have had accidents and the urine seeped down into the space between the boards. I wiped it up with a damp cloth and wiped it dry but we know some remains below.
I would like to seal the seal the grooves/micro bevel edges. Please tell me about wax. How about polyurethane? I’m open filling grooves in hardwood floors in any way possible. It’s not healthy to live with thousands of crevasses where germ colonies can grow.
The manufacturer says the 50 year warranty will be void if I put anything other than special cleaners on their product.
A: Given the situation you are faced with I wonder why you chose a pre-finished floor? They all have micro bevel edges with each board being individually finished rather than a coating over the entire surface. The only practical thing you can do at this point (and while I have heard of Bella wood I have not worked with it) is to have the floors sanded down, removing the bevel and treating it like a site finished floor. All this provided the wear surface will allow such an aggressive sanding.
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