I have old hardwood floors throughout most of my apartment. I have been using Murphy's Wood soap, and the floors feel clean to the touch, but there's always black on the bottom of our socks and the floor look murky, like there's a gray film over them. I have small kids so I want to try to avoid anything too harsh, but I'm getting sick of these floors. I wash them at least three times a week and they still look dirty. Any ideas?
I'd guess that the finish on the floors is compromised. The gray film you see is probably blooming, which is what happens when water gets into/under the finish. If I'm right, and it's blooming, the floors need refinishing. No amount of cleaning in the world will remove blooming, and, in fact, every time you wash the floors you are making it worse.
I wish I could see it but since I can't. Do you wear shoes in the house? If you have a lot of people traffic you may want to go to a no shoes rule. Get a good doormat. Mopping is sometimes not abrasive enough but if it feels clean maybe that is not the answer. Bleach the kids socks or soak them in Oxyclean. I love Murphy's oil soap it's good stuff. Start looking around for attractive rubber backed throw rugs. If the floors don't look good cover 'em up. Kohls and Marshalls are good places to look.
Diluted ammonia. First test it and then if that's okay I would say wash the rest of the floors. Wax it right after to seal in the shine. This will happen like once every seven days as the wax get worn down. I go to the ymca and recently the floors were varnished, but that left a smell that died down in a week. It's definately to harsh. This is not.
have learned the more product you use the worse they are...a wet clean cloth and a dry cloth works the best. some mops are the worse to use, ...like the swifter sweeper some prefer a bona product...but I would not waste a lot of money on an apartment floor..a wet cloth and a dry cloth are cheap.. I would never use ammonia to clean anything if you have cats in the house...also I don't think a degreaser is a good idea.. I do agree with the suggestion about shoes in the house and on the floor plus a good door mat..although if you take off the shoes then it should be cleaner. the sealant may be a situation but it sounds like the floors are fairly new try the wet and dry cloth...it's great exercise *(*
Wash your floors with an ammonia solution to take the film off. then wax the floors, the floor wax seals the floors, and it keeps them shiny. Use a dust mop to sweep with endust on it and they stay shiny and it takes off most of the dirt. Since you moo 3 times a week, use a mild detergent, and then once a month wash with the ammonia and then wax again.
