Renewing Hardwood Floors

Most hardwood floors can be sanded down only a few times before they have to be replaced.

More from House Detective
Filed under: Hardwood, Flooring

The general rule with hardwood floors is: Don't sand a floor down to the wood unless you absolutely have to. If surface scratching or marring is the problem, or if the floors no longer shine, sanding shouldn't be necessary. There are other ways to take care of these problems:

First, the floor must be completely clean and free of grease. To resurface the floor the simplest way, use a liquid refinisher following the manufacturer's instructions.
For a more durable fix, rough up the surface so it will accept a new finish. This is called screening.
Screen the floor by going over it with steel wool, or better yet, with medium grit sandpaper. Remember, don't sand down to the wood. You're just roughing up the surface of the old finish.
Vacuum thoroughly, then apply several coats of oil or water-based wood finish.

Floors that have been previously waxed will not accept a refinish coat. The only choices are to re-wax or completely sand and refinish.