Real Estate Insider: Tips For Repairing Hardwood Floors

Real Estate Insider: Tips For Repairing Hardwood Floors

It's a well known fact that hardwood floors increase the value of real estate. However, if they are damaged, that will not only detract from your home's overall value but it can cause it to lose its market appeal as well. Whether it's a buyer's market or seller's, when you have a home to sell you want it to be in the most attractive condition possible. Common Problems With Hardwood Floors The most common problems that a homeowner faces with hardwood floors are scratches, scuffs, and gouges, though annoying squeaking can also be an issue. The first step you have to take is to determine the extent of the damage to the flooring. Surface stains or scratches, naturally, are easier to deal with than those that have penetrated into the wood. Repairing Surface Scratches You can usually repair surface scratches by purchasing a touch-up kit for urethane finishes online or at any retailer of wood flooring. How you remove the surface stain depends on the type of stain you have. In most cases, it will be either water or pet stains. To remove these stains, you will need a floor cleaner that is designed for urethane finishes, with stubborn stains requiring additional scrubbing using the floor cleaner and a special scrub pad that is designed for urethane floors. Removing Deep Scratches To remove scratches that have penetrated into the wood, you might be able to get away with no more than having to wax the area until the scratch becomes invisible. Rub steel wool into the wax and hand buff the area to remove scuffmarks. Be extremely cautious when using abrasives such as steel wool, because if you rub too hard, you can cause more damage to the wood. Rub the spot with fine steel wool in order to remove water stains. If that doesn't remove the stain completely, sand the area with very fine sandpaper, and then clean it with steel wool and mineral spirits or a wood floor cleanser. After the surface dries, apply stain, wax, and hand buff. Reversing Pet Stains For pet stains that have penetrated the wood, rub the spot using fine steel wool and wax. If this doesn't remove the stain completely, follow up using the same process as for water stains that don't come up the first time. For stains that are determined to stay, use a household bleach or vinegar. Allow it to soak for an hour, rinse the floor with a damp cloth, wipe dry and smooth with fine sandpaper before applying stain, waxing, and hand buffing. Maintenance of Hardwood Floors The best way to prevent scratches and stains from penetrating the wood is to vacuum and/or dry mop the wood floor every week. This is to prevent dirt and grit from accumulating so it will not be able to be ground in by normal foot traffic. Another important tip is to make sure you do not wax any floor with a polyurethane finish or it will be impossible to re-coat without sanding it first.