Oak hardwood floor can provide a rustic look that is unmatched by any other type of flooring surface. However, when this type of flooring gets stains on it, it can begin to look bad quickly. When you see stains forming on your oak flooring, there are some tricks you can use to try to remove them. While not every stain will come out of oak flooring, you can remove many of them with a few simple procedures.
What You'll Need:
- Iron
- Towel
- Toothpaste
- Baking soda
- Dishwashing liquid
- Hydrogen peroxide
- Cotton
- Plastic
- Cloth
- Water displacing spray
Follow the simple steps below to effectively remove some of the most common stains you will find in oak hardwood flooring.
Step 1 - Pet Stains
One of the most common stains you will find on hardwood flooring is pet urine (Fig. 1 & 2). If you have indoor pets, this will likely be a problem for you at some point. If you find urine on the floor, saturate a piece of cotton with hydrogen peroxide. Then rub the cotton into the wood, covering the entire stain but not completely saturating the area.
If you use too much hydrogen peroxide on the area, it could bleach out the color of the wood. Allow the hydrogen peroxide to dry, and then reapply as needed.
Step 2 - Water Spots
If you spill water on the floor and it soaks into the finish (Fig. 3), it can create unsightly water spots. If this is the case, you can remove most of them with a simple trick. First, lay a thin towel on top of the area. Then, program an iron on the medium setting. Rub your iron back and forth on top of the towel for a few minutes. You can lift up the towel periodically to check for progress in removing the water spots. You can do this for as long as it takes to remove the spots out of the wood.
Step 3 - Heat Stains
If you have heat marks on the oak hardwood flooring, mix together some toothpaste and some baking soda. Apply the paste to the entire area of the stain, and then use a cloth or a toothbrush to rub the paste around on top of the stain
Then use a different cloth to wipe up the paste. This should remove some of the stains. You can reapply the paste to the stain several times to help remove the stain from the wood. Make sure you remove all of the paste after this procedure.
