Get matched with top floor polishers in Sperry, IA

Before starting on a full refinishing project, determine if your floors need to be completely sanded down to the bare wood or if the damage is shallow and mostly cosmetic. Deep scratches and gouges will require you to rough sand using a drum sander or belt sander, but small surface scratches or floors that have only lost their luster don’t need a complete overhaul. Instead, you can skip the rough sanding step and sand-screen the old finish with a buffer, removing only the top layer of polyurethane.

Most experts agree that the best thing with which to clean epoxy floors is a diluted mixture of ammonia and warm water. You can also use mild dish soap diluted with warm water or a degreaser (such as Simple Green or Goof Off) diluted with warm water. Some soap-based cleaners can leave a haze. If you notice this, further dilute the mixture with water or use a different detergent that does not leave a film. You should never use harsh cleaning chemicals, any type of acidic compound (such as vinegar or citrus-based cleansers), or harsh scrubbers like steel wool or hard bristle brushes.

Before installing shoe molding, evaluate redoing or refinishing any floors and painting your walls or baseboard before putting on your shoe molding. If you don’t already have baseboard trim, you should install that before adding shoe molding. Shoe molding is the final touch. Additionally, a carpenter or other professional that’s installing shoe molding might also give you a deal on installing crown molding and replacing other trim if you get them done at the same time.

Most DIY floor cleaners don’t require rinsing, but you’ll want to make sure you don’t add too much dish soap or oil to the cleaner to avoid having to rinse it after cleaning. For non-wood floors, mix 8 parts warm water, 1 part vinegar, and 1 part baking soda with a few drops of dish soap. For wood floors, use olive oil in that same mixture instead of the vinegar. You can let these solutions air-dry after cleaning your floors with them, although you should manually dry your floors if they aren’t waterproof.