DIY Flooring Repairs Require the Right Fix for Each Material
12 posts across 2 communities in the last 30 days; 67% from r/Flooring.
“I know I can't clean the stains completely. But what is the best way to try to fix it? Wood stain? Do I leave it for a couple of months before staining? I don't want to sand it down if I can avoid it. Thanks so much in advance!”
“My hardwood floors have a sort of waxy film on them, present since I moved in. I use vinegar water to clean them, but it seems to make the issue worse. I’ve even tried a steam cleaner, however the film is so thick I had to use the force of my entire body to push it, and after 3…”
“I have a question about the hardwood flooring in my apartment and whether it’s worth restoring. The apartment has been empty for around 15 years, without heating. The temperature stayed around 15°C during the winter and was warmer in the summer. There are three rooms with this…”
Several posts detail homeowners facing challenges with flooring, including water damage to oiled oak floors, carpet color matching, threshold material selection, Rubio Monocoat application issues, and subfloor preparation for vinyl installation. These users are seeking advice on repair, maintenance, and product selection.
SOURCES (48)
“I have a question about the hardwood flooring in my apartment and whether it’s worth restoring. The apartment has been empty for around 15 years, without heating. The temperature stayed around 15°C during the winter and was warmer in the summer. There are three rooms…”
“I’m renting a studio apartment and don’t know exactly what type of flooring I have. The floor has a wood-effect finish throughout the entire studio. Even small drops of water leave dark stains that remain after drying. These stains appear in multiple areas, including the middle of the apartment. Additionally, some areas of the floor have lost their original colour and have become whitish. I’ve attached photos. Does anyone know what might be causing this and whether a specific product or professi”
“A couple of weeks ago a perfume bottle broke on my hardwood floors and the stain looks horrible on my floor especially when the sun hits. When the spill happened we did our best to clean it but it obviously didn't work. Any ideas on how to remove this stain? submitted by /u/CapableRelative7586 [link] [comments]”
“I know I can't clean the stains completely. But what is the best way to try to fix it? Wood stain? Do I leave it for a couple of months before staining? I don't want to sand it down if I can avoid it. Thanks so much in advance! submitted by /u/floodedhorseshoe [link] [comments]”
“My house still has the wood floors from 1945. They are the skinny planks, orange, and in decent condition. I was wondering if I should refinish them and try to stain them to look more like a light oak (although I know that is a pain in the ass with red oak). Or, if I would be better off buying solid wood or engineered hardwood from discount stores like Floor & Decor, and just installing something new and nice in a color I actually like? Is the price difference drastic (refinishing, removing”
“Hello all, hopefully you can give us some insite on a current conundrum. We had engineered hardwood installed almost a year ago at this point, and believe we are seeing water spots coming up from our foundation. The confusing part is that the spots are ending at the edges of our rugs. If the water was coming up from below, it shouldn't be stopped by a rug on top of the floor. The rug should even help keep moisture in, making it worse. Or at least these are our assumptions. We do not have chi”
“Hi flooring! Im refinishing an 80 year old red oak floor which has a long history (set in human and pet stains,2x carpet installations). Planning on lobo invisible finish - im okay with sone imperfection and prefer a natural look. Ive drum sanded (36, 60) and square random pad sanded (80, 120) but im getting some blemishes that id like to ask for help on. Pics 1,2,4… any suggestions welcome ( go easy o me please!!) Thanks! - Hair First pic, between the two pencils, a line. Feels smooth. Dribbled”
What’s the easiest fix here? submitted by /u/squintyj [link] [comments]
“Sorry for the messy post but I need immediate help with this. Im renting room at a family friends place and don't use the living room much. They keep a electric heater running in the living room and told me to just leave it be so the flooring doesn't move since its getting colder. I just walked into the living room to clean it and saw that the part of the carpet near the heater was wet(the heater was leaking) and the ground was completely swollen even though it wasn't the flooring ne”
“Just bought a house and we refinished the floors. I bought an ocedar flatmop that separates clean and dirty water and have been using it pinesol ( very tiny amount in the water ). But I heard that pinesol isnt the best for the floors. Im also struggling with getting them truly clean. The floors were super dirty because of the workers and all of the movers coming in and out of the house but no matter how many times I go over the floors, the mop and water still comes back dirty. I need a cleaner t”
“Hi all, my floor got flooded with water puddles from a leak for an hour or so. They day after it was showing some water stains in the floor (first picture) which across 4/5 days have spread evn more across the floor (picture 2). It seems that the only option is either to wait to see if it fully spreads or dries, replace the floor - anyone has any knowledge on this and can help with suggestions on what to do. submitted by /u/Minimum_Option8083 [link] [comments]”
“I have cleaned the spot and then tried oxalic acid. Should i keep trying the oxalic acid or should i go for hydrogen peroxide? Or should i just give up :( See after/before pictures Thanks in advance submitted by /u/cablanck [link] [comments]”
“my floor shows every water spot, but I tried shine keeper by Armstrong and it seemed to help with cleaning the water spots. submitted by /u/Popular-Mango3061 [link] [comments]”
“Hi all! Unfortunately I dropped the water contents of a probreze dehumidifier on my wood floor. I’ve attempted to mop it twice with hot water and method squirt and mop, which has somewhat helped but still left grease marks. Any tips for removing it? submitted by /u/Practical-Nature2288 [link] [comments]”
“had my floors refinished in February with Bona high traffic matte. Since then, we’ve been settling into our new home, so im suspecting we made a few scratches in the finish because the other night our toddler dropped lo mein noodles on the floor and yesterday morning, woke up to several oil stains on the wood… I read online to use corn starch to absorb the oil, but all I had was Baking Powder. Left it on for 7hrs anyway— and no change. Try cornstarch? or is there another way…? submitted by”
“I have got oak floors in my house. We have a cleaner come in every couple weeks to do a big clean and this time she sent her brother. He used quick drying tung oil to mop the floors (by mistake? who knows? He first denied it, then said he has used it multiple times before so now I don’t even know). I was leaving the house when he finished so thought the floor was just wet. Came back some hours later, floor was still wet and so eventually I figured out what had happened. We agreed for her to come”
“I'm looking at how to remove these dark marks that showed up when I waited 2.5 days between stain coats when refinishing a maple floor from the 1890s. Details below. I used minwax pre-stain conditioner, then a minwax stain, I can get you the details. There is no finish on it yet. For the sanding, I saw that these had been sanded before and there were about 10 nail heads showing per room, so I didn’t want to go too deep and just used a tri-orbital floor sander with 30, 60, and 80 grits, rente”
“After discovering hardwood floors over the long weekend I ended up refinishing them and just applied the first coat of poloplaz primero since that’s what the guy at the local flooring store recommended. I’m now realizing I should have done some more research since oil based finishes produce more fumes but I didn’t make any plans to stay outside of the house. I sealed the upstairs off with plastic and have a window fan going upstairs and fans throughout the house with open windows. Is that enough”
“There are spots like this in my kitchen. the rest of the floor in the other rooms doesn’t have these dark spots. I’ve been living here with roommates for the past 6 years and the floors were only 1 year old when I moved in. I’m worried it’s water damage and washing with soap will make it worse? Any advice would be appreciated, thank you! submitted by /u/hoddymadges [link] [comments]”
“Hello, I need some help with the best way to take care of a patch of vinyl plank flooring that has soaked up urine. Not sure if this is the best place to post, if there somewhere better please let me know! A few years ago my dad ripped the carpet out of my bedroom and decided to install the waterproof vinyl plank flooring from Home Depot himself, with no previous experience. I am going to assume that it wasn’t done correctly because any time any moisture makes contact with this flooring it manag”
“I recently found a dark stain on my oak parquet floor which i suspect might be caused by cat urine. Is there anything i can use to remove this stain or at least make it less visible and without damaging it further? Please tell me if you know of a way to save it without having to grind or redo the whole floor. Thank you! submitted by /u/linglinggetonmylevel [link] [comments]”
“While away my planter overwilled with water and it left this stain on the floor. I let it dry and then very lightly sanded it. Is it posisble to improve this without removing the whome floor? submitted by /u/HuckleberryAlone4641 [link] [comments]”
“My hardwood floors have a sort of waxy film on them, present since I moved in. I use vinegar water to clean them, but it seems to make the issue worse. I’ve even tried a steam cleaner, however the film is so thick I had to use the force of my entire body to push it, and after 3 feet the pad was so caked with a sticky, black substance that I had to change it. I’ve done the drop of water test to ensure these are polyurethane, and the water did not absorb. Am I doing something wrong, or did the pre”
“I have bellawood hardwood floors that are about 15 years old. All the trafficked areas have developed embedded dirt. I have tried typical cleaning agents (bona, soap and water etc) with cloths and brushes with no luck. Any ideas how I can fix this - or do I need to have them refinished? submitted by /u/Southern-Teaching198 [link] [comments]”
“I have some provenza flooring throughout my house. Near the sink I have a tendency to have water droplets sit on the floor due to me washing my hands and dripping, etc. The wood has started to look dried out and porous. Is there anything I can do to get to back to looking "sealed"? submitted by /u/fezcabdriver [link] [comments]”
“Hi guys Our boiler is in our kitchen and we suffered with a slow leak. The kitchen floor is engineered oak and when it was installed it wasn't stuck down because the previous owners wanted to be able to take it up in the event of a flood. The flooring has always felt firm but after we discovered the leak from the boiler we noticed that the wood nearest the cooker and cabinets has risen slightly. So when you now walk on those bits you can push them down to where they use to sit flat but they”
“So I think these have been caused by water? I'm afraid I'll ruin the floor even more if I clean too agressively or use the wrong supplies. Any tips on how to get rid of these stains? It's oak, I believe. Thanks in advance for any tips! submitted by /u/Lakshmanaaa [link] [comments]”
“We had hardwood installed in our addition about two months ago (2400sq ft). Its been covered while they were finishing the rest of the house for the past few months. It just got sealed last week and now i notice a little cupping. The contractor had a dehumidifier going for a bit but im curious the severity of this and if i should make a big deal about it or if this is considered minor and i should just make sure we keep running the dehumidifer. submitted by /u/Ill_Question_6335 [link”
“Our floors are starting to get a few spots like this. Is there some sealant I can put on them to protect them a bit? I have no idea what was used or anything. I don’t plan on doing a big refinish till the pets are gone and kids are older. Just looking for something to seal. submitted by /u/Alarming-Contest3736 [link] [comments]”
“Just moved in and clearly whoever tried to get the house ready to sell put a very sloppy/incorrectly done coat of I believe tinted poly over the floors? They didn’t bother to go under the fridge and I don’t think they did any prep to the floor beneath as there are areas that are just flaking off to reveal the absolutely beautiful natural color with a layer of clear finish still on it below. I sanded (not my best work around the edges, but i got down to bare wood on the vast majority) and did thr”
“I redid my hardwood floors this weekend and appear to have missed a section right in the center of my living room, which wouldn’t be the absolute end of the world,but it also has a couple of drips. Is there any way to remedy this without having to recoat the whole house? If it helps this is varathane oil based floor finish submitted by /u/SnooPets966 [link] [comments]”
“Hi all, I moved into this house around 8 months ago and have tried to clean this stain that was on the living room floor a few times with no luck. It's very stubborn - almost looks like rust of some sort? My theory is maybe the previous owner stored some garden furniture or something inside after he had moved out. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to remove it? Hopefully there's something! submitted by /u/Hot_Oil_8742 [link] [comments]”
“It’s been over a month since we started looking at flooring. It has been a chore! We’re now struggling between these 2 Coretec colors. I like the warmth of Aleta Oak, but I’m concerned with the “grain” appearing too rustic. I like the “grain” of the Hempstead Walnut, but I’m concerned it may be too cold. We are going for a cozy, inviting feel. Paint will be Benjamin Moore pale oak and trim will be white dove. Does anyone have either of these floors installed? Or recommendations for which one to”
“i’ve had a wooden table on this white vinyl in my kitchen for 2 years, and when i moved it i saw it left this stain. any tips on fixing this before i move out? i’ve already tried bleach and blue dawn. i tried baking soda/water paste but maybe made it too thin, willing to try again. any help is appreciated!!! submitted by /u/According-Insect5048 [link] [comments]”
“My floors were horribly painted when I moved in and I finally decided to paint over them. I put a few coats of Parks PRO Finisher Water-Based Polyurethane over the top of the left side, as I was scuffing and chipping the paint whenever I needed to pass through. However, after four coats, I can still scrape the paint with barely any pressure from my fingernail. Is this because it hasn't fully cured yet? Any advice on how to proceed before I move to the right side of the floor? Thanks! Alright”
“Anything to know before sanding this pet damaged hardwood? I’m tearing out some pet damaged carpet and aiming to restore the wood underneath. It’s stained and stinks real bad. I was considering putting down citristrip for the layer of white paint but have read that only sets the urine smell. So at this point planning to sand and then use oxalic acid. submitted by /u/leland_wolcott [link] [comments]”
“A household cleaner bottle dissolved the top coat/color on our discontinued Mannington American Oak Natural floor. Looks/feels like bare wood is now exposed. Hoping for ideas on products, techniques to "fill in/color" the ring that matches existing floor as much as possible. TIA submitted by /u/19author45 [link] [comments]”
“I’m renting an apartment with an oiled oak hardwood floor. Unfortunately, some water was left sitting on it for about 2–3 days. It’s completely dry now, but there’s a darker patch left behind (see photo). Is there anything I can safely do to improve it without risking more damage? Since I’m a tenant, I’d rather avoid anything too aggressive or irreversible. Any advice would be appreciated. submitted by /u/Important-One5460 [link] [comments]”
“What would be the best material to use for saddle between these ceramic tiles and slate tiles? Rest of the house is wood flooring. submitted by /u/Birdie1214 [link] [comments]”
“We are determined to use a low VOC flooring product for our rift and quartered 2 1/4” white oak floors in low wear areas of our mid century home. But we just did a test of Rubio on our stairs to the basement and the color is much more uneven than we were expecting. Has anyone here used Rubio on their floors? Can you share photos? Are there other low VOC products people would recommend? We did find a low VOC whey poly to put over it for protection if the maintenance oil isn’t good enough so not w”