If you are the lucky owner of real wood flooring, you understand how great it is. But you also know how easily it can scratch and get dull from daily wear and tear. Pets, kids, visitors and daily life all take their toll eventually. So how do you bring your real wood flooring back to its original glory? If you want to avoid toxic chemicals like I do, this post is for you. I have found some natural ways to make damaged flooring look new.
Scratches are an inevitable part of wood flooring, but there are natural ways to hide minor damage. Minor scratches can be buffed away with steel wool or fine-grit sandpaper. Lightly sand the scratched areas, feathering into the surrounding wood. However, once your wood flooring is heavily scratched, it’s time to sand it down and refinish it.
Another way to disguise minor scratches in just a few seconds is to use a halved walnut. Rub the walnut over the scratch, pushing its oils into the wood. Here’s a before and after from Green Idea Reviews:
For a non-toxic way to refresh the look of your wood floors, try this solution from Bren. She recommends mixing the following:
20 drops of essential oil {such as lemon}
Put this solution into a fine mist spray bottle. It doesn’t sound like much, but a little really goes a long way! Be sure to sweep and/or vacuum your floors first. Then very lightly mist this refresher onto a 2-3 square foot area at a time, and use a microfiber mop to work it into the floor. Continue working in 2-3 foot areas until the entire floor is coated. Once that’s done, get a clean microfiber pad and use it to buff the floor, getting up as much of the oil solution as you can. Do this no more than 2-3 times per year to keep your floors looking their best.
Find more floor cleaning hacks here:
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