Green Solutions for Wood Problems

When you spend the money to have wood floors in your house, its no doubt you want to keep them in great shape so they last a long time. Along with keeping our floors in good shape, we want them to stay clean!  The best cleaning solutions are the ones you can make yourself out of products you know will not harm anyone in your home.  We like to think of these as 'Eco-friendly' cleaning products. 

Here is a list of recipes you can make at home to help keep your wood floors in excellent shape:

Burns: For wood burns that have not fully penetrated the wood surface, rub with thin paste of rottenstone, linseed oil and 2 or 3 drops of peppermint essential oil.  If the burn has penetrated the wood surface, you may have to refinish the area and re-stain.

Black Shoe Marks: These can be removed by rubbing 2 or 3 drops of cedar or eucalyptus essential oil over the mark with a soft cloth.

Crayon: Wipe crayon marks with a few drops of cedar or peppermint essential oil mixed with a dab of toothpaste.  Wipe clean with a cloth moistened with vinegar.

Grease: If you have grease on your wood floors you will want to act immediately. Place ice cubes on top of the spill to harden and prevent the grease from seeping further into the wood. If a grease layer forms, it can be scraped off with a blunt object such as a popsicle stick. If you're wood is unfinished, squirt some vegetable oil soap and  few drops of your favorite essential oil over the spill. Use a paper towel and blot repeatedly.

Painted Flooring: If you have painted wood floors, you can clean them with a solution made from 2 teaspoons washing soda and 1 cup rosemary or sage tea mixed with a gallon of warm water.

Scratches:  For light-colored woods, take a wet cloth with lemon juice and olive oil and gently rub into the wood. If the scratch has not come off, you can fill it in with a crayon or oil pastel pencil.  Scratch marks on wood flooring may also be removed by gently rubbing in a circular motion with a very fine steel wool over a hard wax.

Water Stains: With a family in the house you are most likely going to have water spills on your floors.  To treat a water stain on your floors, the first thing you'll want to do is clean up any standing water.  Then take a cloth dipped in vinegar and rub the area clean.  Next apply mayonnaise or linseed oil on the stained wood and let sit for several hours and then buff with a cloth.

For other helpful cleaning solutions, check out the green cleaning ingredients put together by the Denver cleaning company; Housegreening.  They offer Eco-friendly cleaning services to the Denver and Boulder metros.