Why floor wax or polish may save you time and effort

[canadian gardener]

When I've kept up the shiny finish on my floors (sealent then future acrylic floor polish) they are easier to keep clean.

the dirt doesn't dig itself down into the cuts and scratches and set up permanent housekeeping. When I mop, the dirt slithers right out with not so much cracks and crannies to hide in plain sight in.

It saves time and scrubbing when you do wash a floor. Maybe it saves more time than you "lose" by applying the polish whenever it needs it.

It's kind of like when you polish the wooden table, it makes it way easier to dust. The dust just slips right off when you tackle it.

Plus I like the look of shiny floors that reflect the light.

Old floors are awful to keep polished though till you try the trick of applying sealent which fills in those cracks and scratches, and makes a high gloss finish.

Sealent won't work by itself though, it needs a protective top coat of floor polish on top. Otherwise it chips and peels off. Like nail polish, it needs to dry between coats.

The easiest way I've found to apply sealent and polish stuff is using my swiffer dry mop head with a Bounty paper towel stuck in the finger poke holes to hold it. Then I toss the sticky polish soaked paper towel afterwards.

Home Depot sells a terrazo floor sealent and that is the kind I mean. Their no name brand. So do janitor supply stores and Home Hardware. It seals more than just grout and terrazo and tile though. It's just like a milky looking acrylic floor polish, only it dries clear

It fills in and seals the little scratches and worn bits on vinyl floors, restoring them to new looking shine.

You then top it off with something like Future floor polish, one or two coats and keep a light coat on the wear layers by renewing the future in the cow trails or wear paths only (you don't want it building up beside the baseboards where nobody walks)

[canadian gardener]

Here is the process. I get rid of dogs and kids for the day. You DON't repeat this whole process every time you polish. In fact if you take care, you won't repeat this for 2 or even more years!

STEP 1-- STRIP OLD FINISH OFF:

Before you put sealer down, you must strip the floor of all finish, so the cheapest way is to use a strong ammonia and water solution, mopped or scrubbed on. Wait a few minutes, about 5 and then use a scrub brush to get the loosened softened gooey floor polish up.

You can buy a stripper stuff just for this purpose at the same places that sell sealent and the no rinse kind is supposed to work well. I use ammonia because it's cheap, and if I wait a little for it to work, it does a good job.

STEP 2-- RINSE STRIPPER SOLUTION OFF:

Get up the gooey mess, then rinse a couple of times with vinegar and water. By rinsing it off well, you only have to apply the sealent once every 2 years or so, as long as you maintain it by keeping an acrylic floor polish on it. Take an old towel and get it damp dry then

STEP 3-- APPLY SEALANT COAT:

I like to apply it while the floor is still a bit damp, it doesn't hurt the finish. I have taken to using a dry swiffer mop with a bounty paper towel on it to apply the sealer and the polish. Just toss the towel and replace with a fresh one in between coats.

Think of it as a base coat of nail polish. It fills in the scratches and makes your floor all shiny. But it still needs a top coat of polish for protection (later)

YOU MAY WISH TO PUT A SECOND COAT OF SEALER DOWN when the first coat is dry (I use fans blowing across the floor to speed this up)

My thinking on this is, I'm only doing this mess once every few years, so why not give it 2 thin coats. Just like polish, 2 thin coats work better and wear better than 1 thick one.

LET IT DRY

STEP 4-- APPLY ACRYLIC FLOOR POLISH: Future is one brand but the same janitorial supply places or Home Depot, Home Hardware shelves that you got the sealer from, will have a good shiny water based acrylic floor finish.

Let it dry (I like a second coat at this point if there is time before the kids come back or the dog needs in)

STEP 5-- MAINTAINING THAT SHINY FLOOR LIKE NEW

FOREVER AFTER YOU SIMPLY WASH the floor with a little dilute dish detergent in water on a rag or in my case a little diluted (1-10) no name degreaser (red juice) and damp mop. You don't want to strip the polish.

WHEN THE FLOOR DULLS a bit, (once a week to once every 2 months depending on your level of action on the floor) ONLY IN THE TRAFFIC ZONES do you RE APPLY A THIN COAT OF POLISH.

My entry is once a week to maintain, my kitchen about once every 2 or 3 months for a top dressing of polish, the bathrooms, about twice a year)

WHY THE WEAR ZONES and NOT UP TO THE BASEBOARDS????

Because you don't wear the polish off around the sides of the room, just in the traffic patterns. Once the polish is dry you won't be able to tell where the new and old polish meet.

Come the day you want to strip off the old, and re do the floor, you don't want a buildup of hardened thick polish around the edges to cope with.

You can keep that going nearly forever as long as you don't let the sealer coat wear off.

[canadian gardener]

the reason for all the above, is simply this. If once every couple of years you seal it like this, and maintain that with a top dressing of polish

you always have a surface that doesn't absorb stains (it repels the dirt)

looks shiny and new and clean

Without a lot of effort in between.

It really makes a difference for older porous floors which sort of suck up polish and look dull a day after a polish.

I'd rather battle like this once every few years and enjoy the ease of a new looking floor that doesn't grab dirt into it's porous and worn surface, and enjoy the look of a shiny clean floor all the time (even when it's not clean, it reflects light and looks clean).

And that little bit of camouflage is really a boost to the spirits when you have unexpected company.

oh and one more thing, if you ever want to get the house ready for resale, this can make the floors look shiny new again.

OXY can help bleach out some, not all but some stains on an old porous floor, once you have it stripped. Then rinse and seal as above.

[canadian gardener]

Dog and cat hairs for pet owners whose pets blow their hair on the breezes inside the house and it gets stuck in the floor finish.

what do I do?

I do have to pick dog hair out of it later after it dries. Due to our dog's fine silky undercoat. It's everywhere.

I don't worry about it if I can't see it, but I've had great success picking big visible blops of dog hair out. Doesn't seem to affect the overall shine.

so if cats do stroll over the floor, leaving paw prints and fluff know this, it won't make too much difference.

And if you missed a spot for sealent, scrub down in that ONE spot, re apply the coats with a paper towel, in the same order, and it works just fine.

[canadian gardener]

LOL you are sure welcome Carolyn. I like cleaning now that I know how to do it so it's easy and doesn't have to be done that often anymore due to tricks like these.

I used to dread cleaning because the stuff either didn't stay clean or didn't even look like I'd cleaned. I liked it when I found the sealent trick so my old porous floors would at least look polished and quit their dirt sucking habits.

[Katybird]

Thank Margery! Great advice and tips.