How do I bring a softwood floor back to life?

Hi Jean,

The best way to bring it back to life would be to refinish the floor. Of course, the issue is that with pets & kids, it's going to continue to happen. Can you cover some of the areas with throw rugs to help prevent scratches in the future? Here's a Q & A that might give you some ideas. Wishing you the best.

Softwood Floor Repair

Here's a link with some ideas:

https://www.thisoldhouse.com/flooring/21015160/fast-fixes-for-floor-scratches

I suppose it depends on your goal. If you're looking for a quick fix to restore some luster to the floor, there are products made to do that. I would consult with someone at a flooring store though, since there are so many out there and if you have soft wood floors they may only have a wax sealer not a poly coating and you want to make certain you're using one made for your specific wood. Of course, if your goal is to remove the scratches and dents, refinishing it is probably the only way to go.

Yes, Dog claw gouges and worn-through top coat are going to have to be refinished.

But If it is an engineered wood floor, there is very little to sand before you getting into the backing layers. If this is the case, consider cleaning them with Murphy’s oil soap, then TSP (rinse & dried) and applying 2 coats of floor-grade polyurethane.

If they are old-school solid pine tongue & groove, I used a belt sander on them and it took me a month of weekends to do the entire third floor on my hands and knees, a section at a time.

If you can set up a “perimeter” to keep the pets & their hair out of your work area, doing it yourself just requires a steady hand on the belt sander.

Hello Jean, I'm not sure what you have, but hope this may help you, once complete, you may want to use some small throw rugs to protect high traffic areas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mP1GPm9c5Bs

Jean, my husband has tried so many products that I consider him an expert. He currently is using Mr. Clean floor cleaner with a rag mop in every wood or tile room, with a wash cloth in the corners. When the floors are completely dry, he uses a Swifter mop to apply a Johnson’s Wax product to shine these same floors. They look shiny and beautiful for a week at a time, with touch ups of the traffic areas on Thursday nights. (Yes, he is a man of habits, but he mops! I hope this works for you. Jewell

Here's a post that might help - https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/16/realestate/making-your-wood-floors-look-like-new.html

Well if your looking to get rid of lots of scratches, I would rent a drum sander and refinish the floor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Fq_3VARj3M I personally would get the drum sander with the dust-free bag system. Check home depot or a local equipment rental store.

Here's a video explaining the different sanders.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhtiKOcZa3E

Sand the floor down and then eather varnish it or stain it and varnish