My wood floor is no longer shiny??

Question

What should I do to give my wooden floor the shine that it used to have??

Answer 1

That depends on why it doesn't shine any more.

One reason could be that you've used a cleanser that has damaged the finish. Anything containing ammonia, alcohol (such as Lysol), or caustic chemicals can damage the finish. (But see below about ammonia.) If the problem is damage there might not be much you can do this side of having the floor resanded and refinished.

Another reason could be the use of a cleanser that's built up on the floor. Orange Glo, which you should never use, is notorious for this. If you once used Orange Glo, you have some hard work ahead of you: you'll have to use an ammonia-based product such as Windex, a microfibre cloth, and lots of elbow grease to remove it.

A third reason could be wax. Not all wooden floors need wax: most floors laid or refinished since about 1985 have a polyurethane finish that will lose its shine if waxed. On the other hand, older floors that have not been recently refinished will only shine if they're waxed, since the varnished finish needs a coat of wax to protect it. The best wax for an older floor is, unfortunately, solid paste wax - it has to be applied by hand, then buffed with a floor polisher. That's a lot of work and it may be that the cost of the wax and the polisher (and your time!) may make it cost-efficient to have the floors refinished. Unfortunately, most wood floors don't benefit from mop-on liquid waxes.

The most expensive reason could be age. Your floor may just have seen better days, and needs to be sanded down and refinished. You can do this yourself or you can hire someone, but unless someone in the house is relatively strong doing it yourself might be difficult - the sander needs strength to operate. [This paragraph got cut out when I originally submitted the answer; sorry about that.]

And the last one may be too obvious to mention, but I'll mention it anyway: the floor may be dirty. I've found that washing the floor with a mop doesn't really cut it. I have to get down on my knees with a microfibre cloth and scrub to get the bulk of the dirt off. What you use depends on the finish: most wood floors clean up best with a solution of Murphy's Oil Soap in water, but some can't be washed with water - the wax has to be stripped, then reapplied - and polyurethane-sealed floors are best washed with a solution of apple cider vinegar in water.

Answer 2

You may have to call a professional in to rewax and rebuff it.  I experienced the same thing with my floor.

Answer 3

When I had my carpets cleaned, I found out from my cleaning guy that you have to actually have your wood floors serviced too.  They spent at least an hour and a half putting some top coating on it and buffing it in in layers.  I guess it's like getting your car waxed.