How to clean 30 years worth of dirt of a floor?

I had a floor like that once and it had lots of wax on it too. I used almost full strength ammonia and a scrub brush. You may have to use several applications and rinses, but it stripped it clean. Be sure you use rubber gloves and a mask for the fumes.

Maybe you should rent a floor scrubbing machine and scrub, scrub, scrub-a-dub with the strongest wax strippers you can find. Try a janitorial outlet for the best strippers.

Pour on pure ammonia,be sure to have windows wide open, then turn a floor polisher loose and mop it up. My brother , a former sailor says that any polisher with a sealed bottom will swab the deck or clean the floor.

I resent the comment that insinuates that all renters must be slobs. I take better care of my rental house then some people I know take care of their own houses.

Whoa, Bubbles! Please don't be so sensitive - the writer DIDN'T say all renters are slobs. She just pointed out that the flooring is 30 years old and the house had been occupied by renters. The fact is that when a property has been occupied by various tenants who have not re-invest in the property, it can (and, in this case, obviously has) result in floors that are not in good condition.

Holly
Silver Post Medal for All Time! 364 Posts

September 16, 20050 found this helpful

My previous renters left holes in the wall and a carpet reeking of animal waste when the air conditioning was turned off.
You have to admit that many renters have earned the reputation they so richly deserve.

Klr2080

September 16, 20050 found this helpful

Try using liquid dishwasher detergent. The cheaper walmart brand is best. Just squeeze out a line of it and smear it with a damp sponge mop until the entire floor is covered. Try to keep it thick.

Hi Stephanie,
The easiest thing to do is place water on the floor. Let it sit a couple of minutes and get down on your hands and knees with a scrubbie. I do it every time our rental is vacant. It is easy and the floor always looks great. Yes, we get compliments on how clean the floors look!

I've had good luck with old grime using trisodium phosphate, using the "strong" dilution on the container. A tablespoon in a quart is majorly heavy duty.

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions! I will start with the easiest and give it a shot.

Bubbles,

Like yourself, I've been meticulous about the upkeep of any property I've rented. Unfortunately, the former tenents of this home were not. The last tenent let her children write in permanent ink on every wall (inside and out), broke several windows, stained the formica countertops, burned the flooring with cigarretes and apparently never once cleaned in the 6 months she live here.

you might try using some of that goo gone stuff, try it in a spot that is hidden before you put it where it can be seen. Good luck

Chris

September 29, 20050 found this helpful

We live in AL and moved into a OLD house that a little old lady used to live in and the floors were bad,years of smoking,grease and just dirt.What I did was used full strength ammonia on the floors after opening windows and went to scrubing the floors with a broom.I couldn't get over how good they looked after we were through.I mopped them after scrubing ,they didn't look new but real good.Now when the floors need that extra cleaning I still get out my broom and use "Simple Green" to scrub them.You can get that at Wal-mart.That gets all the boot scrub marks off sooo easy. Maybe that will help some.