Living Room Floor Work

I'm trying to get things in order upstairs, so that I can clean out most of the storage boxes downstairs. Howver, I realized that I really, really need to help out the poor living room floor as it gets the brunt of traffic and has the pellet stove constantly pouring out heat and drawing any moisture out of the wood. A couple of weeks ago I wiped down all the wood furniture with orange oil to help it retain moisture. So, I spent a good portion of last weekend vacuuming the floor then washing down, then oiling.

Vacuuming sounds oh, so easy. However, the living room floor had absolutely no finish left on it so sheetrock dust was ground between the fibers of the wood. Add to that that the slats are thin, not wide, there are what seems to be miles of cracks in which dirt, gravel and birdseed either dropped into, or got ground into. So, vacuuming is an exercixe in patience on my hands and knees, with a shop vac hooked up with a crevice tool. The first pass is just to get all the surface stuff off. Then another pass using the 14-in-1 tool that Cop Car got for me last year (one of the most handy tools ever!)

See the right hand corner of the tool? that used to be a sharp point. It was slightly rounded when I started on the living room floor, from doing other rooms that see less traffic, and needed much less elbow grease. I used that corner to slide between the cracks in the wood and lift all the drud out. The poor little shop vac was literally running for hours while I cleaned up the living room floor.

In the above picture, you can tell where I scrubbed the flooring with a water and orange oil mixture to start the process. The dark spot in front of the glass doors is from an oil spill a couple of weeks ago while doing furniture. The slightly darker area near the FHW register is a spot where the wood still had a very slight amount of finishing on it. I dworked on the floor in sections, so the wood could dry while I was cleaning the next section. 

I had to apply the grapeseed oil much more liberally than was done in the bedroom and craft room as the wood soaked it right up.

The wood felt much more "alive" under my bare feet when I walked on it about 20 minutes later. I can already tell that I will need to oil it again in the next several weeks. I don't know if it is because the floor was so dry (much drier than the other floors I've done), or whether it will be an ongoing project, and I will report back on that later. I also have two small sections left to do this weekend; under the couch and under Birdie's table, which should get done this weekend.

Comments

[Cop Car]

The "after" floor really looks nice. Good luck in keeping it looking good. It will take attention and work!

It is so difficult to keep the interior humidity high enough to protect furniture and wooden floors in the winter. The dry air, combined with the drying effects of sunlight, really do a number. All of the houses that your dad and I have owned have had central heating, making it easier to install an effective humidifier - which helps a lot. (I did not have a humidifier in ABQ, though; but no wooden floors, either.)

[bogie]

Well so far this winter, I haven't had to worry about sun drying out the floor. 9/10 of probably mid-October on have been cloudy and rainy (or snowy).

I actually prefer a drier house than most. Or more to the point, my skin likes it better. Doesn't help out the wood furniture, but I I have plenty of time to devote to keeping them moisturized.

[bogie]

I did get the untreated areas in the living room done, along with the floor for the office. So, as of last weekend, all wood floors have been treated with oil

[Cop Car]

BTW: I'll be on the lookout for another 14-in-one tool.

[bogie]

I just compared the two tools and basically they are the same, one just doesn't have the screwdriver tips in the handle. I have plenty of those tips, so am good. I have made the old tool the official Hastings pellet stove cleaner (it digs errant pellets out of the channel around the hopper).