Does Anyone Here Still Wax Floors?

[franksdad]

plus of course the little aqua GE floor polisher!

I used to help Mama use Johnson's paste wax and buff our hardwood floors with her aqua GE floor scrubber, buffer, and polisher back in the 60's.  Mama had a box full of attachments for that buffer.  It also had a plastic dispenser on the front for liquid floor polish.  I remember it was a lot of work we'd spend a whole day mopping, waxing, then buffing.  But the floors would be beautiful!  Mama would then use the scrubber to scrub the kitchen and bathroom floors.  I would beg to get to use this machine!  Then along came Future and the floor polisher went to the dump.  I would love to have that GE  buffer again.  (

 

[vintagekitchen]

Future

More like nightmare.. That stuff flat out stinks. It doesn't leave the lovely clean warm wood smell of Johnson Wax, just a harsh, hospital-ish smell in its wake. Doesn't shine like wax either, nor does the shine last as long.

Not to mention, no matter what the bottle says, it does cause a build up over time, and is far harder to scrub off than wax build up. Nasty beastly stuff.

 

[davey7]

I've got wax on my act (asbestos composition tile) bathroom floor - how do I get it off (without gasoline)? My floors could use a good waxing, cork bleeds a bit into fabric/rugs.

 

[vintagekitchen]

Cleaning off wax

Either get a bottle of liquid ajax cleanser with ammonia, or just some sudsy ammonia, mix it in a bucket of hot water, get some fine steel wool from the hardware section, and start scrubbing, lol.. Its how I always do mine.

If you have a polisher though, most have scrubbing pads/brushes available for removing old wax. Just pour some of the hot water/ammonia mixture on the floor, run the polisher with the scrubbing brushes until the wax is all scrubbed off, then mop the floor clean.

 

[whirlcool]

I lived in a high rise in Chicago that had a kitchen with a yellow floor. It looked terrible. The neighbors all had white tiles in their kitchens. So one day I used some ammonia in the wash bucket and used that on the yellow floor. Big pieces of was started to come up revealing a white floor underneath. Obviously the floor had been Mop & Glow'ed to death.

After I got the floor all back to white I used Future on it.I didn't think Future was a floor wax as much as it is an acrylic coating to put on your floor.
When I was done, the floor was beautiful. Especially at night when the skyline of downtown Chicago would reflect off the floor.

 

[whirlaway]

Really clean!!!!

I use fine steel wool and varasol to clean old wax and then I use bowling alley paste wax and buff it in with my old maroon hoover buffer.Really makes a good durable finish,my beagle slips and slides,so I have plenty of rugs down for him.Bowling alley wax was made by the NaNor company,right here over in Norfolk.They stopped about 15 years ago,so I bought all I could get my hands on.Its really good for furniture.Leaves a hard coating lasts for a long time.To remove heavy wax on rubber or vinyl,try some organic 3m paint stripper.I found the original blue and white rubber tiles under 2floors of tiles,it was dark brown from years of putting wax on it,it really cleaned up beautifully with that stripper.Its the original 1938 floor.

 

[davey7]

Thanks, ya know, I should never have given away my mom's old bissel carpet shampooer. Oh, well, I rented at the time and didn't care.

Do you think steel wool is safe on asbestos tile (I know, I know, it takes a lot to get various cancers/etc from it)?

 

[whirlaway]

Steel Wool Safe?

Get the finest you can get,and keep it wet and you should be OK.Wear gloves and try a small area first.Should clean your floor very well.Good luck!!!!! Bobby

 

[launderess]

Yes, Steel Wool Is Fine. Long As One Uses The Proper Grade

Any decent hardware shop will stock rows of packets of steel wool in various grades. Packets usually are marked on back telling what grade is used for which purpose.

Commercial floor finishers and cleaners use steel wool of various grades to clean, buff and otherwise maintain wood and certain other types of flooring. Instead of using water based products and or a mop it is better to use a fine grade steel wool pad to clean and top off buff polished wood floors between full out waxings.

 

[alr2903]

Wood flooring is a commitment

The original 5 rooms and hall in this house were hardwood covered by carpet,  we had them professionally sanded, stained (nutmeg), and sealed with polyurethane.  A damp mop and your good to go.  I was told by the floor crew that in the future years and years from now it would need to be screened (fine buffing screen on a commercial buffer), and resealed,  they also advised me to keep direct sunlight off the floor, so i pull  down the east shade shade in the AM. Never ever go through this process unless the season is appropriate to open all the windows, the odor is unbearable.  alr

 

[retro-man]

Strange but true.
I rented a house years ago that had such a heavy build up of wax on the lino floor in the kitchen i didn' think anything would take it off. tried amonia, wax remover and a variety of things and they would work a little. then by accident a glass of milk got dropped on the floor and it didn't get cleaned up for a little while like a half hour or so. something came up outside that needed attention. when i came in and cleaned it up with towels then washed the floor in that area all the wax was gone!! got myself a couple of gallons of milk and worked small areas about 5x5 feet and within an afternoon had the floor completely stripped with no chemical smells. sometimes its the strangest things that work.
Jon

 

[laundromat]

I never quit waxing my floors. I use two similar floor finshing/aceilic waxes

1 Future by JW

This is fine for all floors and leaves a great shione after 2 thick coats,

2. Complete by JW

This is what they use in institutions like schools, churches, hospitals and retail stores.I get it at janitor supply stores and it's like a liquid plastic and takes lots of traffic.

 

[danemodsandy]

Um, No.....

...."This is fine for all floors"

Self-polishing waxes like Future (and the late, lamented Glo-Coat and its competitors, Klear and Aero Wax), are not intended for use on hardwood floors. They will darken and stain them, particularly in places where the finish is worn away, like high-traffic areas. Anyone who house-hunts for a Mid-Century house will see the effects of these products sooner or later; many housewives of the time ruined floors' finishes with them.

If the ease of a self-polishing wax is desirable for someone wanting to spruce up a wood floor, Bona makes a range of products for wood floor care. You can get Bona products online:

http://www.mybonahome.com