We installed Jatoba hardwood in our new home a year ago. I have hated it ever since. I can not keep it clean. It shows every footprint, and it also looks smudged. It has a matte finish, is that the problem? I have tried every cleaner know to man, including BonaKemi. The results are the same, the floor looks beautiful until somebody walks on it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Kristendg

That is the nature of a darker floor. It will show everything.

Thank goodness I read so many of the posts here regarding dark hardwood floors before our installation. We had fallen in love with a darker stained floor, but were leary considering the warnings that it would show every little thing.

We finally brought home 2x3 sample boards of both the darker floor and a lighter runner up, laid them side-by-side in the middle of the hallway and walked across them for 3 days. The darker sample was covered in smudges, footprints and dust you could see from 10 feet away, while you couldn't see a smudge on the lighter sample without getting down on your hands and knees. That's all I needed to see to change my mind.

I'd recommend this reality check for anyone considering those gorgeous, but labor intensive, dark floors.

Funny how people have different experiences with the same things. We just installed 400 SF of site finished Jatoba in our master bedroom. I did the install, finish and sanding myself. It came out completely perfect and much better than some previous floor we had installed professionally. I finished it with 4 coats of fabulon Gloss polyurethane with one coat of satin for the finish. (sanded between coats)

Anyhow we have absolutely no problems with smudges or visible dust at all. We are very particular about the looks of our floors and have had absoultely no problems at all. They look great all the time with a once a week vaccum. We also have 2 young kids. We also have maple floors and the Jatoba looks no worse or different than the maple.

I was in a clients home yesterday where I had installed some dark cherry colored oak flooring last year. He also had a smudging and film like problem previously. He had tried several floor cleaners and then tried Kahrs (brand)Hardwood Floor Cleaner. He claims the problem went away after using the Kahrs brand.

One thing to know on using floor cleaners like Bona, ect. Use it sparingly and when applied make sure you dry the floor right then with a soft bath towel or it will leave a filmy residue on the surface. In other words don't let it air dry.

Have you tried using a light solution of white vinegar and water to see if this takes off the film? It sounds like residue left from the floor cleaner to me and it gets tracked everywhere. Another common household item that can cause problems is Pledge Furniture polish or deodorizing sprays like Oust, when sprayed they can settle on the floor and cause tracking.

Thanks so much for the suggestions. Jerry, I think you could be right on about the residue build-up. I will try vinegar and see if I can remove some of the residue. Also, Scott, we have a matte finish on our floors. Basically, there isn't any shine. Would it be ok to finsih it with polyurethane, with sanding between coats? Thank-you so much for all your help. I may be able to keep my sanity after all!!!!

Kristen