Hi, My hardwood floors are looking a little dull.....I use only bona floor cleaner for cleaning....I'm thinking about using Orange glo to bring some shine to my floors....My neighbor uses this product with no problems....Is orange glo safe to use, or leave any residue/build-up ?? my floors were installed & then finished on site... Since I do use bona floor cleaner will the shine disappear after each clean ??

Thanks,

We just had to refinish a floor that was cleaned with orange glow cleaner, the homeowner use it regularly and it gave a great shine but left a build that we could not remove, we followed the steps recommended on their site but had no results. We tried ammonia and hot water, we tried several floor cleaners, in the end she chose a refinish.

If your floor is dull the finish may be wearing out, I would call your contractor and have them check it out, may be time for a recoat, which is a lot less expensive than a complete refinish.

Mickey,

My first floor is almost 3000 square feet, and all hardwood.... I tested my office area using this product, and it definetly gave it a great shine....Now i'm just thinking about having my floors screened...Will screening take off the product in my office??


Thanks,

If you use the Bona cleaner why not the refresher? It's just a watered down version of one of their finishes for DIY'ers

If the cleaner has not build up too much it might be removed, the directions call for cleaning with hot water and ammonia I don't remember the ratio but they had some instructions on there web site. You could also use the refresher as Stephen suggested, just be sure to clean the orange glo off well first.

I am not a fan of those "refresher" type products. I have seen real messes created by DIY'ers using them; plus they have virtually no durability so you end up constantly re-applying them.
My recommendation to our clients is to never contaminate the floor with home-made cleaning solutions or things available at the grocery store or big box outlets. We have tested various cleaners and always recommend the same one for regular maintenance. This will allow a buff and recoat periodically with no fear of adhesion issues. This applies to both finish on site, and prefinished floors.

Well...what do you recommend then?

"Woodwise" by Design Hardwood Products for most applications
"Squeaky Clean" by Basic for floors finished with Street-Shoe

I feel pretty much the same as Dennis. I too think of most floor cleaner/ polishes to be contaminants. They leave a superficial shine that quickly turns into a hazy mess.I did a beautiful black stained floor in a home and the cleaning people ruined it by putting some sort of polish on the floor. Looks good for about 2 days and then starts to look like smeared vaseline. And I am about to sand and refinish a job due to a similar circumstance.

As mentioned, using most cleaning products and polishes will contaminate the finish and prevent future re coats.So if shine is what you are after, your best bet will be to recoat. Perhaps with a semi gloss product if you currently have a satin finish product.

For cleaning, I always recommend relying on vacuum and dust mop. Don't wash the floors with anything unless you have to.My old boss's floors still look great after 15 years because all they ever do is dust mop them.They rarely wash them.Even using the good cleaners over time can have a slight dulling effect on your finish.

For removing orangle glo and other gooey substances, I have had some success with Bona prep. it isn't actually made for removing goo from your floor but I have used it for that purpose with good result.I buff the floor with a 3M Maroon pad and keep spritzing the floor with Bona prep.When I no longer get residue on my pads i then wipe down the floor with a microfiber and some more Bona prep.The maroon pad absorbs the goo. It doesn't however pull goo from between the boards. So it isn't a perfect solution. But I have successfully re coated some abused floors with this method and finished them with Bona Traffic in each case.

I hope that helps