How To Remove The Smell Of Freshly Treated Wood Floors

All wood floors need to be treated from time to time to preserve their good looks and charm.  Finishes on wood floors range from seals, waxes, oils, polishes and varnishes, all of which will make your wood floor more resistant to wear and tear as well as helping make them easier to clean.  That said, each of these processes tend to leave a lingering smell.  Many people find these smells inoffensive, but others are bothered highly by them.

Many people who are bothered by the smell of freshly treated wooden floors try to mask the smell with airborne perfumes, but ultimately wind up frustrated because this method doesn’t remove the cause of the smell.  There are two effective ways of treating your floor without chemical smells, which you’re likely to have in your kitchen cupboard.  The first is tea and the second is cider vinegar.

For many years, tea has been used to treat wood floors.  It is suggested that it is the tannic acid in tea which brings a great shine to wooden floors.  The secret to this way of cleaning your wood floor is to make sure the tea is nice and strong.  You’ll need anything between 5 and 10 teabags per bucket of water.  What to do is make the tea as you would normally and allow it to brew.  Once it has brewed, let it cool and dilute it with lukewarm water to make up a bucket-load.  If you’re doing this for the first time or are worried that the colour of your floor might be adversely affected, test the tea solution in an inconspicuous area of your floor before tackling the whole floor.  In order to avoid soaking the floor, you could try pouring the solution into a spray bottle and spraying a mist of the solution on to your mop.

Cider vinegar is also a very effective wood floor cleaner.  Used for years by housewives who preferred the natural option to the chemical option, cider vinegar will cut through the grease and grime on your floor in no time.  All you need to do is put half a cup of cider vinegar in a bucket of lukewarm water and mop your floor.  Again, if you want to keep the soaking to a minimum, a spray bottle and a microfiber mop are perfect for this job.  Furthermore, if you’re not a fan of the smell of vinegar, you could try adding a few drops of lemon, orange or lavender essential oil to the water to remove the vinegar’s sharp odour.