Shine!

After the holidays I always feel the urge to simplify, clean and refresh the house. Sort of a pre-spring cleaning...cleaning. I usually take the opportunity to organize cabinets, drawers, closets and de-clutter. I also take the opportunity to get my floor's shine back. Its the perfect time of year to use a wood floor refresher after the slew of holiday entertaining and visitors and to protect it from the winter salt and sand.

There are handful of hardwood floor refresher products on the market and they are all pretty similar. My favorite is Bona because of its consistency and ease of spreading but I have tried others like Minwax and Orange Glo with success. Refreshers/revivers are best used on finished floors that have dulled and could use a pick-me-up. My floors are at the point where they really need to be sanded and finished again, but I'm just not ready for all that dust...so for now I revive about 3 times a year. The refreshers will blend out any scratches and leave a high shine finish.

Here are my dried floors after applying one coat of Bona Hardwood Floor Refresher.

Vacuum and clean the floors thoroughly with a non oil based floor cleaner prior to applying. I use the Swiffer floor clothes that are safe for hardwood. Its not necessary to move out large pieces of furniture when you apply (you can work around them), but move small pieces, chairs and area rugs. Read instructions before applying and use the proper applicator recommended by the manufacturer. There is barely any odor, and the floors will be ready for light foot traffic after 2 hours.