I like your method. However, on older floor we often see a crevice between
boards. Over the years some of these floor boards have shrunk leaving a
cavity between boards. I always wonder if these separation gags could
harbour some unwanted stuff.
I have salvaged older discarded hardwood floors. I was surprised to see
what was in the groves. Many of the hardwood board ended up in the wood
stove.


wrote in message ...
On 2 Dec 2006 14:37:04 -0800, "BrianInNY" wrote:

I just purschased a home with a wood (not laminate) floor. What's the
best way to clean it? I'm more concerned with cleaning/sanatizing it,
as opposed to polishing it. Thanks in advance


On hands and knees, wash the floor with a bucket of warm water (add a
few drops of dish soap to the water). Using a wrung out sponge scrub
it clean and let dry. Less water means more work to clean but less
likely to warp the floor boards. You need to wring out the sponge
frequently.

Using low odor solvent on a clean rag, wipe a circle on the floor to
see if there is wax. Use the solvent sparingly. After a few minutes
the wiped area (if there is wax ) will be look duller than the
surrounding floor. Now decide if you want to strip it all off and
rewax or just rewax the entire floor. If you strip the entire floor,
you'll need a lot of clean rags constantly turning and discarding
them. A single rag will only move wax from one place to another.

Sanitizing can be done with wiping the entire floor with alcohol
before rewaxing.

Pete

Pete