We have a similar floor in our house, about 40 years old and in need of
refinishing, but that's not very likely. Ours is very dull and scratched,
but when I want it to brighten it up I use Wood Preen (made by Kiwi Brands
Inc out of Pennsylvania), which is a wood cleaner/protector/wax. I think the
product has been around for a very long time, but it is still available (if
you can't find it, let me know!). It has color in it, so it might blend the
light and dark areas of the floor and give them some luster. It takes some
elbow grease, though. Basically you apply it with a mop or soft cloth to
small areas at a time, rub it in, then buff with a clean cloth or a floor
buffer. Both my Mom and my Mom-in-law had floor buffers in their basements
from the 1950s; they look like a small upright vacuum only they have
removable round brushes and "polishing pads" on the bottom. That has worked
fairly well for getting some shine to the floors following the Wood Preen
application. If you can't find a buffer, you can just use a cloth and elbow
grease....).
I found Murphy's, etc. to make them dull but clean. Someone else suggested
bowling alley wax but I would think that would make them slippery.
I also recently tried "Brite" floor cleaner and that cleaned them well and
seemed to give them a nice shine (it is what I use on my linoleum, too). But
it did make them slippery and the luster didn't last very long. Be careful
that you don't get drops or spray when you squirt it, because it shows up
when you are done if it is not on there evenly.
Hope it works. If you find another good solution, let me know!
-Holly

..
Turandot wrote in message
...
The woman who used to live here never cleaned the floor, she'd just vacuum
and
apply Murphy's Oil. This 20+ y/o hardwood floor isn't in very good shape.
There
are marks, scratches and discolorations all over and I made things even
worse by
moping it with a Lysol solution (trying to sanitize it) and now I have som
e of the
floor with some luster from all those years of Murphy's oil and a very
visible
part of it it's dull and a shade or two lighter because of my bright Lysol
idea...

Because of its location, I can't hide the mess with an area rug and
finishing the
floor isn't an option right now so I need to know:

How do I effectively clean this floor without damaging it?

How do hide the discolorations caused by doors rubbing against the floor?

Is there a product I can use on both the part I "treated" with Lysol and
the rest
of the floor so that the whole floor looks the same color and, hopefully,
will add
some luster as well?