Hard Wood Floor Cleaning ·Mar 02, 2023

How to Get Rid of a Slick Spot on a Hardwood Floor

If you have hardwood floors, you may have noticed those pesky slick spots creeping up from time to time.

Hardwood floors are not sticky by nature, but specific cleaning methods and products can cause sticky spots to appear on your hardwood floor from time to time.

And not everyone knows how to get rid of a slick spot on a hardwood floor. The good news is that is easier than cleaning tougher stains, such as getting black hair dye out of a hardwood floor.

In this article, we will show you exactly how to clean sticky hardwood floors.

If you follow these steps, you will get rid of any sticky spots, and your hardwood floors will be looking good as new in no time.

How To Clean Wood Floors So They Are Not Slippery

Step 1: Prep Area

The first step is to prep your floor for cleaning. This might mean moving some furniture out of the way and removing rugs.

In addition, you will also want to vacuum or sweep the area beforehand to rid it of any dust.

Step 2: Mix Cleaning Solution

Next, you will have to decide which cleaning solution to use. This will largely depend on what caused the slick spots on your hardwood floors.

For example, if they were caused by grease, you may want to opt for a degreaser or targeted grease fighter (such as PIG out).

These products are designed to remove grease from wood floors and will make your job a lot easier. They are also a good option if the slick spots are caused by excessive floor polish.

But, if your slick spots are caused by moisture build-up, dust, or soap residue, there are some great home remedies you can try.

For example, mix half a cup of vinegar with a gallon of warm water. Or you can mix baking soda and water to form a thick paste.

Once you have your cleaning solution ready, you can start cleaning.

Step 3: Clean

If you opt for professional cleaning solutions, you will need to ensure that it is safe for use on hardwood floors before applying them.

Carefully read the instructions and apply your choice of solution to the stained area.

If you want to use the vinegar solution, you can simply mop the floor with it. This vinegar solution has also proved effective in removing wine stains from wood.

Don’t use too much water, though, as this may mean you will have to remove watermarks from your hardwood floors later.

how to make hardwood floors less slippery

If you prepared a paste with baking soda and water, simply spread it over the affected area and allow it to work to the surface for ten minutes.

If you have some left over, you can keep it for other stains as it is also effective for removing sharpie from wood floors or removing pen ink from wood floors.

Then, wipe it away with a clean rag and mop as you usually would.

Step 4: Dry Off

Since excessive moisture build-up causes slick spots, it is imperative to dry the area properly after cleaning. You can simply use a dry mop or rag to ensure the area is fully dry.

Ensure that the area is completely dry.

If not, the moisture buildup may cause darker stains on your wooden floor that can be hard to remove.

And believe us, it is challenging to fix water damage on a wooden floor. Excessive water damage may even require specialized water extraction equipment.

Step 5: Prevent Future Slick Spots

Yes, it may not be that difficult to clean the slick spots from your hardwood floors from time to time (it sure is more manageable than cleaning a grimy subfloor after removing the carpet after a couple of years).

But, you should take care to prevent slick spots to ultimately preserve the appearance of your hardwood floors.

The single best thing you can do is keep your floor dry.

This means drying your floor after cleaning but also preventing and dealing with spills (for example, getting nail polish out of the hardwood floor as soon as the spill occurs instead of letting it sit there for a week).

You can also use welcome mats to prevent grease from being tracked into the house.

As a bonus, this will remove the stress of getting oil out of unfinished wood floors and surfaces, such as doorframes, in the house.

It can also ensure you don’t have to deal with old and stubborn stains on cleaning da.

Also, use a targeted degreaser in the areas of the house that attract the most grease, and ensure that you use cleaning chemicals for your hardwood floors that are compatible with the floors.

how to prevent hardwood floors from being slippery

Not only will this keep your house clean, but it will also prevent them from becoming cloudy (trust us, cleaning cloudy wooden floors is a whole different situation).

Conclusion

So, cleaning slick spots from your hardwood floors is not that difficult. In fact, you can easily remove these stains from hardwood floors without labor-intensive procedures.

Also, you can probably do it with things you already have in the cupboard.

But, in this case, prevention is better than cure. Hardwood floors require some TLC and maintenance, and preventing slick spots by keeping them dry is probably at the top is this list.

Luckily, you now have all the tools to keep your hardwood floors looking shiny and new.

Did you find our blog helpful? Then consider checking other guides: