- Cleaning and finishing wood flooring/Cleaning tiles

Dear Shell,

I am dealing with a cleaning nightmare. I have recently purchased a home with some strange things in it that no one seems to understand how to clean. We have a (RAW!!) pine floor throughout most of the house. (not in washrooms or kitchen) This flooring may have been oiled once 8 years ago. The people kept carpet runners over certain areas leaving new looking square spots all over and the rest of the floor / traffic areas is used looking. Scratches, oil from dogs skin, (petina) worn looking, light and dark areas throughout. It is a beautiful floor! The only thing is it is dirty. When we first moved in I would spend 1 - 2 hours a day vacuuming up dog hair and stuff from the floor. Now when we walk with light socks on they don't stay clean. I have gone to Home Depot, Revy etc and the staff keep trying to sell me products for finished flooring. I do not want to finish the floor, maybe oil it or something but I would like to clean it. (the old saying about no water on wood and all). I have thought about using Murphys Oil Soap.

My 2nd item is copper tiles. The previous owner put up unfinished copper plates (flat) that have not been cleaned in 8 years. I have tried about 6 different copper cleaners and the one that works the best is Brasso for Copper but it is very hard work. 1-2 hours per 4x8" tile, these tiles are almost black with oxidization. They are in the kitchen behind the sink. After cleaning, the tile was beautifully shiny but within 2-3 weeks it has started to oxidize again. Help! One last item is the sinks in the washrooms and in the kitchen. In the washrooms, every sink is broken, they have spiderweb cracks, is there any way to repair. In the Kitchen it has a ceramic (White) sink that stains and scratches badly. I have been very careful not to scratch but the stains are a different thing. I have been spraying it with a product called OXI CLEAN and it seems to work, but we have a septic mound and I want to make sure that the product does not have an adverse effect on it. My nightmare home is also my dream home and I would like to have it spotless as soon as possible.

Thanks, Donna

Dear Donna,

Wood floors: Call Bio Wash Products at 1-800-858-5011 and ask for Dom. I think their Wood Wash and Wood Brightener will be the answer. Then you can apply their Super Natural wood finish. Copper tiles: Use cobra copper and brass cleaner. After polishing apply a coat of Brass Wizard to protect them from oxidation. Call 1-888-266-8806 to order both of these products. Sinks: Use Spray Nine available at Canadian Tire stores for cleaning. Apply with a sponge and scrub with a pot scrubber pad and rinse well.

It's just that easy.

Article courtesy of: Shell Busey