Fido and floors...

[pslamp32]

My hardwood floors aren't in the greatest shape. When we bought the house it had wall to wall. When we ripped it up there were staining throughout and the finish was pretty dull. I have no idea how much finish if any remains. I'm planning to eventually sand and refinish but trying to find a good time to redo a house you live in is difficult.

My question is this. Our dogs have had several accidents throughout the house as well and it always leaves a bit of a bleached area. Almost like a spot where there is no stain. I thought urine usually left a dark stain. Can anyone tell me what is going on and what I can do for a temporary fix until I can refinish. Thanks!

 

[Ray Martin]

Peter,

I'm not sure what the chemical reaction is, but urine would have acid and salt in it. Once you get a good coat of poly on the floor, it should resist most of the 'stains'.

Ray

 

[russellellis]

Different woods will react differently to the stains. As well as your pets diet. If the stains are too deep you will not be able to do much with them other than staining your floors a darker color to blend them together. But beware, if you intend to stain the floors darker rather than just poly'ing them, you will HAVE to use a belt sander to blend the edges back in to the center of the room. The edgers are very brutal sanders and leave the edges of the room rougher than the center, and we know how stain reacts to differently sanded wood.
Your lucky the stains are light rather than dark.
Pets usually like to "go" in the same area, try getting some "NO GO" spray and treat the areas where the stains are now.

 

[froglips]

My wild guess is your floors are waxed and/or shellaced. The acid in urine may be reacting to those finishes. Much like a water or alchohol ring.

You could try some denatured alchohol to see if it pulls out some of the dog stain.

I'd try using some colored paste wax, darker in this case. Just as a coverup. Can't hurt to add wax on top, just remember it'll have to be removed before you redo the floors.

My house has (er, HAD) a nice coat of Poly when I bought it. Only to find out a few months later they previous "owners" just put down poly over wax. Now I have a honk'n mess.

Jim