Clean Salvaged Antique Wood Flooring

LESLIE: Talking to June in Massachusetts. What can we do for you here at The Money Pit?

JUNE: Hello. We have an old barn, going back to 1820, in which we put a new floor for our kitchen. And the carpenter suggested that we use these antique boards from some of the factories down south that were demolished. And they are absolutely gorgeous. There’s only one problem. We can’t touch with the carpenter anymore. And we wanted to know how to clean them. And I remember asking him and he said, “Oh, just water.” And that didn’t seem to make too much sense to me.

TOM: Have you tried Murphy’s oil soap?

JUNE: Well, that’s – I haven’t tried anything.

TOM: OK.

JUNE: So, I don’t want to ruin the floors, but that’s what you suggest? Murphy’s Oil Soap?

TOM: Yeah, that’s a soap that’s made for wood floors.

JUNE: OK.

TOM: And it’s not going to ruin them. You don’t – just don’t slop too much water on there.

LESLIE: Yeah.

TOM: You do this with a damp mop.

LESLIE: That’s the thing. You want to make sure that regardless of what you use as the cleanser that you control the amount of moisture. So don’t put that heavily saturated mop on there. Really wring it well and, you know, really spread it around and get up everything that you put on there.

TOM: But it does a good job cleaning them and it’s not going to ruin the floor.

JUNE: Now, somebody had suggested white vinegar and water. What do you think of that?

LESLIE: (overlapping voices) That’s a great option. It’s another great option.

JUNE: OK.

LESLIE: It’s an all-around, excellent cleanser pretty much for anything in the house; especially wood floors.

JUNE: I think I must have heard it on your show, as a matter of fact. (Leslie chuckles)

TOM: Hey, maybe we were the somebody. (chuckling)

JUNE: Uh-huh. OK. And that’s the end of it. Because as I recall, you know, when I said, “Well, what about waxing? What about this?” and he said, “No, leave it alone.”

TOM: Yep.

JUNE: Does that make sense to you?

TOM: Just keep it clean.

JUNE: OK. Well that’s wonderful. And I will do it and I’ll think of you. (Tom and Leslie chuckle) And thanks a lot.

TOM: Alright. June, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.