If you’re looking for exquisite floors that offer a wide variety of aesthetic features like warmth and comfort, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better option than hardwood floors. They’re timeless and have a positive effect on the market value of a house, but they do come with their fair share of issues. Maintaining clean and pristine floors requires regular cleaning. One of the main problems with hardwood floors is white spots. In this article, I want to talk about how to remove white spots on hardwood floors.
Thankfully, white spots can be removed and cleaned up as long as you address them quickly and use the right approach to cleaning.
I’ve tried the approach of just cleaning on a specific day to save myself time and energy but it becomes overwhelming to live in an environment that is unorganized and unclean. This is why I believe that prevention is better than cure.
It is much better to clean floors on a regular basis when you notice signs of dirt, stains, and spots to prevent any permanent damage or discoloration.
That is the biggest risk with hardwood floors. They are not waterproof but water resistant and they are prone to discoloration due to their porous composition. This is an issue with floors made from a natural material, they are much more susceptible to staining and discoloration.
What Causes White Spots On Hardwood Floors?
By knowing what causes white spots on hardwood floors, we can prevent them from occurring and we can also apply the correct cleaning approach.
In general, moisture and liquid are the main culprits for what causes white spots but in conjunction with heat.
Items that are hot have the ability to create moisture in the form of steam and this contributes to the development of white spots on hardwood floors.
Typically, a top coat or a sealant like polyurethane is applied onto wood surfaces as a protective layer that protects the wood from damage or discoloration from a host of external sources. But, when wood floors are exposed to moisture or liquid for an extended period of time coupled with heat, white spots develop between the wood and the top coat.
It’s important to note that it’s not just water that causes white spots on hardwood floors but other liquids like chemicals, alcohol, perfumes, and so forth.
6 Ways To Clean White Spots On Hardwood Floors
1. Use White Vinegar
Due to the fact that white vinegar is acidic in nature, it has the ability to break down and dissolve compounds and stains on floors.
Granted, you have to use white vinegar in moderation, or else you risk stripping away the top layer of the floor or causing damage to the surface.
Make a solution of 3 parts water and 1 part vinegar and apply it directly to the white spot. Allow it to sit on the surface for a few minutes, and then clean it with a cloth. You can gently rub the wood floor in the direction of the grain before applying a cleaner to the area to properly remove the vinegar mixture.
2. Use A Wood Cleaner
With the advancement of technology, newer formulations of wood cleaners are hitting the market with the ability to not only remove white spots but also to shine and restore the rich color of the wood.
By following the instructions on the wood cleaning bottle, you should be able to clean up the white spots.
What I notice is that if you make a paste by mixing the wood cleaner with water and applying it to the white spot for a few minutes before cleaning it off, it has a higher rate of success than if you were to just lightly mop over the spot.
3. Use Baking Soda
Earlier, we mentioned how white vinegar is effective at removing stains because it is an acidic compound, but on the flip side of that is baking soda. Rather than being acidic, it is actually alkalizing.
When baking soda oxidizes, it creates or induces dioxide gasses that are effective at lifting and removing stains and grime off floors.
The only issue with baking soda is that it can be quite abrasive on hardwood floors, so it’s best to create a smooth paste using water. Apply it to the white spot and then wipe it off after a few minutes instead of scrubbing it in.
Then, wash, clean, and dry the surface to remove the white spot.
4. Use Lemon Juice
Another solution to use as a cleaner on floors is lemon juice. It’s quite effective at cleaning due to its acidic nature, but it doesn’t come with any harmful chemicals like store-bought cleaning agents.
Also, it is super cheap and easy to find.
Lemon juice is also known for lightening and brightening surfaces. To avoid discoloring your hardwood floors, try not to use lemon juice for an extended period of time.
Mix equal parts water and lemon juice and spray it onto the white spot for a few minutes. Thereafter, clean with warm water or soapy water before drying.
For small and light white spots, this should be more than effective.
5. Use Mineral Spirits
Mineral spirits, also known as turpentine, are popularly known for cleaning stubborn stains and marks. It’s not the first item I would recommend due to how strong or abrasive it can be but mixed with the right consistency, it has the propensity to break down and remove white spots from hardwood floors.
What you want to do is apply a small amount of mineral spirit to a cloth and test it on a small inconspicuous spot. If there are no issues, apply it to the white spot and rub it gently onto the wood in the direction of the wood grain.
Don’t apply too much because it has the ability to completely strip away the top coating on wood floors.
Allow it to sit for a few minutes before you wipe it off, again rubbing in the direction of the grain. In most cases, this should work well to remove the white spots.
6. Refinish The Floors
If all these solutions fail and there are signs of permanent damage to your hardwood floors, perhaps you should consider sanding them down and refinishing them.
Granted, this is a time-consuming and costly affair, but it’s much cheaper than replacing the entire floor.
This can be done by yourself if you have some experience working with wood and have the necessary products.
However, if you have the money, I would highly recommend enlisting the help of a professional cleaning or flooring company to come in, consult, and address the issue for you.
Final Thoughts
I know how annoying it is to deal with stains, scuff marks, and white spots on hardwood floors, but if you address them soon, they can be removed without breaking the bank.
As much as it requires you to make an extra effort to keep them clean, hardwood floors are a worthwhile investment for any home. It’s so charming, warm, comfortable, and durable as long as you take the time to preserve it.
I hope this article on how to remove white spots on hardwood floors helps you to save money and time with the solutions provided above. If you’d like to learn more about cleaning and maintaining floors, I highly recommend checking out some of the other articles I’ve linked for you below.
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