Spent the day with two woode floor guys getting estimates. Much to my surprise, both agreed that my floors (red oak and maple/birch) do not need to be sanded, just recoated and rebuffed. <br> <br>This surprised me so I marched them over to darker spots that appeared on many corners in the livingroom and dining room....which I assumed was built up/old finish. Much to my HORROR, they told me that these were old "animal stains." (the culprit, I believe, is an older widow three owners - and quite a few years - back.) Both said that the floors had been sanded after the "incidents." <br> <br>One guy said they may lighten with a new sanding.....the other said there was no use trying. Does anyone have any experience with old cat/dog pee stains (I am trying to laugh about this) on their wood floors? <br> <br>Do I spend the extra (a lot) money to have the floors resanded and try for the nice pristine look I crave.......or do I just go with the buff (and learn to love the floor as part of the house's "history")? <br> <br>I am in for some fun with this house, I can tell <br> <br>

Thank you to all for your responses. The last guy I had come out suggested replacing the boards at what I thought was a fairly reasonable price....the resanding/refinishing all. <br> <br>I may try the bleaching idea myself....keeping in mind that I always have the option of replacing them if something goes awry <br> <br>It surprised me how unconcerned the floor guys were with the "stains".....and my desire to have them gone. These are all top rated companies that get rave reviews from their clients. Am I making much ado about nothing? <br> <br>

Just an FYI. When I had my downstairs floors re-done before I moved into my bungalow 3 years ago the floor guy replaced some boards that outlined where some features had been removed. You can't even notice where the replacements were done in the floor unless you knew where to look. <br> <br>Good luck <br> <br>

I moved into my house about three months ago, and the first thing we did was to rip out all the carpet. The living room floor was so damanged that we had to have it sanded and refinished immediately. There were a few bare spots and lots of pet stains. The floor person was very honest with us and said that the pet stains would not come out completely. They sanded the floor as much as they dared, and we were still left with a couple of noticeable stains. One is quite large, so I'll be putting an area rug over that one. The other will pass for a flaw in the wood if you don't look at it close up. So, I think the recommendation that you got to not sand the floors any more was a good call. Some of the stains go so deep that they cannot be sanded out. <br>Good luck in whatever you decide to do. <br>Bonnie <br> <br>&gt;Spent the day with two woode floor guys getting estimates. Much to my surprise, both agreed that my floors (red oak and maple/birch) do not need to be sanded, just recoated and rebuffed. <br> <br>&gt;This surprised me so I marched them over to darker spots that appeared on many corners in the livingroom and dining room....which I assumed was built up/old finish. Much to my HORROR, they told me that these were old "animal stains." (the culprit, I believe, is an older widow three owners - and quite a few years - back.) Both said that the floors had been sanded after the "incidents." <br> <br>&gt;One guy said they may lighten with a new sanding.....the other said there was no use trying. Does anyone have any experience with old cat/dog pee stains (I am trying to laugh about this) on their wood floors? <br> <br>&gt;Do I spend the extra (a lot) money to have the floors resanded and try for the nice pristine look I crave.......or do I just go with the buff (and learn to love the floor as part of the house's "history")? <br> <br>&gt;I am in for some fun with this house, I can tell <br> <br> <br>

I saw the wood bleach you are looking for in Menards (may be unique to Illinois area), but they also have it at Home Depot. Even if you bleach it too light, it's easier to darken with stain than it is to lighten the color of the wood. <br> <br>If it's too big a problem you can always have the boards in the area replaced. My husband did that in another house he had. Just took up the affected boards and had new ones laid. You probably should talk to a pro about that if you are removing only a few planks since they have to be cut out right. They should also remove the section in staggered length planks rather than in a square chunk so that the replacement isn't as obvious. <br> <br>The problem isn't always caused by animal stains (although, the location may give you a pretty clear indication that it was). It can also be caused by water damage in general. We had a house where the kitchen was extended by removing a wall to a porch. The floor near where the wall used to be was darkened by general water damage. Also had a spot by the dishwasher where it had leaked. Cover your ears, say "la la la, I'm not listening to you" and tell yourself it was general water damage from where the teenage son dropped his wet towel on the floor every day! [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] <br> <br>

Is there any way they can manipulate the stain color (lighter over the old "accidents", darker elsewhere) so that they match? <br>

One guy mentioned that I could stain the entire floor darker to match the stains (for an additional fee/sq ft). The rest of the woodwork in the room is quite dark, so I was concerned this would make the room fairly gloomy. Maybe I need to look into this option more..... <br> <br> <br>

We encountered a similar problem in our previouse house. We sanded the entire floor, then applied a wood bleach to the affected (VERY dark) area. The hard part is stopping the bleaching action as soon as the spot is the same color as the rest of the floor, but it can be done if you watch it closely. Then we stained and varnished the whole room, and it turned out pretty darn good. <br> <br>

&gt;We encountered a similar problem in our previouse house. We sanded the entire floor, then applied a wood bleach to the affected (VERY dark) area. The hard part is stopping the bleaching action as soon as the spot is the same color as the rest of the floor, but it can be done if you watch it closely. Then we stained and varnished the whole room, and it turned out pretty darn good. <br> <br>Ah, this is just the kind of info. I was hoping for. Where do I find wood bleach? Is this something that I should leave to the wood guys, or do myself???? <br>

Any DYI store should have it-HomeDepot, Menards, Lowes, etc. As far as who should do it, I guess it depends on how comfortable you feel bleaching your floor yourself. It isn't difficult, but can be a little scary-kind of like the first time you color your hair! The wood guys should be able to do it though, too. I'm surprised they didn't suggest it. <br> <br>