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Hello there, have a problem here. Unfortunately some idiotic events led to bleach being in the bucket that was used to mop the wooden floors. Now I have a white film on the floor that has formed, if I mop again the film doesn't go away. I've tried to scrap lightly the film and it comes off but then when I re-mop the surface it seems to not go away... when I scrape I get the funny feeling what I am removing is a little bit of bleach crystals with some of the varnish coating with it [its slightly cream/off white in color and varies between soft rolled pieces and crystalline].
I read in one place to try H2O2 [hydrogen peroxide] but that didn't have any effect. How can I remove Bleach from the wood surface?
Should the floors be revarnished? Will that even help?
Ouch. You may need to completely sand and refinish those portions. Bleach is a very strong chemical. Hopefully someone else will have an easier solution though.
Regular household bleach is generally about 5% Sodium Hypochlorite in water. They also mix in a little bit of sodium hydroxide -- that is lye, which is probably attacking the finish on you floor. Fortunately the concentration of sodium hydroxide is very low and can be neutralized with a small amount of weak acid -- like maybe half a cup of vinegar in a gallon of water. Use an almost dry sponge type mop. If it works you may "de haze" the floor with a single pass.
If that does not work I think you gotta sand / screen and recoat.
Hello, thank you both for your very helpful responses. The bleach used is Clorox Bleach [regular] which says only its active ingredients, which are, as you correctly guessed: 5.25% Sodium Hypochlorite. It doesn't list at all any of its inactive ingredients, so I can only assume you are right that there is Sodium Hydroxide in it as well.
I'll give vinegar a shot today, and if that doesn't work, I'll call in a crew to do the sanding... sigh. So stressful.
Floor finishers can give the floor a very light sanding and a replacement coat of varnish. They do not use the straight ahead sanders that remove the finish. They use a circular sander to just break the surface. I have seen flooring installers who did not get an even varnish with cloudy, off color spots, sand and replace a whole first floor in two hours.
Don't sand. Just have it screened. This will remove the existing finish without cutting into the wood and removing the coloring. It is also a lot cheaper than sanding. If the floorig guy recommends sanding, get a different guy. That is like using a nuclear bomb to kill a pesky housefly. Find a knowledgeable guy who will figure out the solution to your problem not a guy who only knows sanding. Sanding cuts away part of your flooring and can only be done a finite number of times before you have to replace the floor. It also costs a lot more than screening.
Whoever says screening and recoating your hardwood floor is wrong. Putting a coat of oil modified polyurethane on top of a film created by the bleach will not bond properly. Sanding your floor is your best bet. Even though it is more costly, it is cheaper than having to sand it after the screen coat starts to peel.
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