There’s nothing like a fresh pine tree to create an aromatic and festive holiday atmosphere in your Minnesota home. The perfect tree soars majestically to the ceiling, the centerpiece of your holiday décor. But, if you’ve placed your live tree on your hardwood flooring, you may have encountered a serious cleaning problem – tree sap on your hardwood floors.
If you want to avoid booking an appointment for refinishing your hardwood floors after the holidays are over, it’s best to follow the professional tips on how to get tree sap off our hardwood floors from the team at Dave’s Floor Sanding & Installing.
Get the Tree Sap Off The Floor ASAP
The fresher the tree sap is, the easier it is to get off your hardwood floors without using harsh cleaning methods or, worst case scenario, the need for replacing hardwood floors. You can wipe the fresh tree sap up with a warm, damp towel with a little bit of soap on it. If you don’t notice the tree sap for a few hours and it’s at the very sticky, gooey stage, it may be better to use ice to harden it, then gently scrape it off with a dull knife or a fingernail.
Tree sap is the most difficult to remove when it’s in between fresh and hardened. If your tree sap is very sticky, then apply ice for about 10-15 minutes or until the sap is hardened.
Using Cleaners to Get Tree Sap Off Hardwood Floors
If you can’t wipe the tree sap up to scrape it away, or if the sap covers a large area, you may be able to remove it using your regular hardwood floor cleaners. At Dave’s Floor Sanding and Installation, we have a specialty line of hardwood floor cleaner that we recommend to our customers. We’ve tested these cleaners on all types of wood floors to make sure that they are effective but won’t damage the wood.
The kind of cleaner you use shouldn’t damage the finish, either. Some kinds of floor cleaners may have harsh chemicals that react with those in your floor finish. If you are still determining how a cleaner will react with your floor and finish, try a spot test somewhere that isn’t visible, like in a corner, under a rug, or behind a curtain.
Soak a cleaning rag in your floor cleaner and gently rub the tree sap spill in a circular, “Wax on-Wax off” type of motion. Take your time – if you rub too hard or fast, you could damage the finish.
If All Else Fails With Tree Sap, Talk To An Expert
If you have a large tree sap spill that isn’t coming off, or if you used the wrong kind of cleaner to try to get eh sap off, don’t worry. We can help. Dave’s Floor Sanding & Installation could help remove stubborn, stuck-on tree sap or help with refinishing hardwood floors if they were damaged by the tree sap or its removal. We work with customers just like you in Minnesota, delivering consistent gorgeous results that can last more than a lifetime.
If you’re thinking of replacing hardwood floors or you need a little touch-up after the holidays, we’ve got you covered. Call today for flexible appointment scheduling!