Hardwood Floor Damaged By Zep

By

maximillion@myhughes.net

I just had my laminate flooring (looks like hardwood) installed and it has the same film on it. Home Depot came and looked at it and the manufacturer's answer was to use Zep cleaner on it. Now I'm afraid to. Has anyone had the Zep failure with laminate flooring?

By

koolchoice

Hardwood floor care requires first knowledge of the specs on your flooring in order to insure proper maintenance...If you are not sure about your floors specifications, contact the manufacturer and be sure. Care of modern prefinished flooring is much different from older products. Many of the modern factory prefinished floors use aluminum oxide/polyurethane finishing process which requires specific care. Using wax or oil soap products is a mistake! Refinishing requires some specific preparation to insure adhesion. See the following link for more info:

http://www.hardwoodinstaller.com/ha ... nstaller/aluminum_oxide_finishes.htm

By

Patti Floyd

I haven't used Zep, but I did use Orange Glo, the results sound the same as your's. Despondent over my brand new floors, I Googled Orange Glo, hundreds of horror stories like mine. I tried everything that was suggested, no luck. I called a local floor refinisher, of course, he told me the floor needs to be refinished. I called the company who built our house. They said to try denatured alcohol (milder than paint thinner). It is working, though I'll need a knee refinisher when I'm done. Hope this helps someone. Patti

By Karen (Guest Post)

We have tried it all...mineral spirits, vinegar, windex, simple green, greased lightning, Bruce's Stripper. At least your company will come out and attempt to fix it. The Georgia Flooring Outlet says it is our problem!

By Jeannette (Guest Post)

I have a similar problem with my engineered wood hardwood floors. Like your floors, they are very expensive and surprisingly fragile. Any cleanser leaves marks and a dull haze. I found that if you spot clean with window cleaner, believe it or not I have Zep window cleaner, with a soft cloth or strong paper towels and just rub, the haze comes off in that spot. It is a lot of work to do on a large floor, but can be done little by little until the haze is gone. I would then just use a damp soft mop with hot water, because it evaporates very quickly. I read on amazon.com about the product called rejuvanate floor renewer. It is getting very good reviews from people who had a problem similar to yours. I'm thinking to try it myself, but I am going to start by applying it to a hidden test area in a corner. Maybe a 3ft by 3ft area just to see if it really looks good as reported by others. I wish you good luck in the furture with your floors.

By Mary (Guest Post)

jjackel - Wood floors should not be a night-mare like this. Thanks for your response and sorry you are feeling my same pain. ;( Are my floors completely fixed? no. Are they much better? yes. I received help from Home Depot (where I purchased the Zep from) they offered to file a claim if what they gave me didn't work. They gave me Bruce Fresh Finish urethane touch-up low gloss cleaner. It really helped. Since then, I use Bona Kemi- or some bottles labeled Bona X wood floor cleaner. They don't look like they did when they were first installed, but I just had to surrender and know they are much better, and life is much too short to let this bad experience stress me out any more. Please let me know if you try these & I'll cross my fingers for your family too! ;) Also, if you watch HGTV next Thurs night at 9:00 central.. the new Rate My Space show, you may see my wood floors. ;) I'm one of the Inspiration rooms for that show. ;)) Mary

By jjackel. (Guest Post)

I sympathize with what you are going thru! My wife and I are battling the same problem with our hardwood floors. We have contacted the manufacturer weekly for eight months. They recommended many products including Bruce hardwood floor cleaner, Murphy's Oil Soap, and Zep floor cleaner. We have also tried vinegar and buffing the floor with a hand buffer. However, none of these efforts have been successful in removing the gray haze.

We have very dark almost chocolate brown floors from Thomasville and because of this haze every mark, smudge, and footprint jumps off the floor. We have contacted our homeowners insurance and was told this was not covered. We contacted the installer and was told it is not an installation problem and the manufacturer does not feel it is a manufacturing problem.

We are at a complete loss. We would like to know if you had any success with the re-buff and reapply of polyurethane. We wish you luck in solving your floor problem and if we come across any products that help we will pass along.

By jill (Guest Post)

Did you try calling the zep company

By ledda (Guest Post)

what zep product did you use? Was it to clean the floor or wax the floor? Sounds like maybe it is a wax film and they should have a solution to remove the film. Hope they can help you.

By louel53 (Guest Post)

Hi -- It sounds like you have damaged the polyurethane finish. If this is the case, no other cleaner is going to work. You MUST contact the Zep company to see what they say. If you have used the product incorrectly or it was not suitable for that type of floor finish, you may just have to suck up the $750 to refinish the floor. I don't know what this Zep is, but if it has just formed a film on your floor, the company should be able to tell you what to do to remove it. However, based on what you have posted, it sounds more like it has destroyed the finish. I don't think you should bother with Murphy's Oil soap or vinegar. If steaming the floors hasn't worked, it is not likely that these other things will.

Louise, Nipawin

By

teachpad

Try vinegar. It probably can't hurt, and may just help...

By

cookwie

If it needs replacing, contact your homeowner's insurance.
Before that, contact the president of the Zep company.

By

MartyD

I would contact ZEP and start out gracious and if they refuse to do less than restore your floor to it's original beauty free of charge then contact the consumer advocates at your local TV station. A consumer advocate attorney might not be a bad idea. Tell them what you are doing and tell them also that everyone you see will hear about it if they don't make things right with you. Nine grand is a lot of money to let go down the toilet and you really don't t have to take this.

By

tthompson

First off I would contact Zep by phone to complain that the product ruined your floor. The customer service department could do anything from refunding the price of the cleaner or maybe even help with the repair. They may even be able to tell you a product to fix. Just make sure you stand up to them without being rude. If that doesn't work you could try Murphy's Oil Soap. I have heard its a great hardwood floor cleaner.