black marks on professionally polished floor

[6weekstobaby]

Hi all, bit of a drama and don't know what to do about it..had the floors in lounge and kitchen polished professionally after doing a pretty rough job ourselves in the bedrooms.

Came home after three days away from the fumes and most of it looks really really good but then there are several patches where it is black, as if it hasn't been sanded enough.

The guy (who knows our neighbor so I though was partly trustworthy) reckons they are water stains; but it's pretty full on - there is quite a bit of it in the older part of the house.

What's the deal - do you think he just couldn't be bothered or was concerned about polishing a bit more off, or is this likely to be the truth (ie, that they can't be removed).

Next question- apart from replace the flooring, what else can wee do -try to spot polish, bleach? other?

thanks in advance for you help. Baby girl now 6 months old!
Corinne

[ozwinner]

Next question- apart from replace the flooring, what else can wee do

Pictures....

Al

[6weekstobaby]

Thanks ozwinner - have added a selection!

[Groggy]

Wow! That is not a good look. It looks like someone left the door open when it was raining.
Was it visible before they applied the coatings? If not it would be hard to blame the floor guy.

[ozwinner]

Did the previous owner of the house have a dog?

They look like wet stains.

Al

[6weekstobaby]

We weren't here for the application of varnish so didn't see what it looked like after polish only..before we left it just all looked old and unpolished - there had been lino with tiles glued to the top of it where the line of black is..that was the old kitchen bench in front (north) of it.
The previous owner did have a dog.

[ozwinner]

If there was a door where the door is now, then I would say its wet stains, whether from a dog or rain.

Al

[6weekstobaby]

Having another think about it I'm sure that it's under where the sink used to be. I guess the question then is do you think the marks could be sanded out or is the staining likely to be quite deep?

[glock40sw]

G'day.
My opinion?

I'd say it looks a lot like water stain or a chemical reaction (Pet Pizz).
You will find that it will be right through the flooring.

Sorry.

[ozwinner]

Im wondering if there is some sort of neutralizing agent that can be sprayed on prior to sealing with poly?

Al

[flynnsart]

What a shame, the floor looks great otherwise, guess you might have to go shopping for a nice rug. Is it feasible to sand the finish coats off the area and try some Oxalic acid on it? Or would that spoil the uniformity of the finish coats.

Donna

[6weekstobaby]

Funny you should say that - my husband and I were talking about that today. Surely there is something that experienced floor polishing people know of that can be used to "bleach" stains? I suppose uniformity could be an issue with that though? It really is a pity as the rest of the floor looks stunning. My hubby's father is a plumber and he said that it's very common to have staining around sinks, baths etc and the staining goes quite deep. His suggestion was to replace the boards...not what we really want to hear! Any other pearls of wisdom? Thanks so much for your comments to date...you are very generous..

[Dusty]

G'Day, those stains are there for good, unless the boards are removed, simple as that.

Looking at the pictures, the guy who has sanded the floor has done a fine job, in fact, the final finish is superb.
So, in saying that I feel he has done all he could do to reduce the stain/s.

It's a shame 'cause it detracts from what looks to be a good floor.

Easiest, cheapest solution to this problem is..... learn to live with it.

[Dusty]

Here is a floor we did recently which is littered with dog piddle and had already been sanded by another dude.

However, the lady who owns this house asked if we could reduce her stains a bit so we gave it a go. The results are appalling to say the least, but her budget didn't allow for board removal, or a new floor over the top so she was more than happy to live with it.

I know it doesn't help with your own floor, but at least now you have seen a lot worse

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[6weekstobaby]

Thanks Dusty, I think we're going to have to learn to live with it, rest of the job is, as you say, superb, no sanding marks anywhere and mirror finish. I guess if we want perfection we'll replace the boards later..damn!

Thanks again everyone..