Floor Wax

[dans]

Is there any difference between a hard beeswax and a liquid beeswax?

I've been using a liquid beeswax all over my beams and on the old oak floorboards throughout the house and am really pleased with the deep finish it gives. I've now got a pamment (quarry, terracotta) floor and a pine floor to do and wondered if it was okay to still use the liquid beeswax, or if a hard wax would be more appropriate ?

All the best,
Dan

 

[Penners]

Beeswax is usually thinned with turpentine. Even hard beeswax has - I believe - a certain turps content, to make it spreadable. It just has less turps than the more liquid varieties of the wax.

So when you apply liquid beeswax, you're usually applying rather less actual wax than if you use hard beeswax.

I must say that, if it were me, I would not use beeswax on a floor. It is likely to need renewing quite often in high traffic areas, and the more you apply the more you risk stickiness, which will hold on to the dirt.

Many people on this forum have used and recommended Osmo Polyx hard floor wax. I haven't used it myself, but I understand that it gives an attractive, durable and breathable finish.

http://www.osmouk.com/osmofloor.cfm?chapter=22

 

[JoceAndChris]

I like beeswax on the floors, and don't find it causes any problems like stickiness or wearing off. It just gives a nice, rich, traditional, gleam, yes it looks best when freshly done but it never fully goes- admittedly it's mainly me here alone, with the kittens, and us all wearing our woollen socks. I wouldn't permit children running in and out in shoes, or anyone, for that matter. My waxed floors get buffed once or twice a week with the brush head on my Miele vacuum which is excellent.

I use the Liberon floor wax, which comes blended with a lot of turpentine, and heats into a nice viscous liquid on the Rayburn.

 

[Moo]

Do be careful about heating the wax, Joce.

When the lovely Tom Bantock did the floor in our drawing room in Norwich he used a special witches brew of waxes that had to be heated, and applied while still hot. I provided a little electric ring thingy and an old saucepan and left him to it.
When I went back an hour later there was a rather singed telephone directory on the floor beside the heater - he'd turned his back for a few minutes and the pan of wax had ignited!

 

[Penners]

I like beeswax on the floors....it looks best when freshly done but it never fully goes - admittedly it's mainly me here alone, with the kittens, and us all wearing our woollen socks. I wouldn't permit children running in and out in shoes, or anyone, for that matter. My waxed floors get buffed once or twice a week with the brush head on my Miele vacuum which is excellent.

So a beeswax-polished floor is lovely, provided it gets very little wear and is polished regularly.

I suppose its desirability depends on your lifestyle and your willingness to put in the work. Personally, I couldn't be @rsed! :wink:

 

[LadyArowana]

So a beeswax-polished floor is lovely, provided it gets very little wear and is polished regularly.

I suppose its desirability depends on your lifestyle and your willingness to put in the work. Personally, I couldn't be @rsed! :wink:

If only people in the UK would adopt the very sensible Eastern custom of not wearing shoes indoors!

 

[dans]

We have 3 kids under the age of four and a Labrador who likes to jump into the pond and come running into the house immediately after!! It needs to be a low maintenance solution!

Each area is 6x5m, so I can't see her indoors being very happy about regular polishing either....

So a hard wax like the osmo polyx would be better then? Easy to live with?

Thanks for the responses!

Dan

 

[dans]

And would the osmo be good on both quarry tiles and pine floor?

 

[Penners]

If only people in the UK would adopt the very sensible Eastern custom of not wearing shoes indoors!

It's not just an Eastern custom - it's the norm in France, too (which I suppose you could argue is east of Britain!). And it's a bl**dy pain! You get indoors, change your shoes, and then you remember you've left something in the car... or you spot someone outside who you need to talk to... or you see the postman drop letters into the postbox in the drive.... etc.

Shoes on, off, on, off....

I'd rather have a grubby floor!

 

[dans]

Beeswax is usually thinned with turpentine. Even hard beeswax has - I believe - a certain turps content, to make it spreadable. It just has less turps than the more liquid varieties of the wax.

So when you apply liquid beeswax, you're usually applying rather less actual wax than if you use hard beeswax.

I must say that, if it were me, I would not use beeswax on a floor. It is likely to need renewing quite often in high traffic areas, and the more you apply the more you risk stickiness, which will hold on to the dirt.

Many people on this forum have used and recommended Osmo Polyx hard floor wax. I haven't used it myself, but I understand that it gives an attractive, durable and breathable finish.

http://www.osmouk.com/osmofloor.cfm?chapter=22

Just collected a tub of Matt for the pamments and a tub of Matt-Satin for the the floorboards!

Thanks Penners! Before and after pics to follow!

 

[dans]

One other thing - cleaning down the pamments which have sat under carpet for many many decades!! Someone has suggested Sugar Soap - is this recommended? Any other suggestions??

Thanks again,
Dan

 

[Penners]

Just collected a tub of Matt

Oh no! Has someone melted him down?

We shall miss him!

 

[Penners]

One other thing - cleaning down the pamments which have sat under carpet for many many decades!! Someone has suggested Sugar Soap - is this recommended? Any other suggestions??

I'm afraid this is a "try it and see" situation. The results depend on how much dirt there is, what it is and how deeply ingrained it is.

I would start with sugar soap and a stiff scrubbing brush. Try to dry up as much of the wet as possible behind you, with old towels. If that doesn't produce satisfactory results (and wait until the pamments dry before you pass judgement) then try a strong domestic floor cleaner.

The next stage up from that will be a brick cleaner. But try not to resort to one of the strong acid cleaners if you can possibly avoid it. Perhaps try something like this first (I have no experience of this product):

http://www.kingfisheruk.com/item_72ebm_eco-brick_cleaner_brick_acid_replacement

If the result still isn't satisfactory, then you may have to resort to brick acid. But do be extremely careful with it - it's dangerous stuff. Don't breathe the fumes, protect your face and hands against acid splashes, exclude animals and children and ventilate the room extremely well while you're working.

 

[worms]

If only people in the UK would adopt the very sensible Eastern custom of not wearing shoes indoors!

...or the very sensible Eastern custom of having house staff to polish the floors!

 

[LadyArowana]

If only people in the UK would adopt the very sensible Eastern custom of not wearing shoes indoors!

...or the very sensible Eastern custom of having house staff to polish the floors!

For me it isn't so much how they look, it's the thought that people have been walking about through all sorts of things and then bringing that inside.

 

[Moo]

For me it isn't so much how they look, it's the thought that people have been walking about through all sorts of things and then bringing that inside.

For me it's thought of sandal-wearers' bare feet bringing things like verrucas and athletes foot into the house.

I prefer door-mats.

 

[LadyArowana]

For me it's thought of sandal-wearers' bare feet bringing things like verrucas and athletes foot into the house.

I prefer door-mats.

:shock: luckily I don't have any friends like that :lol:

 

[Moo]

I'm sure that your friends, like mine, wouldn't dream of having anything as unpleasant as a foot infection.
But what about casual acquaintances and tradesmen who have to enter the house?
Perhaps one should equip them with those disposable overshoes that one sees forensic teams wearing in TV police dramas?

 

[Penners]

Or make them wade through a disinfectant bath, as we had to back in the days of foot-and-mouth disease*.


* Mrs P says I suffer from this - my foot is invariably in my mouth.

 

[Moo]

Ah, but that would mean they'd be treading disinfectant over the pristine floors, and that would never do, would it?

But I've had another idea: take a leaf out of the Stately Home business and confine visitors to traffic areas that are covered with druggets and delineated by tasteful coloured ropes.