Your hardwood floors are one of, if not the most expensive commodity in your house. So, it’s understandable that most of us are pretty protective when it comes to the care of those precious floors. But sometimes, life just happens. Suddenly you look down, and there’s paint on your hardwood floor!
But hold on. It’s not the end of the world that it may seem like when you’re in the moment. Obviously, you don’t want your hardwood to serve as a substitute for your kiddo’s canvas or start to look like a splattered mural. But things are going to be ok, we promise.
If you follow the tips and steps laid out here for you, you will be cleaning that paint up off of your hardwood floors like a pro. These hardwood hacks are simple, for the most part, and you’ll be wondering why you panicked in the first place.
Even if the fix isn’t as easy as you’d like for it to be, you are still going to make it over to the other side of this tragedy, and you are going to do it like a top professional.
So, let’s explore the strategic ways you can remove paint from your wooden floors while causing the least amount of damage possible.
Removing Paint from Wooden Floors
With a little bit of know-how and some elbow grease, you can remove paint from your wooden floors and make it seem like the whole thing never happened. Remember, even if you’re not a pro at this, you’ve got this. Just take a deep breath, and let’s get to work.
Make That Paint Putty in Your Hands
The first thing that the pros suggest is to make an effort to scrape the paint away from your floor using a putty knife. Gently go with the grain of the wood, and see if the paint pops up. If it does, you’re done. If not, it’s on to the next round.
But even if this method is unsuccessful, hang on to that putty knife. The odds are that whatever process works for your removal, you will need to finish the job with that handy-dandy putty knife.
What Do I Do Next?
Ok, so we need more than a simple putty knife. Luckily, there are a couple of more things you can try regardless of the type of paint. But, first, you’re going to need to round up a couple of items from the house, so ready, set, go get:
- Tweezers
- Some toothpicks
- A hairdryer
- Lemon juice
- Rubbing alcohol (this should already be out)
- Dish soap
- Water
- A cloth or three
- Hand sanitizer
- Steel Wool
- Toothbrush
- Mineral oil
- Baking soda
- Oil soap
- Goo remover
Ok, MacGyver, it’s time to get to work. But all jokes aside, the odds are that you can now battle the big, bad paint monster and come out a winner with these tools, a couple of methods that the pros use, and a bit of patience.
Just Keep Scrubbing
You’ve tried the putty knife method, but it didn’t do the trick. That’s ok. And you’re bound and determined not to use chemicals in your quest to rid your wood of that pesky pain. We are here to help. You were macro scrubbing before, but let’s try some micro scrubbing.
- Get in the grain of the wood and see if you can loosen any paint with your toothpick.
- Try grabbing a piece of paint and pulling it up with your tweezers.
- Steel wool would be another option if the other things didn’t do the trick. Just be careful because this stuff is a bit more abrasive than the other things we’ve tried so far.
If the paint came up, then you are hands down a pro at paint removal from your wooden floors. If not, it’s still ok. No need to panic just yet. We still have a couple of more tricks up our sleeves before we call in the big guns.
It’s a Waiting Game
Now we’re going to give some non-abrasive cleaners a shot at getting the paint gone. The key to each one of these methods is to be patient. Yes, you want the color off your floor, and you want it off now. But rushing these tips will not be of any benefit to you or your floors.
● Soak 1 - one part lemon juice, two parts alcohol
- Soak a rag in the solution, and then let it do its magic on the stain.
- Leave it AT LEAST five minutes.
- Use the toothbrush and see if anything has loosened up.
- If it did, then start over and soak it again until the stain comes up or no progress is made.
- If it worked, YAY!
- If not, let’s move on.
● Soak 2 - Murphy’s Oil Soap and water
- Follow the exact directions as above.
● Soak 3 - dish soap, lemon juice, alcohol, water
- Follow the exact directions as above.
● Give hand sanitizer a try
- Follow the exact directions as above.
● Make a paste
- Mix mineral oil and baking soda into a thick paste and put it over the stain.
- Let it sit for AT LEAST 40 minutes.
- Follow the exact directions as above.
● Give the goo remover a go.
If none of these methods work, you’ve given it the old college try, and it’s time to take some more serious action to show that paint who’s boss.
Time to Heat Things Up
Now, before we get too crazy, let’s try one more way that we may be able to get the job done without the use of super harsh chemicals.
- Hold your hairdryer on high over the stain for at least ten minutes.
- Try all of your scraping tools after the time has passed.
- If you see progress, then try it again.
- If not, it is time...
It’s Paint Thinner Time
To say your effort was valiant was an understatement. But we can no longer put off the inevitable. It’s time to use the paint thinner.
Make sure you have all your necessary equipment at hand. Though it’s not an extensive list, everything is essential. You will need:
- Paint thinner
- Gloves - These are not optional.
- A thick cloth
- Putty knife
Make sure that the area is well ventilated. You will choke on this stuff if you’re not careful. Transfer thinner to the rag, and let it sit on the spot or, for a larger area, pour thinner directly onto the surface (but be careful).
You should let the thinner sit and work its way into the paint. Periodically check on the progress. Once the paint has sufficiently bubbled up, then wipe excess with the rag. Take your putty knife and get the excess paint from the grooves of the wood. This should do the trick.
Is My Floor Going to Be Ok?
First of all, don’t panic. If your floor doesn’t look 100% itself, it’s going to be ok. Wood floors are resilient. You may have to do some sanding and refinishing, but your floors will recover from their paint thinner encounter.
What Have We Learned From This Experience?
You did your best to prevent this from happening, but in the end, paint spills and accidents happen. Now, all you can do is try your best to ensure that you don’t have to experience a round two.
Hopefully, the takeaway from this experience hasn’t been all negative. You have learned several helpful methods to remove paint from your hardwood floors like you’re a pro.
If you took note as we went through the steps to each process and found a method that looks like it could work, then stick with it until you have exhausted any possibility that it could get the job done.
Often simple household items can be the real MVPs of paint removal. If you catch the paint while it is still fresh, some simple soap and water (though it’s not recommended for routinely cleaning your floor) will get rid of the paint and residue right quick and in a hurry.
Hopefully, if the paint has dried, one of our “scrub” methods helped you find success in the paint removal department. If not, you may have had to bite the bullet and move to what we tried to avoid at all costs - paint thinner.
Paint thinner is not only not optimal for your hardwood, but it can also be dangerous if inhaled, and it will give you horrific chemical burns if even a drop touches you. But if you did have to go that route, we hope it was enough to remove the paint safely and completely.
Paint is a Pain
The good news is that even if your floors aren’t perfect, though it can be a pain to get them back to where they should be, hardwood is, overall, forgiving. Worst case scenario, you may have to refinish part of your floor if the paint thinner damaged it, but at least the paint is gone.
While removing paint from your wooden floors can be a daunting task, now you know it’s something that you can take on easily, and you know what tools you need to have on hand.
So, don’t cry over spilled paint because you know how to handle it like a pro!
Sources:
How to Remove Paint from Wood Floors | Family Handyman
How to Remove Paint from Wooden Floors - Step by Step (2021 Updated)
