Whoops—I almost forgot to mention that I scrubbed and re-sealed the existing hardwood floors right before we moved in, literally about 26 hours before the moving truck arrived. The new hardwood upstairs looked glossy and fresh, and I didn’t want the floors in the office, living room, and dining room to feel outdated by comparison. So I took care of them: a good clean and a reseal to bring them back to life.

I started by sweeping up the random dust, crumbs, and the stray fake Christmas tree needles that had been left behind. Even empty rooms can hide a surprising amount of debris.

Not a bad pile for an apparently empty room, right?

Next I used a well-known floor cleaner and restorer brand I picked up at the home improvement store: Bona. I’d heard good things about it for cleaning and restoring old or dulled floors that don’t require a full refinishing. It’s meant to add moisture and a light polish to fill small scrapes and seal the finish without sanding everything down.

After sweeping, I sprayed the Bona cleaning solution across the floor in manageable sections and followed with the mop fitted with the Bona cleaning pad. This step takes a bit of elbow grease—you’re scrubbing rather than just gliding a Swiffer over the surface—so expect to get sweaty. I’d rate the exertion about a seven out of ten. The goal is to remove built-up dirt and grime so the sealer will adhere properly.

Once the floor was clean, I moved on to sealing and polishing. This step is gentler: you spread the restorative liquid in a smooth, overlapping motion as you work your way out of the room. For polishing you want the softer pad—the lamb’s wool-style polishing head—while the cleaning pad is a bit more abrasive. (Side note: my mop arrived with a flawed piece, so I used green painter’s tape to hold it together and make it usable.)

In photos taken as I worked, you can see the contrast between areas that had been treated and were still wet—moisturized and glossy—and the untreated, dry-looking sections. At first, the wet areas looked great, but after drying some spots reverted to a dull, chalky appearance. Parts of the finish still looked tired, and the product didn’t deliver a uniformly lasting sheen on these particular floors.

Because the results weren’t consistently satisfying, I decided not to continue with the rest of the rooms using the same sealer. Instead I returned to the store and picked up a different product: Rejuvenate. It comes in both satin and high gloss; since the upstairs floors are shiny and we like that look, I chose the high gloss version.

I kept using the Bona cleaner and mop for the initial cleaning step because they worked fine for removing the dirt, but I switched the polishing step to Rejuvenate. Using the lamb’s-wool polishing pad, I applied Rejuvenate in the same methodical way, working outward from the middle of the room. The difference was noticeable: the Rejuvenate product went on more evenly, filled minor scratches effectively, and left a richer, sealed appearance that held up after drying. Unlike the first product, the finish didn’t dry chalky. I was able to apply two coats a few hours apart, rather than waiting a full day between coats, which sped up the process and improved the depth of the finish.

After finishing with Rejuvenate, the dining room, living room, and office all dried to a glossy, well-sealed look that matched the upstairs floors much better. The difference was clear: richer color, fewer visible scratches, and a lasting sheen that didn’t turn chalky a few hours after application.

Have you tried a floor cleaning and resealing system on dull or lightly scratched floors? Did you prefer Bona, Rejuvenate, or another brand? Trying two different products side-by-side can make it much easier to decide which one will give the finish and durability you want.

Psst – here’s an update on how the floors have held up several months later: they’re still looking good and the finish has remained durable.

*Note: this article originally included links to products we used and enjoyed*