Hey there,

I'm a new home owner, just finished building and moved in a few weeks ago. We went with Anderson's Virginia Vintage line for our hardwood in our home. It's dark colored, hand scraped and beautiful. It is by far the best thing about our house and we paid dearly for it. Now the problem...

A few weeks ago we had a mason come in and put up a limestone fireplace mantle that came in 5 pieces. He put it together with thick light-colored mortar like you would use on bricks. We put lots of barriers down but still he got a few pieces on the floor, all of which came right off when he was finished. The problem is that when he was done, he used a damp sponge and took up all my plastic and cardboard that I had put down and wiped the floor up. I don't know if he had some of that mortar dust on his sponge or if it was just in the area but he kind of smeared a white film all over my floor in that room. I got it all up with my BonaKemp floor cleaner or so I thought. After the floor dries after cleaning, the mortar is showing up in the cracks between the planks and in the grain and distressing where the planks are hand scraped. I have tried everything I know but still can't get it out. Last night I even tried a grout brush and didn't even care if I scratched the finish and went to town on those spots dry. No luck. It always looks like its out until it dries.

I need some ideas. Is there something safe enough for my floors that will cut that mortar? Or what should I do? it sort of lightens the whole area because its like its highlighted. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Julie

The mason basically washed the floor with a cement colored stain. If what you have done so far has not worked (cleaning ), then all I can think of is replacement for that area. Unfortunately, IMO, the mason is responsible as he is the one who created the problem. Hopefully, he has insurance for this. I would not be surprised if he says it's not his problem or fault. That would be typical. You may have to sue in small claims. Good luck.

OK, this may or may not work...

This being a distressed hand scraped, I may be wrong, but it is usually dark aged looking in the distressing and handscraping. Use a Minwax stain pen and color the residue to match the crevices.

This may be the best solution. Use the dark walnut stain, and use a rag dampened with mineral spirits to wipe up any excess.

Another thing you can try is go to a carpet supply store or HD and get a bottle of rust remover . It is a mild solution of muriatic acid.
Masons use regular muriatic acid to clean their jobs .