Greetings all!

I found this site today (google rules) and I'm hoping one of the pros out there can help me out! I have a (approx) 75 year old bungalow with beautiful woodwork throughout. I'm not sure about the trim, but I know these stairs off the kitchen are a light oak. Being right next to the stove, they had become discolored and dirty over time. Not sticky or anything, but a very dark brown & some places, black.

The other day I got a fairly strong mixture of Dawn dishsoap & started scrubbing on the top step. I thought it made sense to work my way down. Well, the issue now is that, while beautiful, the one step is now a very light color with everything else being quite dark!

I do want to clean them, but I don't want to scrub down every piece of wood to keep everything visually pleasing.

Here's a pic of before I cleaned & I can post one "after" when I get home.

Sorry for the NOVEL...but....Help!! Have I screwed things up??

Those stairs look nice.

For cleaning instructions:

http://www.hardwoodinstaller.com/hardwo ... orcare.htm

They may need to be Re-finished. Cannot tell from here.

They may be waxed and you cleaned the wax off is a possibility.
So, clean them and apply another coat of wax,,, maybe?

You know, I kinda like that real old look. Very hard to duplicate. Many years of "stuff" stuck to the wood. If it was furniture, they'd call it "patina". But I suppose you'll need to decide which look you prefer. The lighter, cleaned look or the older, darker look. If you stairs are waxed, which I suspect they are, or had been at one time, then you can gently clean them with mineral spirits. Add some denatured alcohol to the mineral spirits for a stronger cleaner. When the stairs reach the point where you like the way they look, then stop cleaning and let them dry. Then wax them with a quality carnuba paste wax.

Thank you both for the replies. Yeah, I really didn't want to get rid of that "old" look, I just wanted to clean it up. Those stairs being in the kitchen, and so close to the stove, had just had a funky build-up of grime on them I wanted to clean.

I may just go with the mineral spirits to clean the rest, then find a good stain to match the rest of the stairs & trim. The trim throughout the whole house seems to have some sort of sealer on it. (I don't believe it's polyurethane). What may have been the popular choice back around 1930ish??

Here is an example of what the trim thru the house looks like....You can see how everything has a sort of glaze to it.


Hope that helps.

Thanks again! Mo~

It would have been either shellac or an organic varnish, and possibly waxed as well. Those were the favored finishes of that era.

Thanks Gary! I just want to get that step and riser looking as close to the rest as I can, then go with some of the recommended products to finish cleaning with.

The last thing I'd intended to do was (basically) strip that finish right off!

Thanks to everyone for all your help!
Mo~

Ever think about moving that range away from those stairs? They don't even have a handrail! Someone could fall and land right in your spaghetti sauce. And no wonder the stairs are all dirty. Your frying pan is a foot away. I see a minor remodel in your future.