Hey guys,

First time here, and a very inexperience DIYer.
BUT, my father-in-law is very good and he helped me lay our hardwoods in our home.

We used 3/16" Bellawood Brazilian Rosewood, moisture barrier and crown staples.
Layed them over the course of a couple weekends, and finished in mid-June. Looked great...to start with.

Fast forward to about a two months ago, and we started noticing a bit of discoloration. Kind milky white looking.
We figured it would just be time to scrub hard. Well after doing so multiple times and no budging, we decided to contact the manufacturer.
We are currently going through a claims process, but its taking forever (big shocker, right?).
And as of now, there are some LARGE bubble spots and even cracked and peeling finish. Bleck.

Anyways, I was looking for some opinions, to maybe what the case could be.
Floors where dust mopped about every 2 nights, and cleaned with Murphys Oil Soap about every week to two.
No corrosive spills, and it wouldnt make much sense because its appearing everywhere, with no discernable pattern.
We have the hardwoods laid in our dining room/living room/hall area, and these spots are appearing everywhere - doesnt matter the color of the board, if there is happens to be more of a gap between boards, not happening directly on the edge (some issues are happening or started in the middle of the board and not from the edge, such as image 3).

Any help? I'm dying here.
Any input or direction is greatly appreciated...thanks in advance!

Murphys Oil Soap...Big no no on hardwood floors, could be the culprit. I'm afraid you'll be denied for not using their cleaner.

Ditto what Howard said about the claim because of the Murphy's. But I find it hard to believe that Murphy's alone was the culprit.

Make certain you ask the inspector if he has ever finished a hardwood floor or installed one. Lots of times they (the brokerage inspection firm) sends out unqualified inspectors. And you can ask for a more qualified inspector and see where that gets ya. You can also get your own inspection done if they do not comply.

murphys didnt do that, all murpheys will do is leave a nasty sticky film on there that will attract more dirt. Thats a failed finish. its probably taking so long because they are dealing with some manufacture in CHina. Is that there unbeatable "50 year finish"? Gotta love ol Bob!

It is in fact the 50 year warranty.

I dont understand how the cleaning product in a matter of 4 months could have been so destructive - when its "meant" to be used for wood flooring.

I am sending in samples of the leftover wood to them - I assume after that they may send someone out.

Also....I see the dilution is a problem even though they say not to use water on wood.

http://www.colgate.com/MurphyOilSoap/wood-care/cleaning

This part is an interesting read ...for the pros. Specifically the Residue/microscopy part.

http://www.colgate.com/MurphyOilSoap/fo ... st-results

well we all know not to believe what we read on the internet. dmhardwood design is a big advocate of murpheys oil soap and that guy although a little brazen knows what the hell he is doing. murpheys also has a booth at all the nwfa conventions promoting their product direct to the wood floor professionals. Who ever said wood floors should not be mopped with water is a nut, you cant do a proper job with out some water. A damp microfiber mop head will not leave enough water on the floor to damage a wood floor, if you just you cleaner all you will do is push the dirt from one spot to another.

dont send every piece keep some for yourself, the new inspector you will have to hire to fight the hired gun and your lawyer.

I still have a full leftover box, so no worries there.

So is the general consensus that there is a failed finished in the batch of wood I got, and that Murphy's couldnt have caused such an issue in such a short time? They seriously hadnt been cleaned more than 3 times, and have been installed for 6 months.

I did take a piece from the box and held it against the light, and I noticed 2 ever so small bubbled/raised up areas on the piece.
I wonder if in the box things look ok, but when put into the environment and subject to normal stress, temp, cleaning, etc causes those defects to swell and worsen.

If you have some uninstalled planks in the box that are exhibiting bubbles and peeling issues then I think you have a very strong case. They may and try to get you to settle for just the affected planks, beware of that.

Kevin, the problem I used to see alot is when anyone says mop they generally use to much water. Not so much a problem with site finished floors as it is with pre-finished.

"Damp" is a relative term.

yea I forget people are inherently stupid in general. You can do a simple cross hatch adhesion test on the unused boards. this should help http://www.defelsko.com/technotes/adhes ... g-wood.pdf

Just finished a 27 board replacement The maid had been slopping around Murphys for about 6 months. The whole floor has a white haze inbetted in the finish, and open rough grain. The 27 boards were delaminating. Ofcoarse it's engineered, and this is solid, but Murphys penetrated the finish. I doubt that could happen on a 50 year finish though

jesus were they using a string mop and a big yellow bucket or something?

I am afraid that the problem was caused by your maid. Murphys is not good for wood floors and I am almost positive that this is what would have caused your problems. If you tell the manufacturer that this is what was used on the floor, they will not stand behind the warranty of the product.

I HIGHLY doubt murphys did that. That is defintly a defective finish. it's one thing if it was fading, but for it to peel off and bubble? Not the first time thats ever happend. I had a lady who had me refinish hers that did the same thing and her was only down for a few weeks Yah water itself too doesn't harm the finish, it's the soap that dulls it out but even that shouldn't peel it off.