Protect the Beauty and Longevity of Your Hardwood Floors
Hardwood floors are an investment that adds warmth and elegance to a home or office, and they can last for generations with the right care. Not every tired floor needs the same fix, though. Some just need a deep cleaning. Some need a fresh coat of finish. Some need to be sanded down to bare wood and refinished in a new color. Deep Steam Floor Care & Restoration does all of it: hardwood floor cleaning, screen and recoat, and full sanding and staining for homes and businesses across Nashville and Middle Tennessee. South of the city, that includes hardwood in Brentwood and Franklin homes; see our pages on Brentwood carpet cleaning and carpet cleaning in Franklin for more on how we serve those areas. Call or text (615) 482-5590 for a free quote.
Which Service Does Your Floor Need?
A quick way to think about it:
- The floor looks dull, cloudy or dirty, but the finish is intact. A deep cleaning is usually enough.
- The sheen is worn in traffic lanes and there are light surface scratches, but no bare wood. Screen and recoat adds a fresh layer of finish without sanding.
- Scratches go into the wood, the finish is worn through, the wood has grayed, or you want a different color. Full sanding and refinishing, with stain if you want it.
Not sure? That’s what the assessment is for. We look at the floor, explain which option makes sense and why, and quote it before any work starts.
Ready When You Are
Deep Steam has served 8,000+ clients across Middle Tennessee since 2017. See your price and book online, or call (615) 482-5590.
Hardwood Floor Cleaning
Months of mopping leave a film of cleaner residue, grit gets ground into the finish, and kitchens and entries start to look gray even right after you clean. Our hardwood cleaning service is designed to maintain the beauty and longevity of your floors. It uses specialized techniques and professional-grade products.
- Assessment. Our experienced technicians check the condition of the floor, note problem areas and identify the finish. We tailor the method to the wood species and finish.
- Dry soil removal. Dust, pet hair and grit come out first, including along baseboards and in corners.
- Deep cleaning. Professional equipment and solutions formulated to protect the finish clean the whole surface, reaching corners and hard-to-reach areas. The methods are gentle yet effective and remove dirt and grime without compromising the wood.
- Controlled moisture. We use only as much moisture as the job needs and remove it right away.
- Walk-through. We review the results with you and tell you when the floor is ready for foot traffic.
Cleaning removes the buildup that makes a floor look dull. It can’t fix worn finish or scratches, and that’s where the next two services come in.
Screen and Recoat
Screen and recoat, sometimes called buff and coat, is the middle option. The existing finish is lightly abraded, or “screened,” so a new coat will bond to it. The floor is cleaned of dust, and a fresh coat of finish is applied. Because the wood itself isn’t sanded, the color stays the same.
Screen and recoat works well when:
- The finish is worn and dull in traffic areas but hasn’t worn through to bare wood
- Scratches are in the finish, not the wood
- You want to extend the life of a floor and push a full refinish further down the road
It isn’t the right choice for every floor. A new coat may not bond to floors that have been waxed or treated with polishes or oil soaps, or to some factory-applied finishes. We check that during the assessment. If a recoat won’t hold, we’ll tell you rather than put down a coat that peels.
Sanding and Staining: Full Refinishing
When the damage is in the wood, or you want a new look, full refinishing takes the floor back to bare wood and builds it up again.
- Prep. The rooms are cleared, and areas we aren’t working in are protected.
- Sanding. The old finish and the damaged top layer of wood are sanded away in stages, from coarser to finer grits. Edges and corners are sanded separately so the whole floor matches.
- Final prep. The floor is cleaned of sanding dust before any color or finish goes down.
- Staining (optional). You choose the color with us before any stain is applied, or keep the wood’s natural tone.
- Finish coats. Protective finish is applied in coats, with drying time between them.
- Walk-through. We review the floor with you and go over cure times, furniture and rugs, and care.
Refinishing is the right time to change a dated orange or yellow tone, even out boards that have faded differently in sunlight, or bring back an older Nashville home’s original floors after the carpet comes up.
Engineered Hardwood, Laminate and LVP
Engineered hardwood has a real wood top layer over a plywood core. It can be cleaned and often recoated. Whether it can be sanded depends on how thick that top layer is. Some can be refinished once or more, and some are too thin to sand safely. We check before recommending anything.
Laminate and luxury vinyl plank (LVP) can be deep cleaned, and we clean both regularly. They have no wood surface to sand, so screen and recoat and refinishing don’t apply.
What Cleaning and Refinishing Can't Fix
Some problems come from below the surface. Cupping, warping and wide gaps usually point to moisture under the floor, and refinishing won’t fix them until the moisture problem is solved. Deep pet urine stains and black water stains can go too deep to sand out. If we see any of these, we’ll point them out before you commit.
Caring for Your Floors Afterward
- Use felt pads under furniture and replace them when they wear or collect grit.
- Put mats at the doors to catch the grit that scratches finish.
- Clean with a pH-neutral hardwood cleaner and a well-wrung microfiber mop. Skip vinegar, oil soaps, wax and steam mops.
- Keep indoor humidity fairly steady through Nashville’s muggy summers and dry winters.
- Plan a professional cleaning once or twice a year. A screen and recoat every few years can keep a full refinish a long way off.
Our Client Reviews
Hardwood Floor FAQs
Yes. We offer full sanding and refinishing, with stain if you want a new color, as well as screen and recoat and deep cleaning.
Screen and recoat lightly abrades the existing finish and adds a fresh coat. The wood isn’t sanded, so the color stays the same. Refinishing sands down to bare wood, which removes deeper scratches and lets you change the color.
Yes, with a full sand and stain. The color is chosen with you before any stain is applied.
No. Cleaning removes dirt and residue. Scratches in the finish may be helped by a screen and recoat. Scratches in the wood need sanding.
We check during the assessment. Waxed floors, floors treated with polishes or oil soaps, and some factory finishes may not let a new coat bond.
Often, depending on the thickness of the wood wear layer. We check before recommending sanding.
Yes. We deep clean both. They can’t be sanded or recoated.
Cleaning takes the least time. Recoating and refinishing need drying and cure time before furniture and rugs go back. Your quote will include a timeline.
It depends on square footage, the condition of the floor, and whether you want stain. We give a free quote after seeing the floor.
Yes. Rugs can go to Silk & Shine Rug Spa, our in-plant rug washing facility, and come back once the floor is ready.
Get a Free Hardwood Floor Quote
Whether your floor needs a deep clean, a fresh coat or a full refinish, call or text (615) 482-5590 for a free quote. Deep Steam Floor Care & Restoration, 2936 Riverbend Dr, Nashville, TN 37214. We also serve homes across Middle Tennessee, with dedicated pages for Smyrna carpet cleaning, carpet cleaning in Murfreesboro, La Vergne, Antioch, Bellevue, Donelson and Hermitage, Madison, Mt. Juliet, Lebanon, Hendersonville, Gallatin and Clarksville.