How on earth do I clean wooden floors after plasterers have been?

[GinAndSlimlinePlease]

We had our front room plastered last week, but the lovely wooden floors are now coated :(

We had planned to sand them down, but for various reasons we can't now do that until the new year. And we need to sort the floors out temporarily!

If I mop the floors will that be terrible?

first sweep

then scrape using a broad metal scraper

then sweep again

then scrape the bits you missed and sweep again

then wet-mop and a lot of the embedded dust and smears will come off.

if you can lay your hands on a canister vac, use that before wet-mopping. Don't use your domestic hoover as it will get clogged. Wrap all computers, TVs, other electronic items in polythene to keep the dust out. When you have finished cleaning up, vac and wet-sponge the polythene to prevent dust falling off it into the device.

use rubber or plastic gloves. The dust will dry your skin.

Thanks, sounds like that's my saturday morning filled up then! luckily the room was almost totally empty.

And when you've done all that you will probably need to rewax......(the floor btw!)

I found that a scrubbing brush and all purpose flash does well. The plaster stuff dissolves a bit with water and scrubbing.

Also a non-abrasive sponge (thw white scrubby bit on the back). Put cleaning solution down with sponge, scrub with other bit. It knackers your nails looks at hands after recent work have nail file and nice hand cream standing by.

"And when you've done all that you will probably need to rewax......(the floor btw!)"

and here's me thinking DHs legs could use some attention :)

Elbow grease and water with some kind of detergent in it. And some time.

scraping will get thick blobs off a hundred times faster than scrubbing or scouring will a big one or a very big one not a wincy girly thing

but I agree with a nylon scrubbing brish, wet, after you scraped, swept and mopped.

Oil is great for picking up plaster dust. Only thing that worked for us. Just common or garden sunflower or vegetable oil mixed with warm water, it's like magic. (i also mixed in a few drops of essential oil so the floors didn't smell bad!) Otherwise you end up just smearing the dust from one end of the room to another.

Thanks all. I was chicken today and didn't tackle the floor. (in denial, the door to the room is shut si I can't see it!)

I think I'll try a combination of scraping and oily water.

Get the bloomin plasterers back to clean up the mess!

(Only half joking)

Wipe with water/flash dry with towel. Repeat... Repeat and once again with feeling.
I fecking hate plaster dust.

Just going to bump this ancient thread to ask....

We're in the same boat, room plastered, wooden boards covered in pale film of plaster gunk.

My question is - one of my next jobs is to sand the floor in this room (after painting the new plaster).... so do I need to clean them now or just leave as is until sanding?

Is it ok to sand the floors in their plaster dusty state?

Hoping to avoid scrubbing if I don't need to!

Take the worst off of your sandpaper will get clogged instantly when you sand (also really annoying fine dust - as if sanding wasn't bad enough!) but you don't need to go mad.

Thanks, I'll have a go at getting the worst off! Dust mask at the ready!