Alright folks, let’s get into how I actually tackled maintaining that engineered wood floor on our community volleyball pad. Been playing there for years, and last summer it started looking real sad – scratches, dull spots, even some warped edges near the net line. Figured it was past time to give it some proper TLC.

Gathering the Stuff (And Picking Wrong First!)

Woke up Saturday determined. Grabbed:

• My regular household broom (big mistake, you’ll see)
• Cheap all-purpose cleaner spray bottle from under the sink (another mistake!)
• Bucket
• Old towels
• Felt pads I got months ago for furniture legs (still in packaging, oops)

That’s it. Thought I was set. Got down there feeling prepared.

Stage 1: The Failed Sweeping Debacle

Started with the broom. Big strokes. Sand, small gravel, dust – you name it, it was all grinding under that broom head like sandpaper on the floor. Scratch city. Heard this awful scraping sound immediately. Stopped cold. “Nope, that ain’t right.” Felt stupid. That coarse broom was like using steel wool on your car paint.

Ditched the broom. Remembered reading online: “only microfiber!” Okay, fair. Problem: didn’t have one. Ran home, dug through cleaning closet… found one dusty microfiber mop head, unused. Victory! Barely.

Stage 2: Cleaning – The Wrong Product Fiasco

Back on the pad. Swept gently with that microfiber head. Much better. No scraping sounds. Okay, ready to clean! Hosed down the surface with my trusty all-purpose cleaner. Sprayed a section near the back line. Started mopping it with water (figured it needed dilution). Almost immediately, it looked… greasy? Streaky? Like a weird film appeared. And the smell was crazy strong, chemical-y. Panicked. Freaking gunk all over. Frantically wiped with wet towels, then dry towels. Just smeared it more.

This took forever to fix. Multiple buckets of clean water, rinsing the mop head constantly. Finally got that garbage residue off. Lesson slapped me hard: Only neutral wood floor cleaner. Full stop. Had to drive out later that day, wasting time, to find a PH neutral, engineered wood specific one.

Stage 3: Actually Cleaning (The Right Way)

Next morning, smarter. Armed with the proper cleaner bought yesterday. Diluted it exactly like the bottle said – way weaker than I thought it needed. Slightly dampened the microfiber head – squeezed out super well. No soaking!

• Sprayed the cleaner lightly on a smaller section (learning my lesson!).
• Mopped gently in the direction of the planks. No hard scrubbing.
• Worked in small bits, moving fast. Didn’t let the cleaner sit.
• Used a dry microfiber cloth to immediately buff it dry behind me.

Took way longer than I thought, section by section. But no streaks! No gunk! Just a clean surface. Huge relief.

Stage 4: Addressing the Damage

Saw the damage much clearer now. Deep scuffs from shoes near the service line. A couple of nasty scratches probably from dragging equipment.

• Felt pads: Ripped open that package. Slapped those suckers on the bottom of the metal legs of the referee stand and the net post wheel bases. Anywhere metal touched wood.
• Scratch disguises: For the shallow ones, used a matching wood touch-up pen bought with the cleaner. Dabbed it carefully. Didn’t fix it, just made it less obvious. Deep ones? Left ’em. Too risky for me to mess with.
• Warped edge: Near one side, looked slightly buckled. Cleaned the gap carefully with a soft brush and vacuum hose attachment to get grit out. Hoped drying out properly would help it settle back down. No aggressive fixes – didn’t want to crack it.

Stage 5: Humidity Check – The Sneaky Part

Remembered reading humidity messes with wood. Found a cheap hygrometer in my old terrarium supplies (random!). Stuck it near the shady corner where the warped spot was. Later that afternoon, humidity was like 80% inside! Warm day after rain. Realized the pad’s built under trees with poor drainage nearby. Moisture was probably creeping under from the sides. Need to look at improving drainage long term. Just knowing is half the battle, right? Not an immediate fix, but crucial info.

Why Bother? Making It Stick (Unlike That Goop)

Sounds like a lot of hassle? Maybe. But skipping this means:

• Replace it way sooner: That stuff costs thousands. Sweeping with a broom? Faster way to ruin it.
• Slippery mess: Using the wrong cleaner leaves that greasy film – lethal during a dive.
• Worsening warps: Ignoring the moisture makes the planks buckle worse, becomes a trip hazard, damages the whole subfloor.

Doing it properly took most of a weekend spread out, with trips to the store and false starts. But it wasn’t hard work – it was tedious, detail stuff. The peace of mind knowing I didn’t trash our court? Worth every minute and every wrong spray bottle I used first.

So yeah, save money, prevent injuries, keep the game going. Grab the right mop and the right cleaner. Do the boring stuff. Don’t be like me at first.