no way to do it.

The shine will go away with time. Just don't wax or buff them and they'll be mat within a years time.

I know a lot of people use Murphy's Oil soap to clean their wood floors but that leaves a shine on mine. I use the combo of 1 cup of vinegar to 1 gallon of warm-hot water and I'm always happy with the result.

Good luck.

Choose an inconspicuous spot, maybe in a closet or somewhere, and try rubbing the finish down with extra-fine (0000) steel wool. If that produces a finish you like, you could wrap a pad of it around a Swiffer or something, and do the whole room.

Wait it out. Even within six months you'll notice a difference... I had my floors refinished a year ago and they're just now getting to be a nice, comfortable, matte finish.

I saw the question and ran to say leave them alone! It seems I am not the only one. But yes they should wear nicely with time.

Floor sealant comes in three types, matte, gloss, and high gloss, at least that I am aware of. These floors were sealed with high gloss poly. This happened to me the first time I restored a house. Floor guys for some reason love the high gloss poly finish, and if you don't specify, they always seem to go high gloss. I find high gloss poly floors dangerous because they are so slippery.

You can coat the poly with another sealant. But do it soon. Your floors are so new, with a hospital type cleaning, they can be redone with matte.

In my case, with my floors done in a high gloss, they never became less shiny. It wasn't until I tumbled down the high gloss steps did I seek a solution. That's when I starting learning about refinishing floors.

i think they're beautiful and once you get your furniture in, you may change your opinion of them as well. plus, as mentioned by everyone else, the shine will diminish in time.

congratulations on your new home! my girlfriend and i just bought our first place and i know how excited you must be -- enjoy!

This is slightly off topic, but does anyone have any advice for repairing a major ( 1/8 in. deep, 12 in. long) scratch in a honey-stained hardwood floor???

I bought one of those couches from Ikea's as-is section without legs and did not see that a screw in the middle of the base of the couch was poking out. Moved the couch in, set it down -- riiiiippppppppppp!

I live in a rental apt & am hoping to salvage some of my safety deposit. Should a) attempt to fix it myself, b) hire someone to come take a look & possibly repair it, or c) just tell my landlord about the accident and keep my fingers crossed that I get a penny back?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

Lalulaureen-Yes, that can be easily fixed. Wood filler comes in a tiny can, (kind of the size of a wasabi can). All wood refinishers carry them in their supplies (that's how I learned about them), but you can buy your own at most hardware stores. Think spackle but dark with sawdust in it. Just use a putty knife, and fill the crack. Be sure to clean the surface and get the dust out of the crack first. It is unlikely to be noticed if you have a wood floor with a variety of color grains, and you don't tell.

This happened to me on a new wood floor with a new stain and new (matte) sealant. Everyone was upset but me, because I knew how to fix it. It was my bedroom floor, and even though I know it is there, it just looks like wood. And my damage was huge compared to yours. I had two gouges, deep and wide.

Good luck. If you don't want to do it yourself, or your wood in VERY uniform in color, you may want to call a floor or wood refinisher. The whole process should take about a minute, so don't let them overcharge you.

Depends if the finish was wax buffed to high shine, or sealant (either polyurethane or acrylic). Not experienced with the oil and wax route. However in the case of the sealant, sand lightly, clean and apply a layer of the same type in a satin finish. Applying a topcoat of gloss sealant will return the original finish if you change your mind.

From my experience (lived with hardwood floors my whole life) a shiny floor will usually stay that way. It's true the finish will get slightly duller with time from the daily wear and tear, but that won't make it a matte finish.

If you want a true matte finish, you'll have to refinish them. Don't despair, that doesn't mean you'll have to sand them down to bare wood and start from scratch... sometimes all you need to do is sand the top layer of varnish and reapply a matte finish. This should be enough to get rid of the high gloss and save a whole lot of work.

Of course I can't guarantee you success. I'd suggest trying it out on a small patch of floor that's hidden, say in a closet or similar.

The only other solution is small children... they can kill the finish in no time! :)

I should think you would be able to use a disk type floor sander with extremely find steel wool to break that glossy finish up. Only if your floors are operating room clean--and then top coat with a more likable satin finish. That is what the my refinisher did when I objected to the final finish on some floors. He had used polyurethane but not the water based. You'll need to know what was used in the first place. Good Luck! I'd want to be rid of that shine too.

The floor guys love high gloss because it's more durable. But the best way to refinish floors is to put two coats of semi gloss or high gloss then finish with a coat of satin to keep it looking more matte.

So I would think you could just do another coat of satin on top of what's there. It may even be that they did only two coats of the high gloss in the first place -- saving money. Then you'll just end up with the desired finish anyway.

In my apartment, I have some floors which are satin and some which are glossy. This happened because I asked for satin and the refinisher started laying down the glossy anyway and had to "adjust" in midjob. I have to say, after years of looking at both, I prefer the glossy. The rooms with the glossy floors look cleaner (after floor cleaning), brighter, and bigger (because the glossy surface acts like a mirror and reflects light). For me, glossy was not what I thought I wanted, but it turned out to be a happy accident.

If you really hate the glossy, have them refinished before you move everything in. The rooms need to be completely empty to refinish.

Redo the floors. It doesn't cost that much. 1800WOODFLOORS.COM

Why did they redo your floors before you bought it anyway?

Your place looks almost identical to ours in Jackson Heights.

Everyone is going at this question from the floor's standpoint.

I would try different window treatments meant to diffuse the light that is hitting the floor at a certain angle. Try different products (ie. mini-blinds, blinds, honeycomb fabrics, gauze strip shades, etc.) that you can roll up or pull aside depending upon the time of day that the most light is coming through the window. Experiment.

Explain the problem to a professional at a fabric store - there might be an even simpler way to redirect the light at certain times of the day or year. Maybe even something as simple as a light diffusing shade that opens at the top and the bottom.

My friend spent hours on her hands and knees applying layers of varnish to get just this finish on her floors - once you get your furniture in you might actually like it...