Recently, the Rejuvenate family of floor care products has been gaining popularity on social media platforms. With claims of providing a dramatic shine, improving scratches, and enhancing durability, the products have caught the attention of many users.
One TikTok user, @pcosnowmama, shared their positive experience with the All Floors Restorer, available for $21.99 at Ace Hardware. They mentioned that the product had withstood the test of time with "2 babies and a dog." Another user, @jessmapes, was amazed by how the restorer could revive her "cheap old laminate."
Curious about the effectiveness of the product, we delved into understanding the science behind it. While we may not be experts in chemistry or engineering, we explored the components and mechanisms that contribute to the restorer's performance.
Upon conducting our research, we discovered that Rejuvenate All Floors Restorer is not your typical floor wax. Yes, it contains wax, but it also includes oxidized polyethylene (PE) among other ingredients. PE is a versatile material found in various products, such as floor waxes and food coatings, offering desirable properties like scratch resistance and gloss. Additionally, it acts as a tackifier, enhancing traction and reducing the risk of slipping.
Restoring a floor that's scratched awl up
The bit of recovered engineered hardwood that had seen actual duty got a special job; more on that later. The flooring samples — those little blocks given away in home centers and which even children can't think of a larcenous use for — represented a wide range of costs and, presumably, quality. The vinyl had never been installed, though one sample had been trodden upon for a few weeks in a trial run. All of these would be scratched up with sandpaper and a scratch awl. (This is, incidentally, the first time in many years we've come up with a reason to actually scratch something with a scratch awl, which is a poor substitute for a pencil in every regard except scratching.)
It turns out that the laminate and engineered hardwood samples, having never known the gentle caress of feral children and Great Pyrenees, are rather hard to make an impression on. Like, literally. After an initial cleaning as required by the Rejuvenate system, we took several aggressive swipes at each block with 80-grit sandpaper, producing a satisfying swath of scratches that mostly disappeared with the follow-up cleaning. These floors have a protective coating, usually polyurethane, that recovers well from scratches. (It would be a rather counterproductive protective coating, otherwise.) No matter; the scratch awl did its work in only a moment, making deep marks in the wear layer of actual wood. We cleaned the wood and vinyl again and applied the Rejuvenate All Floors Restorer with a microfiber cloth, following the package directions.
Review-enating All Floors Restorer
We decided to experiment with the recovered engineered hardwood boards by etching and engraving them with two different "material test arrays." Using the xTool S1 40W laser engraver and cutter, we created patterns of shapes at various depths on the boards. Following this, we treated one pattern with Rejuvenate product and the other with straight Green Gobbler orange oil to test their effectiveness in filling scratches.
Unfortunately, neither product proved to be very effective in concealing scratches on the flooring. While the lightest etchings would disappear under certain lighting conditions, the majority of the marks remained visible. Rejuvenate All Floors Restorer had minimal impact on the scratches, managing to erase only the superficial sandpaper scratches that were already mostly eliminated by cleaning. The orange oil, on the other hand, darkened the plywood beneath the wear layer slightly more than Rejuvenate did.
It's important to note that there are more cost-effective methods to fix large flooring scratches than relying on floor wax products like the ones we tested. These results highlight the limitations of using such products to address deep scratches and imperfections in hardwood flooring.
After multiple cleanings using the approved All Floors Cleaner from Ace Hardware, the Rejuvenate All Floors Restorer successfully made the flooring shiny. A comparison between the side treated with Rejuvenate and the side treated with orange oil showed a noticeable difference in shine on the recovered engineered hardwood. Further testing in a bathroom revealed an even more remarkable gloss over a larger area. Our tests indicate that Rejuvenate All Floors Restorer is a suitable choice for floors with light wear, especially if you prioritize a high shine. The product is said to be fairly durable, scratch-resistant, and provides a tacky finish with proper care.
