why does my hardwood floor look dry?

Wood, like all natural materials, needs to be treated and does indeed lose its luster after a while.

I would recommend using a natural wood cleaner as opposed to water and use a wood finishing product after cleaning. This will moisturize the wood and add a healthier finish. Orange Glo Hardwood floor finisher is an affordable and effective product, the pricier the product, the better the finish!!

Waxing is another alternative although it is extremely labor intensive - it sounds as though you participate in enough manual labor, ha ha.

If all else fails, empty out your room, buff the floors with a buffer that you can rent from Home Depot and then re-varnish the floor - it will take a while before you can move back in, but it will look as though the floors are brand new.

Good luck

Hardwoods can rarely be washed with water and then only with a very damp mop, not wet. I only use Orange Glo Hardwood Cleaner. It's also a conditioner applied with a microfiber dry cloth. It cleans, shines, and conditions the wood. Do not use any sort of wax. You will ruin the floor and do not use Murphy's Oil either. Murphy's is just another waxy substance. Your floors will be dull AND sticky.

It sounds like you have scrubbed the finish off your floors. If I were you, I would use this opportunity to refinish your hardwood floors, if your situation allows. In a lot of situations, refinishing hardwood can make it look brand new again.

Check out the article in my source for tips on refinishing.

Use a flat piece of wood that is thin like a wedge and scrape off all you can. Then, put peanut butter on a paper towel and rub it on the remaining gum until all the gum has adhered to the paper towel. With mild soap and water wash off any peanut butter residue. Do not scrape with any other tools as they will scratch the finish off your floor. Do not use metal or hard plastic scrapers.

Is your mother a sado-masochist or something? It isn't dry, it's water-logged. Let it dry thoroughly and then wax it.

lols what did you use to scrub it? sound like you scrub the coating too.