How do I remove built up wax on my clay tile floors that are 80 years old?

Your in a tough spot here with this floor.. By best suggestion would be to work small areas at a time with a scrubber and warm water and a small bit of mild ph clothing detergent like woolite or ivory snow. You may luck out and find an old scrubber in a thrift shop... As you do a small patch rinse with clear water and dry with terry towels. Then rinse the flooe again and dry with the towel till there is no residue.

An electric scrubber with brushes is the best to use. Otherwise it's hands and knees time.

http://www.skymall.com/shopping/detail.htm?pid=102...

there may be a number of suggestions, I would test everythngn in a small corner, or under the appliances if possible to check the outcome. If it is a true wax, and not a plastic coating like most modern floor products, you can try gentle head with a cloth and an iron to melt and lift some of the wax, re-settling the rest, as was will travel to the heat source, meaning it will flor towards the iron, or up, use the cloth to catch the wax and keep the iron cleaner.

No way around it. You're going to have to strip the floor. Once you strip make sure you seal the tile again then apply new floor finish for that kind of tile. It sounds like it may be terrazzo. Make sure you get all the stripper off before you re-finish otherwise you will trap the stippper under the finish and it will look terrible. Good luck!

ammonia dissolves wax without affecting tile.