In Feb. 2021 I saw an advertisement for the Oreck Cleaning/Polishing Machine on the internet. The ad focused on how this unit could be used to clean hardwood floors prior to resealing them for protection.I was interested because our house was built in the 1980’s and we have the original hardwood floors. We’ve lived here since 2002.The previous owner raised German Shepherds and told us he always allowed his dogs inside the house. Our floors were pretty beat up when we moved in and we contributed to this process by having our own assortment of canines running in and out through their pet door for the last two decades.Not too long after moving in we hired a professional contractor to clean and seal the wood to protect it. Two men worked together for a couple of days and it was fairly expensive.I could see now that we could probably use another treatment and I was thinking of doing it myself. That’s why I was interested in the Oreck orbiter.While doing my research for this project, I learned there’s a term for the kind of floor we’ve created: “Distressed Hardwood Flooring.”Here’s a definition from the internet:“Distressed hardwood flooring is one way to capture the look of a worn and antiqued floor, without needing to do any of the wearing down yourself. Distressed floors have all the character and charm of a floor that's been in one place for years, but with a finish that will let them hold up to today's modern lifestyle.”Well, I’d never looked at it that way and didn’t realize anyone else did either. Why would you intentionally wound and mar your brand-new hardwood floors?I still can’t think of a very good reason for doing this—on purpose—but allowing a bunch of dogs to roam your abode for a prolonged period of time appears to accomplish a suitable “distressing” effect.I just did an internet search on “how to distress a hardwood floor,” and there are many articles and videos available to verify this is actually “A Thing.”Anyway, I figured with the right tools and supplies, I should be able to handle the job of cleaning and restoring our floors myself.So, I ordered an orbiter—along with an “Oreck carpet brush” and the “Oreck polishing bonnet”—to thoroughly clean and prepare the floors for the next steps in the process.I’d also been researching the “Rejuvenate” floor cleaning products on Amazon and decided to use them for this undertaking. I plan to review these items here as well.I used Rejuvenate floor cleaner and the orbiter with the brush to scrub the floors. The brush gets into all the nooks and crannies. Then I used the bonnet attachment to wipe up any released dirt.Here’s a quick review of the Oreck Orbiter:This is an excellent product. It’s heavy duty and really puts some muscle into the cleaning job. If you plan to restore your hardwood floors, I recommend using a similar machine if available.I’ve also used the Oreck orbiter to clean the carpet in my bedroom. I used “Capture” carpet cleaning powder and the “pre-spray” as well.I used the Oreck carpet brush and the Capture powder as directed. The orbiter allows you to really scrub into the carpet and fluff it up. Next, you need to use a vacuum with a “sealed filtration system” to suck up the residue.If it’s not sealed some of the powder will likely blow out into the room like it did with my Bissell vacuum—making a white cloud around the vacuum and settling on me and the furniture.I’d been happy with the Bissell for many years, but never realized it released a lot of minute particles into the air. It was making such a mess—right away—that I stopped using it.I’d watched several instruction videos online and no one else seemed to have a problem with their vacuums spewing out a white mist while performing this task.Fortunately, my wife has a Shark Navigator vacuum she prefers to the Bissell. So, I tried that and it contained all the powder with no problem. I’d advise anyone cleaning a carpet this way to try it out on a small section first to see if your vacuum is up to the job.By the way—after watching many online reviews on Shark vacuums—I ended up ordering a new Shark “Vertex” vacuum as a result of this incident. I’m very impressed with it and wrote a review giving it “5 stars.”I’ve cleaned this bedroom twice now with the orbiter and powder and I think it does a good job of “freshening up” the carpet.I also used the Oreck orbiter and a stiffer Oreck scrubbing brush to clean our deck (along with an electric pressure washer), and also to clean the front walkway.Back to the hardwood floor: Using “Rejuvenate Wood Floor Restorer” and “Rejuvenate Shine Refresher.”After thoroughly cleaning the floor, I used three coats of the “Rejuvenate Wood Floor Restorer.” I figure I get a little more protection with each coat. I also set-up fans to help dry everything faster.Our hardwood floor now looks like it’s been professionally distressed, cleaned and restored. It’s a lot of work to move your furniture around and perform all these actions, but the results are well worth it.In addition, I started using “Rejuvenate Shine Refresher,” occasionally, after vacuuming and mopping.This adds another layer of protection and shine and doesn’t need to be done every week, because it lasts.I use this most frequently in the kitchen and high traffic areas.I think as long as I continue to use the shine refresher, I probably won’t need to do the heavy cleaning job and “restorer coating” again, because the refresher protects it from getting eroded.So, if you’re interested in restoring your distressed hardwood floors to a protected and shiny finish—then you might consider following these steps with these particular products.