How do you get the stuff out of the cracks when refinishing hardwood floors?

I am sanding down and redoing my hardwood floors. How do i get the junk out of the cracks that has accumulated over the years? And any tips or tricks for refinishing hardwood floors?

Use toothpicks and a vacuum to get the mess out. The toothpicks are soft enough that they should not damage the wood the way a metal tool might. Be careful with the sander. It is easy to sand gouges in the wood.

I am not sure where you live but I know that home depot does Hardwood floor classes that gives you all the information u need to know to do them. My brother just did his whole house and they came out real nice. I will be doing mine real soon too.

Ive used a long 36 inch straight edge onto which is glued a sticky rubber surface. The rubber I'm referring to is the same that's used to hold a board while using a power router on it. Available at hardware stores. Hold that straight edge down tightly onto the floor itself and directly over the groove.

With that tool, I can lay it directly on the crack and take a sharp awl and scrape out the groove. You will find out that without that rubber the straight edge will slide around so that is a must to make a good tool.

you might want to try a vacuum to suck out all the cracks. depending on the size of your room, rent a professional sander from the rental store. If you have a lot of material to remove, work at a 45 degree angle on the first pass, then with the grain on the rest of the passes until the floors are where you want them.
Have fun smelling the fresh wood!!!!

You fill the cracks with putty before you do a final sand. Then stain and finish.

Vacuum.