How to Clean Vinyl Floors Easily!
This is a post that I wrote quite a few years ago about How to Clean Vinyl Floors. It was hugely popular and I know that so many people said that they could not believe how well this worked and how much it helped them. So I’m reposting it again for those of you that haven’t see it yet. I no longer have vinyl floors and we no longer have kids at home, but for those of you that do, I hope this helps! Now back to me from the past …… Well, I have to say this post is a little embarrassing, however this is such a great tip that I just can’t keep it to myself! We’ve been in our home for close to 9 years, we bought the house new, from the builder, and didn’t have the budget for expensive flooring in the kitchen, like wood or tile. So the best we could do was to get an upgraded vinyl. I really liked this floor in the beginning. I loved my black and white vinyl floor, with it’s check pattern. It has a subtle marble effect on it, that actually even fooled my Mother in Law into thinking that it was the real deal, when we first moved in! But over the years it got harder and harder to keep it clean. Four teenage kids and one Dog took their toll on it. The stains and dirt were really ground into the… pores? … crevices maybe? … of the vinyl, and it looked filthy and nasty, as you can see by the photos!
Here you can see how disgusting it was! I have to say that I’m my defense, I have a cleaning service come in and mop my kitchen floor twice a month, and they have done this for years. There have been at least 5 or 6 different ladies from the service that have cleaned it, and each year it got worse, no matter how hard they tried! (It needed a deep clean though and not just a surface cleaning.)So it wasn’t just my sad lack of cleaning skills, or at least not in this case! Anyway, one of my girlfriends told me about something that she used on her vinyl floors that worked like a charm. I tried it out on the vinyl tile above and was surprised at how easily it removed the grime and scuffs!
How to Clean Vinyl Floors Supplies
And surprisingly enough you only need one product to achieve this miracle and it’s not a vinyl floor cleaner! And surprise, surprise it’s also not white vinegar, or apple cider vinegar, or baking soda, or Ammonia, or rubbing alcohol, or soap mixture, or wax … not even dish soap, or any other type of floor cleaning solution.
Want to know what it is?
Additional Supplies:
Instructions for How to Clean Vinyl Floors:
Here’s my step daughter, (aka Cinderella,) moping the floor with a bucket next to her. Yes, that’s right… I’m part Fairy God Mother.. part Evil Step Mother! haha! Actually my husband was the one that made her mop it, in order to work off the cost of a speeding ticket, that she acquired. I placed the Green Cinderella Pumpkin on the counter, so that it would show up in the scene, just to drive the Cinderella part home! Haha.
Ta da! It’s like a brand new floor again! No more grime or scuff marks. We actually did this a few months ago and it still looks great, so you wouldn’t have to do this every time you mop, only every now and again if you see a build up of dirt. This flooring has a light marble effect to it, in gray, so what you see on the photo above is not dirt, it’s the marbled pattern.
I can’t tell you how happy I am with my floor now! I thought I was going to have to replace it, but now I don’t have too. Yay! Let me know if you try this, I think you’ll be surprised at how easy it is!
Please keep in mind I have only ever tried this on Vinyl Floor, so I can’t comment if it would work on other types of flooring, and it may not be appropriate on other types of flooring. I would NEVER use it on Wood floors for example! I would think it would be fine for vinyl planks, but I haven’t tried that either. Make sure you test in an inconspicuous corner, to see how it works with your specific flooring.
Also, keep in mind that this is not a natural product. It does contain chemicals so keep that in mind if you are sensitive. I do prefer natural cleaning products, but when the situation is dire you do what you have to do!
P.S. I was NOT paid to do this post and I bought my own cans of Scrubbing Bubbles, just wanted to share this awesome tip!
P.S.S. Someone had asked me what brand my flooring was, I believe it was Armstrong but I’m not positive about that.
Does this work with a Generic Product?
I have tried a Generic version of Scrubbing Bubbles before that I think I purchased at the Dollar Store and that worked too, so if that’s what you have on hand, go ahead and give that a try. I don’t know if it works with all off brands as I certainly have not tried them all.
I hope you found this How to Clean Vinyl Floors post tip helpful and that it works for you too!
For even more cleaning tips check out this post by Jessica from Mom4Real… 10 tips for cleaning with Salt post HERE…
And another great post by Jessica …. How to Clean your Oven Naturally HERE.
And I highly recommend Jessica’s Blog for all things cleaning at Mom4Real HERE. She always has the best cleaning tips!
Michelle says
Just tried this on my nasty basement floors in my office and it worked amazing! I used a magic eraser for a little extra muscle and it worked great. I couldn’t believe how much dirt I picked up on that magic eraser. It was pretty gross! Thank you so much!
Meghan says
I’ve been using this product on everything lately. Know where else it works awesome? The top of the stove. I spray it on at night during our nightly clean up, load the dishwasher than wipe the stove top down with a sponge. They make a kitchen one but I just get the one kind and also use it to clean my bathroom top to bottom. I always get the 2 pack and keep a can in the kitchen and bathroom. Awesome product.
Tandi says
Omg I just read this article this morning I went out for me a can to try and tried just 2 tiles by my stove which were the worst and in a matter of 5 seconds it was gone! Best thing ever! I been trying to clean my floors like this since I moved in my apartment in may and nothing worked!
Karen says
Thank you so much for this tip. I am going to try this the next time my large floor area needs the crevices and faux grout areas cleaned. Far too much time spent using sos pads and elbow grease already!
Lucky Teacup says
You have saved my sanity! I combined the Scrubbing Bubbles with a Magic Eraser mop and sponge – miracle combo. Spent Friday night doing my kitchen floor and then the master bathroom shower. Then Saturday I tackled our tile kitchen countertops. No scrubbing except the tough spots, super easy. As a renter, I don’t have the option to replace. It’s the first time in 4 years that everything feels really CLEAN. Thank you : )
Shawna says
Your tip totally saved my floors in the short sale home we just bought – they were awful TERRIBLE, way worse than just everyday use. But a few cans of scrubbing bubbles and adding an extra step of scrubbing the heck out of it with a brush, you would not believe the difference! I did a mop with mop and glow afterwards too to restore some of it’s lost shine. I just posted photos on my blog but I can not thank you enough! First awesome vintage graphics and now you rescue my vinyl, you are magical!!
Chalynda Preval says
I just found this blog a couple of nights ago because I was getting feed up with my floors and talking to my husband about replacing them. I actually told him what buy and how to do it. We did the floors last night they look amazing almost brand new. I cannot thank you enough for this amazing tip. Thank You Thank You Thank You
Liz Brown says
Wow! I’m SO thrilled to have found your blog with this FABULOUS tip. I moved into a new apartment last October and the owners had just installed new vinyl floors, black and white squares EXACTLY like the ones in your photo.
I tried so many non-toxic options, including hot water and vinegar, but nothing was getting the grime off of the floor, especially the white squares. It was literally driving me crazy!
I’m halfway finished with the bathroom, hallway and kitchen and just had to write and THANK YOU for this amazing tip.
Liz
San Diego, CA
DChambers says
Just did my bathroom floor – bought both scrubbing bubbles like the one on your picture and also the one that says foaming (sorry no picture) the foamimg one says that you just need to wipe it clean with no rinsing – used both but the clear winner was the foaming version, complete master bathroom floor done in less than an hour, best tip I have found in a very long time **Thanks**
Karen Watson says
Good to know! Thanks for the tip!
KathyGB says
I inherited some nasty vinyl bathroom floors, and you changed my life. Still do not like the floors, but at least now they are clean. Thank you thank you thank you!
Anonymous says
Scrubbing Bubbles also works pretty good on drip pans. Mine were the black drip pans and it made them shiny and clean 🙂
jane says
Is it safe for pets and kids?
Anonymous says
Thanks I will try this soon!
Anonymous says
Scrubbing Bubbles also works great to get hair spray off your bathroom floor. Use the same method as above and it eats away at the sticky dirty mess!
Trish says
This is an awesome comment! I have been working so hard at getting hairspray off my floor and I’m definitely getting scrubbin bubbles now that I read this. Thank you!
graphicsfairy says
Good for you Trish, I hope it takes care of that pesky hairspray 🙂
frances says
will it work on rubber tile? It’s my kitchen floor.