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!
Lisa says
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Finally, after years of searching, something that actually worked to clean my textured vinyl floors. The scrubbing bubbles + a magic eraser, and absolutely no elbow grease involved! My floors look as good as they did the day we moved in, almost 10 years ago.
Move out cleaning sacramento says
I found it quiet interesting ,Thank you for posting the great content about Secret Tip- How to Clean Vinyl Floors – Easily!I was looking for something like this. hopefully you will keep posting such blogs here
cleaning blog says
You’ve provided some interesting advice there,
thank you for taking the time to do this. I work as a office cleaner
and find this kind of thing an enjoyable read.
Golvvård says
Really a great blog with a best thoughts and ideas are shared thanks for sharing such an interesting article.
Dawn Miears says
I tried this today on the vinyl floor in my kitchen! My floor is actually white for the first time since we bought the house! I have tried almost everything and this is the only thing that works! The fact that it is SO easy and quick is a HUGE plus. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for this tip!!
Cathy says
Thank you, thank you! I had just recently bought a double pack of Scrubbing Bubbles at the Family Dollar store so tried it right away. You have saved me- Thank You! Screens and windows next… back to the dollar store too!
Wendy says
This works great! So glad I was finally able to get the dirt out of the crevices in our kitchen floor. Not sure how you learned that this works, but am sure glad you passed the secret on! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Ivy - Vinyl Flooring says
Really an useful list of tips. Great to go through it. Would like to say thanks for sharing.
Flo says
Gotta say that this was one fantastic, really works tip. I was at wit’s end trying to get the built up grunge off my linoleum. I thought I’d have to replace it. But the Scrubbing Bubbles actually worked. I let it set for several minutes and then used an Ocello scrub sponge….and it all came off! My floor changed from dark and dirty-looking to like new. Oh, and it smelled good, too, while I was cleaning it! Thank you so much!
Louise Turner says
I live solo in an RV full time. My vinyl floor looked great on the computer when picked out but I have always thought it looked dirt. There I are slight grooves to make it look like bamboo. I used Scrubbing Bubbles and the amount of dirt that was there had made the floor look dull. Now, it is so pretty, I added my name to the RV Open House at the campground. Thanks do much
Louise
Deborah says
OMG!! I was searching for something to clean the vinyl floors of an old apartment I just moved into. Everything I was looking at was much more expensive than I wanted to pay. I came across this post and decided to read all the post (all were positive). So I went out Friday night and purchased 4 cans of scrubbing bubbles.(hallway & 2 rooms). I never write post, however I need to first thank you for this amazing suggestion and let anyone who needs to clean their vinly floor or remove spots from carpet. Don’t purchase anything other than scrubbing bubbles. My floors look amazing and it also removed a horrible stain on the carpet. I will always keep srubbing bubbles in stock in my cleaning supplies. Again, Thank you so much!
Happy with Clean Floors in MD!!
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Charlene says
I hadn’t thought of this, but from looking at all the posts, I’m trying it this weekend! We went our little house and it was built in the late 70’s. There is one little area that just won’t come clean. I can’t wait to clean, for once! LOL! Thank you so much. I’m very glad I came across this site and will return for more tips!
Alex Quintana says
I usually never go on the net. But I was at my wits end with this floor. I tried many different cleaners. I was ready to strip the church floor until I got to your sight . I did what u said but I waited 2 minutes and a paint scraper(19 years of grime) . The grime came out. Tomorrow I’m going to place a large order of this stuff. Thanks a million!
Kathy says
This post has changed my life! I used to just not look down at the floor….now I can again. So freeing! Seriously, I wish I had known about this years ago. Thank you!
MaryKay Burnham says
Karen, I’m going to try using the Scrubbing Bubbles on my rental property vinyl floors. I am preparing the house to sell and my past renters did not take care of the newly installed floors. They are filthy and i didn’t help by dropping paint splatters in every room. I doubt that the scrubbing bubbles will get the paint up but the filth I’m anxious to see how well it will clean it up. P.S. i used to know a Karen Watson in Tulsa, Ok are you her?