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!
Christine says
Can’t wait to try it.
Kia says
I am.not a person who posts either but I wanted to validate and share. I have vinyl tiles in my office that are a challenge to keep a clean appearance despite daily mopping. The only time the floor looks good Is after it is stripped. I used the scrubbing bubbles and my God it made a big difference. And no…I didn’t get paid to say it and yes I bought my own scrubbing bubbles. I have a before and after pic but can’t figure out how to post it but trust me it is ridiculous the difference.
Karen Watson says
Thanks Kia, I’m so glad my little tip helped you too!!
Janet says
You saved my kitchen floor! Thank you! I thought I was going to have to replace it and now it looks brand new. Whew!
Karen Watson says
That’s awesome Janet!!
Beth Hinson says
Karen, OMG…I hope this let’s me leave a comment as I have never commented on a blog before…People LISTEN to her..I have been in my kitchen for hours..first used my professional steamer..then baking soda and vinegar…water an bleach…yeah,,it was getting the steamer paid and the mop dirty but the floor still l looked gringy and dirty..I went and got my scrubbing bubble out of the bathroom with an aching back and neck from hours of mopping and I’ll be son of a gun..CLEAN…..THANK YOU so much..I was just about in tears as nothing was getting that built in dirt out…but thanks to you all of those dirty spots that nothing was getting up are gone…..WOW..
Karen Watson says
Yay!! Thank you so much for the super nice comment Beth! I’m so happy this worked for you and now you can just do it the easy way the next time, with out all of the scrubbing and steaming! Enjoy your clean shiny floor!
Jennifer says
Similar story to Beth’s. I cannot thank you enough for sharing this tip! I rent an ancient house with worn out vinyl and I have scrubbed myself sick. I was sceptical but knew I had nothing to lose. This is the first time I have ever felt like the kitchen floor is truly clean. Decades of ground-in grime lifted in about an hour and a half. My sincerest thanks.
graphicsfairy says
Thanks Jennifer, I am so glad it worked for you 🙂
Kate says
Anyone know if this is safe for pets once the floor is dry?
Steve says
I have a commercial use and of course the floor is filthy. I did put wax on the floor to make it easier to clean when I did clean it. Not so sure how that worked, but, my question is, will the scrubbing bubbles take the wax off also? Thanks for your response.
Karen Watson says
Hi Steve, I’m sorry but I have no idea. I’ve never had a waxed floor so I’ve not had the opportunity to test that out. You may want to test it out in a small inconspicuous spot before trying it on the whole floor.
Lois says
Oh………….my……….gawd!!!! This is the only thing that works! I am sooo tired of one my hands and knees (even with a shark steam mop) to really get these floors shined up. I AM SOOO EXCITED!! It isn’t even dry yet, and here I am posting results!! And I also got the Holloway House floor shine suggested above to try to maintain this beautiful clean!!!!
Karen Watson says
Woohoo! That’s awesome Lois! Enjoy your shiny clean floors!
Cassandra says
I have the exact same flooring! I will definitely be doing this. Thank you!!
Renee G says
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’m selling my house and the vinyl floors have been the bane of my existence. This was so easy and made them look presentable. Once again. thank you!
John says
I looked up a lot of solutions to tracked in kitchen grime on vinyl flooring, and this is the only one that worked! Thanks a million for posting this.
Karen Watson says
Thanks John! I’m glad it worked for you too!
Stacy says
Thank you so very much. My tile is white throughout the house. I love scrubbing bubbles for the bathroom and have used it on the bathroom floor to clean up hair spray residual which works perfectly and effortlessly. Not sure why I never thought to use it on my most traveled areas of vinyl tile for dirt/grime pick up…duh! Mind you I’ve tried many things….vinegar and baking soda…best thing I found to disinfect and clean with pets; apple cider vinegar and baking soda…did a smidge better job, but still not to my satisfaction. Picked up a bit more dirt but doesn’t disinfect. The traveled path was still evident, not filthy, but cloudy in the right light. Shade darker than the surrounding tile. After reading your blog, I tried the scrubbing bubbles and it picked up everything to my ultimate satisfaction! This tile is 15 years old and I was beginning to think I was going to have to replace it, but now it looks good as new. Thank you for clearing my blonde moment 🙂
Karen Watson says
No problem Stacy! Enjoy your nice clean floors!
Peggy Nisbet says
Well i have tried EVERYTHING from Industrail , to vinegar and baking soda ,to hand and knees with Mr eraser ,Javex I tried it all I am going out to buy 22 can of mr bubbles hope it works.
Karen Watson says
Good luck Peggy! I think you’ll be surprised at how great it works!! And you don’t need 22 cans, probably 2 or 3 will be fine even if your floor is large.
cindy anderson says
Thanks for the great tip. I’ve tried scrubbing on my hands and knees so this will be great. Once your floor is clean apply something called Quick Shine Multi Surface Floor Finish by Holloway House. Use a soft flat mop duster (shaped like a Swiffer) to apply. Then you can just un-velcro and wash when done. Put a coat on and then let dry. I usually apply a couple of coats. You need to put on carefully so it doesn’t streak. Let it dry completely before walking on it. (About a hour). I use this on my hardwood too. It will make your floors really shine and put a protective finish on them. I live in an older home and the floors (hardwood) was really marred and dull. This really changed the way they look. People are always asking me how I keep my floors so nice and shiny. This is how. I found this product from an older gentleman that had a cleaning company for years. He used this an swore by it. Give it a try and see if it works for you.
Karen Watson says
Thanks for the tip Cindy!
Kim says
OMG you are a life saver!! want to cry tears of joy! My kitchen floor is white vinyl and I mop and its like I have not moppend in years. I could not find anything that would clean it and ive tried amonia and clorox, but they did not compare to the scrubbing bubbles!! Who would have thought something I had for my shower could work on my ugly floor!! Thank you so much for this tip you saved my life!!
Karen Watson says
Yay!! I’m so glad it worked for you too Kim!
Carpet & Floor Cleaning Services says
This is a very simple and cool idea to keep the vinyl floor clean. Thanks for sharing cleaning tips.
Susan McCarthy says
I have the same exact flooring as you do, Karen, and I agree it is hard to get clean. I like the marble effect for the simple reason of NOT showing dirt, BUT, it is hard to get it back to the original gleam. I was even going to get on my hands and knees to hand scrub my floor. Giving this trick a whirl. Thanks.
Sherry says
Hey Karen, I was wondering whether I should get black and white checkered vinyl. I love the “look” but I’m not sure about the upkeep. I have the sample here and the white square already looks smudgy. Would you have the black and white floors again or would you pick up something different? Thank you in advance.
Sherry