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!
Jacquie says
I just did my entrance way and wow it works amazing. I mean, really clean. I rinsed and rinsed and still had product in the mop each time I rinsed. Maybe I used to much? I will do the kitchen next, but first I want to make sure the floor isnt sticky like the one gal said above. How many times do you rince it?
Erin Fitzgerald says
Wonderful! Did this today on almost the exact same TYPE of floor with the same pattern. What a difference! Thank you thank you thank you!! Erin
graphicsfairy says
That’s great Erin!!
Rachel says
We have vinyl tile in our kitchen, and I’m always looking for new ways to clean it thanks to a rowdy puppy. I’ll definitely have to give this a try! Thanks for sharing the tips.
graphicsfairy says
Awesome Rachel, good luck…with the floors and the rowdy pup 🙂
Margaret says
Where can I buy scrubbing bubbles please
graphicsfairy says
Hi Margaret,
You can find it in the cleaning supplies aisle at any grocery store 🙂
Walt says
Talk about timing. Clutter under the bathroom sink became so unbearable today I organized and emptied. There were two rusting spray cans and a spray bottle of that stuff. I thought hard about throwing it away, it’s old, I never use it but it cost money. So two hours later I Google “how to efficiently clean filthy vinyl floors” and here I am. The hoarder in me pays off.
graphicsfairy says
Thanks Walt, good for you!
Victoria Craig says
Absolutely love Scrubbing Bubbles. Have used that to clean silk lamp shades, vinyl window frames, my kitchen sink. When we bought our house, the copper stove hood was covered in green grease and carbon. It came down in 6 pieces which I took to the basement and sprayed with oven cleaner and left overnight. The next day I just steel wool cleaning pad and ended up with shiny copper penny clean. A light spitz with sccrubbling bubbles restored the desirable patina and now I use that to keep it clean. Great stuff.
graphicsfairy says
Wow! Thanks Victoria!!
Laura says
Thank you so much! I have tried for years with many different products, and so have cleaning services, to no avail. I was ready to get a new porcelain floor. This got the floor clean in minutes. Quick, cheap, easy!
graphicsfairy says
That is wonderful Laura!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Wayne says
Did I read somewhere that this works on wood floors also?
Karen Watson says
Hi Wayne, No, I would NOT try it on wood!! I think it would be too harsh.
Megan says
OMG! My linoleum floors look new after 8 years of ground in mud and dirt from my dog and husband! I could never find ANYTHING that would get the dirt out of the crevices! Sprayed, waited 5 min, wiped with a sponge, and scrubbed with a hard bristle brush to get the crevices and its like NEW! Before I just tried not to look! THANK YOU!
Karen Watson says
Yay! That’s awesome Megan! It’s those crevices that are the problem, this is the only product that I have found that get’s into those crevices!
Kathy says
I used scrubbing bubbles and mopped with my shark steam cleaner on my kitchen vinyl but didn’t get the same results. My husbands boots stuck to the floor, my flip flops did the same. It was like glue. I tried to steam again thinking I needed to rinse the soap off. Still having the same issue. The shine is gone and can’t quit sticking to the floor. I tried rinsing it 3 times. Now we leave foot prints wherever we walk on it. What did info wrong??
Karen Watson says
Hi Kathy, I’ve never used this method with a steam cleaner, that was not part of my instructions I’m afraid! It comes off so easily all on it’s own and works so perfectly, there’s no need to use any tools with it. It sounds like adding the steam is what caused the issue on the floor. I would try mopping it, with water, and NO steam and see if that corrects it.. Other than that I don’t know what to tell you, I can only vouch for the process the way that I did it and wrote about it. I don’t know anything about those steam cleaners. You may want to give the manufacturer a call, if the water mop up doesn’t do the trick.
Karen says
Wow! You really changed lives here : ) My vinyl floor is so gross, was planning on getting on my hands and knees with a scrub brush til I saw this. I’m going to try this ASAP!!!
(I suggest not breathing it in and making sure you have ventilation because I am sure the chemicals are toxic)
Karen Watson says
Great Tip Karen! Enjoy your clean floor!
Donna F says
Thanks Karen! I will join the growing voice of appreciation about your tip! I have a huge area in my foyer, hallways and kitchen, eat-in-dining area with a vinyl tile faux white marble flooring!
I was just researching floor scrubbers because my back can no longer tolerate getting on my hands and knees to scrub this floor! Your advise worked like a charm – the Scrubbing Bubbles lifted dirt that I could no longer notice since the floor was uniformly dingy! Amazing results in two sections that I trialed it on today.
Next trial will be on an entry way carpet that has a nasty spot on it that other cleaners have not lifted.
Karen Watson says
That’s great Donna, I love hearing that! Thanks for letting me know and happy cleaning!
Bev Tittle-Baker says
Best tip ever! The floor in our community center always looked disgusting. We just did a sample area and I am thrilled. We have tried everything and as a non-profit organization with very limited funds, I couldn’t be happier. Thank you!
Karen Watson says
Yay!! I’m so happy to hear that Bev! So glad to have been able to save you guys a little money. 🙂
K. M. says
I tried this on my bathroom. AMAZING! Thank you so much for the tip!
Karen Watson says
You’re welcome!
Alison Hamilton says
The floor in our kitchen is vinyl too and after all our holiday guests, it really needs a good clean.Through the years we’ve changed the vinyl flooring twice (the right moment for changing the flooring type never comes) and this was my only decision for fighting all that filth. Your idea seems to be the answer of all my questions (at least for now). I’m definitely trying this product. Thank you for sharing your experience and have a great year!