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!
Jamila says
I used SOS pads and magic erasers. I was on my hands and knees for days scrubbing my entire place tile by tile. My body is really sore. Next time I will try this product but hopefully the floors will never get that dirty again. Vinyl floors never again.
graphicsfairy says
Oh my gosh Jamila, give this a try, much easier on the back and knees!
alice wutzke says
This is a little off the subject of cleaning vinyl floors but would like to know how to bring back the shine in worn spots by the kitchen table made by constant rubbing of chairs– after I have done this wonderful cleaning . It really is wonderful!
graphicsfairy says
Hi Alice, I am so glad it worked for you 🙂 I am sorry that I do not know how or if that is possible with your worn spots as the finish has probably been worn off?
ogn dulk says
I hope it works. I had backed a backed up sink that spilled all over the floor. The water was nearly black and left a black stain in the sink that I can’t get out with repeated uses of scouring powder/Comet.
graphicsfairy says
I hope it works for you too, always did for me, good luck!!
Kathryn says
We’ve been desperate for a solution for grimy old kitchen vinyl, in the house we rent, that regular mopping, even steam cleaning, hasn’t addressed. It’s been so embarrassing whenever we have visitors. We just tried Scrubbing Bubbles! Wow! Works like a charm! While I can’t say the floor looks like like new, after all it’s I don’t know how many years old, it definitely is sparkling clean. Thanks for the tip!
graphicsfairy says
I am so happy to hear it was helpful and that they look better for you, yea!! Thanks for sharing:)
Gayle says
OMG, thank you so much! Getting ready to sell my house, and my vinyl grooved floor looks awesome. I used to use tons of magic erasers and do sections at a time. Just used it and the floor hasn’t looked this good in years!
graphicsfairy says
Oh yea Gale!! I am so glad you were happy with the results! Good luck selling your house 🙂
Kai says
While it kind of worked initially, this trick resulted vinyl floor coming apart a little.
Use with caution.
felix martinez says
I have old white vynl in my kitchen and entry way. I hate it the wife hates it. im glad I saw this im going straight to the cleaning aisle and pick up a few these cans. do I have to strip my floors first before doing this? I believe the last people that lived there didn’t clean it well.
graphicsfairy says
No stripping necessary Felix, good luck!!
Ann Marie says
So I have very similar black & white tile kitchen floor that is probably around 30 years old. I just tried this and am 1/2 way through – it’s absolutely amazing! My husband is so impressed. Now we won’t have to replace the floor. Can’t wait to finish and apply the Holloway House Quick Shine to see the final results. Thank you so much for sharing this tip!!!
graphicsfairy says
Oh yea Ann Marie!! I am so glad it worked for you, it’s so exciting to finally get it to look good again!
Debbie says
Scrubbing bubbles also works great to remove the black soot from your fireplace. Stubborn stains may need a little scrubbing with a scrub brush, but it does come off.
graphicsfairy says
Wow! Thanks so much for the tip Debbie:)
Andrea says
I just bought some generic scrubbing bubbles at The Dollar Tree so I could try this on our linoleum floors in our kitchen. We rent and have been in our apartment for a year. The kitchen floor should really be replaced but that is not going to happen anytime soon. My floors are disgusting. I mop, but the grime never comes off. I’ve been searching the internet for some suggestions and came across this post. Anyway, I tried it on a small patch in my kitchen… WOW!!!! What a difference. I sprayed the cleaner on and barely left it for 30 seconds. I was only testing it real quick during my lunch hour. I did not think that it was going to work as well as it did. I did use a magic eraser sponge to wipe off the cleaner. I didn’t use any elbow grease either. I can’t wait to get my floor clean now. Thank you so much for this suggestion.
graphicsfairy says
Oh yea Andrea!! I am so glad, I hope you have sparkling clean floors soon!!
Nancy Horvath says
I spent my weekend working on my 23 year old vinyl strip wood look floor and I cannot stop staring at it. It looks brand new. Its been years of three kids, two dogs, built up wax etc., and it looks absolutely amazing. I had no idea until I ready your website. Thank you a million times over!!!
graphicsfairy says
Oh yea!! I am so happy to hear about your success Nancy! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Jerry says
We cleaned our vinyl floor with some dish soap and a cup of Borax in a bucket of water. Lots of scrubbing required. We might try Scrubbing Bubbles next time.
graphicsfairy says
Give it a try Jerry, so many, including myself have had great success 🙂 Good luck!
Jane G says
Thanks for the tip but it did nothing for my vinyl floor.
graphicsfairy says
I’m so sorry Jane, it has helped so many others 🙁 I hope you find something that works!