How to get rid of scratches in vinyl floors

I love my apartment, but one of the adjustments I've had to make is dealing with the flooring. It's hard to clean, and requires a lot of upkeep to look nice! For the tiniest scuffs and scratches, a lot of detailed cleaning is required. I love cleaning with baking soda, and I was pleased to find that it works well for this task!

To clarify, in doing this, you aren't really getting rid of the scratches--you are cleaning them.

Baking soda acts as a mild abrasive here, and gets the grime out of the tiny crevices that the scratches have made. However, in a few months, with regular use of the floor, the marks will probably return. At that point, simply repeat the process.

Above you can see what you need: baking soda, an all-purpose cleaner (mine is castile soap and water), rags, brushes, and if you're like me, coffee.

My rags are an old flannel shirt which I cut up and sewed a zig-zag stitch around the edge. They work really well.

I increased the contrast of the above photo to make the scratches more visible. What an eye-sore. And so that you can have some context, there is a picture of the room I am working on--my dining area.

 

Begin by spraying the area with your all purpose cleaner. Just as a side note, be sure to use a cleaner that will be safe to use with baking soda. Soap and water would be fine. Vinegar would only work if you use a lot of baking soda (since the two react, it would be difficult to form a paste). You want the floor to be pretty saturated. Work in small areas for this. Next, sprinkle some baking soda.

Using a brush, mix the cleaner and baking soda into a paste and scrub away. Scrub in the same direction of the scratch, then opposite. I found this method to work effectively.

  

As you can see, most of the scratches are no longer visible!