we have some that has been down in our bathrooms since we bought the house almost 10 years ago and no matter how hard i clean it, it just always looks dirty and gross. does anyone have any suggestions? i have used a floor steamer that i have but it doesnt help much. the vinyl pattern itself has little grooves in it and dirt just gets trapped in there. help! we cant replace it right now so i am looking for ways to try and clean it.
Try using Magic Eraser. I had white vinyl flooring that was dirty. I used the Magic Eraser and it cleaned it.
I used to have vinyl flooring in a house that we owned a few years ago. Funny as it is, I stumbled upon something that made the floor look like new and I wasn't even trying. I was cleaning the bathroom and happened to be using Comet powdered cleanser in the tub. I knocked the Comet over and the powder sprinkled all over the florring. I used a wet paper towel to get it up and much to my surprise, it also removed the grossness and dingy coloring while I was wiping it! The Comet I was using had bleach in it for cleaning. I then got down on my hands and knees and scrubbed the whole floor with it. It was like new! Granted, it takes a lot to get all the Comet up off the floor so don't over do it but it really works! So does Soft Scrub with bleach. After you clean it, rinse it with water WELL. The apply a coat of floor protector or a floor glosser. Unless yours is really trashed and needs to be replaced, that bleach got into every seam and nook in that floor and the place looked fabulous! It was also a patterned whit and cream vinyl...the worst!
Yuck, I had the same thing when we bought our house. And these people used it as a party house, so I honestly don't know how any of them used the bathroom, let alone took a shower in there. It was a gross brown looking color with grooves. Anyways, I tried degreaser, simple green, SOS pads, bleach, comet, dawn dish soap, TSP, and Pine Sol....nothing made it look clean. I bought all of my new peel and stick tiles at home depot for 20 bucks, and now my bathroom looks great! Sorry but its my only suggestion. I also know that Big lots has peel and stick tiles sometimes for pretty cheap. The tiles are much cheaper then the whole sheets. Good Luck!
ADDED: I wanted to add it only took a total of 2 hours to peel everything up then replace. Not hard at all. =)
Have you tried scrubbing it with vinegar? In a place I used to work we have slip resistant vinyl in the bathrooms that would get really gross in a short span of time. Vinegar and water with a stiff brush cleaned it in no time.
Good luck!
Have you tried Tough & Tender and/or Sol U Mel? Great cleaners and Sol U Mel is a stain remover. Together they have extra cleaning power.
Most vinyl flooring is only good for 10 to 15 years. It may just be time to replace it. I have old vinyl in my kitchen. In nice weather I use dilluted amonia and open all the windows.
A lot of people buy the peel and stick vinyl tiles. I have seen them at the dollar store and at home improvement stores. You just lay them on top of what you have or pull up what you have if you are feeling ambitious. They are a cheap way to get a new look until you can afford to really renevate.
Simple Green!
I use straight Simple green on my pink and white vinyl flooring (that's at least 15 years old!) spray some hot water on it and let it sit for about 20 minutes...then wipe up.
Trick is to not use a regular mop but you towels. The mop just pushes dirt into the vinyl.
Can you just replace it?
Its 10 years old at least... and it yellows also due to age.
That happened to our bathroom vinyl flooring.
My Hubby just replaced it, with vinyl tiles from Home Depot.
The only thing that ever worked on my nasty Vinyl floors was oxiclean.
