You Can Use A Tennis Ball To Make Cleaning Your Floors So Much Easier

Is there anything more frustrating than unsightly scuff marks on your otherwise gleaming floors? You sweep, mop, shine — and still, those obnoxious marks remain, keeping your vinyl flooring from looking impeccable. While scuff marks are common and happen in all homes, that doesn't take away from the fact that they can seriously offend your sparkling clean aesthetic. Shoes and furniture can contribute to scuff marks, but getting rid of them can be as easy as popping into a sporting goods store or your local Walmart.

Tennis balls might be your floor's new best friend. Thanks to the felt that covers them, these small but mighty balls can lift tricky scuffs with ease. Tennis balls have become popular for home hacks, including removing greasy residue from your pool, and now they can save you time and hassle by giving your floors back their gleam! If you've been searching for the scuff hack to beat all others, look no further than this simple solution.

Tennis balls to the rescue

Tennis balls are usually reserved for the courts or the dog park, but people are finding more and more ways to use them around the house. They're covered in a fibrous felt material that can easily remove the dark scuffs left by shoes on vinyl and even hardwood flooring. The material is just scratchy enough to gently scrub away the marks, which can be stubborn against other methods. Thanks to yellow felt, everything from your floors to your pool can benefit from a quick tennis ball trick.

If your floor has many scuff marks, you might grow weary of crawling around to wipe them individually with a tennis ball. You can make your own wiper by using an old broomstick with the bristles either removed or flipped over so the empty end is facing the floor. Cut into the tennis ball to make an X shape using a sharp knife, then insert the non-bristled end of the broom into the hole. This will allow you to use the ball without needing to bend over or crawl on your hands and knees, and the apparatus can be easily stored with your other cleaning supplies.

Other scuff mark solutions to try

A brand-new tennis ball is the best option for this hack, as the felt is thicker and better for grabbing dirt. However, this trick isn't the only one to try on tough scuffs. While the tennis ball method usually works to buff out marks, you can also try using an art eraser to scrub them away. You can find these at hobby and craft stores, and they also work best when brand new. The eraser might leave shavings behind, so keep a broom or vacuum handy to clean these up as you go and your floors will look good as new.

Microfiber cloths are another possibility for getting rid of scuffs, and you can deep clean floors with baking soda to clear away unsightly marks. Because scuffs are shallow transfers from shoes and other items, they can usually be removed, but some might be darker or thicker and require more intensive methods. That said, most scuffs should be simple to clean with this easy tennis ball hack!