8 Home Essentials Everyone Has That Will Make Your Linoleum Floors Sparkle

Linoleum ranks as one of the best flooring options thanks to its ease of installation, as well as its longevity. A good linoleum floor can last anywhere from 20 to 40 years, as long as you take the time to look after it and keep it clean. Natural and renewable, linoleum is made from linseed oil mixed with materials such as cork dust, wood flour, and pine resin that's then pressed into sheets for flooring. And this eco-friendly option is also naturally resistant to microbes and dust, which makes it far easier to maintain.

However, you do still, of course, need to clean your linoleum floors to prevent them from becoming stained and scruffy. But contrary to what you might expect, keeping linoleum floors in top condition doesn't require investing in special tools or expensive products. Instead, you should find that it's easy to keep them clean using a range of home essentials that you'll already have lying about the house. From dish soap to vinegar, here are some tried and tested tips to keep your linoleum floors looking their best for longer.

Your linoleum floors are one of the things you should be vacuuming in your home once a week to keep them free of any loose dirt and debris. Marla Mock, president of Molly Maid, advised Southern Living that mopping should also be done once a week, using a dry microfiber mop to remove dust in any areas that have particularly high footfall. Following a basic cleaning routine also means you won't need to do heavy-duty cleaning quite so often.  

Dish soap isn't just for dishes. One of its many other uses is to make up an easy cleaning solution for your linoleum floors. Adding dish soap to water will give you a slightly stronger solution than just plain water, without damaging the flooring. Combine six to eight drops of dish soap with a gallon of hot water, and then dampen your mop in the solution before wringing it out thoroughly. Mop the floor in sections before rinsing out your mop bucket and rewashing the floor with warm water. Make sure to dry the floor off thoroughly. 

Vinegar can be a versatile cleaning tool and, on its own, does a great job of cleaning and disinfecting linoleum floors. But for some added oomph, try combining it with dish soap to help shift any greasy stains from the floor. Mix your dish soap and warm water together (as in the above method) before also adding a cup of vinegar and mixing thoroughly. Now mop the floor in sections with this solution. Then, rinse the bucket and mop, and rewash the floor with clean, warm water. Again, make sure the floor is dried thoroughly to prevent standing water. 

You can use a tennis ball to make cleaning your floors so much easier, with a clean ball being one of the easiest ways to remove black scuff marks. The secret lies in the way a tennis ball is made. The felt exterior provides a very gentle abrasion that will help to rub off scuff marks, while the rubber core creates a little friction that won't damage the flooring. Use gentle pressure and circular motions to remove the scuff before wiping up any residue. Finish with a light buff for a gleaming finish.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that baking soda is purely for making cakes, but one of the most unexpected ways to use it in your home is as a cleaner for particularly stubborn stains or yellow patches on your linoleum floors. Make a paste by combining baking soda with water, and apply this to your stain before leaving it to work for 10 minutes. Then wipe clean, and you should see that the stain has vanished; you can obviously repeat this process for any really intransigent stains. 

Another unexpected star for cleaning scratched and stained linoleum is some white toothpaste. Your linoleum floors will shine with the help of this bathroom staple as long as you take care to use a basic toothpaste without colors or whitening agents, which could bleach your flooring. Rub the toothpaste into the scratch or stain with a cloth and some pressure until you can no longer see the mark and the toothpaste has been buffed out.

Your kid's pencil case is hiding a secret weapon for removing shoe marks and scuffs from your linoleum flooring. The humble pencil eraser is an easy way to lift scuffs from the floor, with the rubber creating a little friction as you rub it across a mark. You could also try a specially designed melamine foam eraser for cleaning, which just needs to be dampened at a corner before being rubbed over a mark.

Is there anything WD-40 can't do? One of its lesser-known uses is to help remove scuff marks from your linoleum floors. Simply spray the WD-40 on your scuff mark. Then, using a dry cloth, rub the product into the scuff in a circular motion. Once the scuff is removed, make sure to wipe up any residue with a sponge before rinsing the floor to avoid any slippery patches.