How to Clean Black Marks off an Old Linoleum Kitchen Floor

What Causes Floor Tiles to Shrink?
Written By
Valery Elias
Valery Elias
Published: Apr 3, 2010
Updated: Nov 20, 2021
1 minute read

Things You Will Need

  • Toothpaste
  • Soft cloth
  • Baking soda
  • Sponge
  • Tennis ball
  • Drill
  • Large drill bit
  • Broom handle
  • Erasers

So before you end up covering up the black marks with an area rug, or even worse, new flooring, consider some simple options for cleaning that linoleum floor in your kitchen.

    Buff away the marks with toothpaste.
  1. Apply about 1 tsp. of toothpaste to the black mark. Rub with a soft cloth until the mark disappears. Repeat if necessary until the mark is gone. Make sure the toothpaste is the paste rather than the gel type.

  2. Baking soda is another option.
  3. Apply about 1 tsp. of baking soda to the black mark and rub in with a sponge. Repeat until the mark is gone.

  4. Try the tennis ball remover trick.
  5. Drill a hole into an old tennis ball. Insert the end of a broom handle into the tennis ball. Work over the area of the black mark with the tennis-ball broom. This will remove the mark without you having to bend over.

  6. Literally erase the marks.
  7. Erase the marks with a regular eraser you would purchase in a school supply store.

Photo Credits

texture floor image by Oleg Verbitsky from Fotolia.com

texture floor image by Oleg Verbitsky from Fotolia.com

brush with toothpaste image by Keith Frith from Fotolia.com

country kitchen nuts flour and sugar image by Stephen Orsillo from Fotolia.com

tennis ball image by Ramona smiers from Fotolia.com

pencil and eraser image by Alexey Klementiev from Fotolia.com

Valery Elias

Valery Elias has been writing professionally since 2009. Her work has appeared in the "Savannah Business Journal," and she has experience as an independent secretarial contractor, proofreader and executive sales assistant for Fortune 500…

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