Hardwood floors give your home a beautiful ambiance and vibe. But trust us, this ambiance will be lost once scuffs ruin your hardwood floors. These scuffs can be caused by furniture legs or even your favorite pair of shoes.
Thus, we are interested in how to get rid of scuff marks on hardwood floors. Sometimes rubbing baking soda on these scuffs can easily clear them up. Either way, clearing up these scuffs depends on how fast you tackle them.
Let’s get started, shall we?
Related: How to get scuff marks off gym floors
How to Get Rid of Scuff Marks on Hardwood Floors
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Your success in getting rid of scuff marks depends on how fast you act. If these scuff marks are left alone for too long, they become more difficult to remove from your floor. To make your work easier, it’s best to attack the problem as early as possible.
Most homeowners think they need to buy expensive cleaning products to get rid of scuff marks. But that is not always the case. We will discuss homemade techniques with common household items that can be employed to get rid of scuff marks.
Let’s run you through these techniques:
Wipe the Scratch with Sponge and Water
Sometimes scuffs marks are accentuated when the hardwood floors are dirty. Depending on how recent the scuff marks are, a simple wipe with a sponge and water might easily get rid of the scuff marks.
This method is only effective if the scuff marks are recent and not old ones. For older scuff marks, you will need to employ other methods discussed below.
Scrub the Scuff Marks with Baking Soda
Baking soda should probably be one of the most versatile household items. Not only is baking soda used as a cleaning agent, but it can also be quite useful in getting rid of marks on the floors.
To make the baking soda mixture, combine about 2 tablespoons of baking soda with warm water until you get a paste-like consistency. Dip a soft into the paste and scrub the marks away with it, then wipe clean with a damp cloth.
Read: How to repair scratch on luxury vinyl floor
Use A Pencil Eraser to Erase the Marks
Sometimes, the baking soda might not be enough to get rid of some stubborn scuff marks. It might be time to try out some unlikely techniques. Do you know that a pencil eraser is not only for fixing homework mistakes but can be used to clean up scuff marks?
Use the pencil eraser on the scuff marks applying a controlled amount of pressure that won’t damage your floor. Rub the scuff marks with the erase until the marks disappear.
Use a Tennis Shoe to Erase the Marks
This might sound a bit absurd, right? You might wonder, since scuff marks are caused by shoes, how then can they be used to erase scuff marks. Well, let’s work you through the process.
Well, a tennis shoe has rubber soles and will be great at removing scuff marks. To get started, use your hand or foot to rub the heel of the shoe firmly against the mark in a circular, grinding motion until it’s gone.
Read: How to fix dents in prefinished hardwood floor
Cover the Scuff Marks with a Wood Stain.
Wood stain can minimize the appearance of scuff marks. Most wood stains can be found in home improvement stores and come in gel, combination varieties oil-based and water-based.
Most importantly, these wood stains come in different shades and can be perfect camouflage for scuff marks, provided you get the shade that matches your hardwood floor.
Fill in the scuff marks with the wood stain and use a Q-tip to remove any excess stain and let dry. Alternatively, apply to the scratch according to package directions.
Rub Walnuts Over the Scuff Marks to Camouflage Them.
You might not know this, but walnuts can be used to camouflage scuffs marks on hardwood floors. This is because walnuts contain natural emollients and brown dyes that can be quite effective in repairing and enhancing the look of worn, scratched wood.
To do this, warm up the oil in the nut with your fingers, then rub it into worn areas of the floor using small circular motions. Allow the oil to sit for a few minutes, then buff with a soft cloth.
Read: How to keep chairs from scratching wood floors
Conclusion
Note that most of the methods discussed in this post will only work for shallow scuff marks. For extremely aggressive marks, you may need to get a product specifically designed to remove these types of markings like Goo Gone.
We hope this post on how to get rid of scuff marks on hardwood floors will help you remove any scuff marks that you may have found on your wood floors.