Wooden floors are usually easy to maintain, but over time they can make a home look untidy if they become scuffed and stained no matter how much you clean them. Scuff marks often happen if you wear shoes indoors as they can grind dirt into the wood, but most people do not realise they are not scratched, but rather oil-based stains on the floor.
This means the scuff has not actually damaged the wood, and instead simply stained the top layer of coating, which means they can be removed. One flooring expert from Walk The Plank Flooring have shared getting rid of scuff stains can be easy, as most of the time you just need to rub the mark with a tennis ball.
They said: “A tennis ball may sound odd, but it’s actually a great tool for covering up scuffs on hardwood floors. The soft texture of the tennis ball helps lift scuffs without damaging the wood.”
Using a tennis ball to clean a wooden floor can sound insane if you have never tried it before, but the soft felt is made of dense rubber that can dislodge stains from wood.
The rubber can create a lot of friction, while the soft felt material is abrasive so will break down any oil marks without harming the wooden surface underneath the coating.
Tennis balls can be one of the best cleaning tools for wooden floors as it works the same way as using a rubber to remove pencil marks from paper.
It should be noted that a tennis ball cannot remove deep scratches, but are effective on scuff marks, stains and lighter scratches.
How to use a tennis ball to clean a wooden floor.
Take a clean, preferably new, tennis ball and rub it firmly on the scuff mark on the floor. Keep moving the ball in a circular motion, and there should be some residue that comes away.
Clean up any debris with a dry cloth, and your wooden floor should now be completely clean and not have any marks on it.
If you have a really stubborn scuff mark, then you can also use baking soda to clean a wooden floor as it is a more abrasive gritty powder that can deal with deeper marks.
Simply mix a few drops of baking soda with water to make a paste, dip a cloth into the mixture, and use the cloth to gently rub the scuff mark.
Once you wipe off the paste, your wooden floor should be clear and spotless in less than 30 seconds.