The All-Natural Ingredients You Can Trust To Remove Shoe Scuffs From Hardwood Floors

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Do you live with a person who drags their feet when they walk? You can just hear their rubber soles leaving scuff mark after scuff mark on your shiny hardwood floors. Anywhere else, a few marks would be easy to spot-clean. With hardwood floors, you can't grab any old multipurpose cleaner. Instead reach for safe, natural options already in your kitchen: baking soda and olive oil. 

Store-bought cleaners that aren't specifically intended for hardwoods can damage your floor's finish. Even if you stick with natural cleaning ingredients in your home, some of your favorites — such as vinegar — can be even more damaging to floors. So what do you do if you don't have the right floor cleaner on hand, or if you prefer to stick with a non-chemical option? 

Baking soda and olive oil are all-natural ingredients you can trust to remove shoe scuff marks from your hardwood floors. Baking soda is a proven natural cleaning agent, and is slightly abrasive for removing scuff marks. You may have used a baking soda cleaning hack that mixes the kitchen staple with water to create a cleaning paste, but water can have a damaging effect on wood. Oil won't harm your hardwood floors, however, and is actually encouraged for wood's protection and restoration.  

Combine equal parts baking soda and olive oil and apply to the scuff mark using a soft sponge or microfiber cloth. Wipe clean with a damp cloth, then use a dry cloth to remove the solution and bring back the floor's natural shine. This combo will also remove dirt and grime from your floors, as well as scuff marks. 

The above hack works well for spot-cleaning. If you are dealing with a floor riddled in scuff marks and wish to clean the entire thing, you'll probably want to go with a mop. Vacuum your floors first because small debris can scratch hardwood floors if pushed around. Dish soap is another household staple that will have your hardwood floors shining, and you can add some to your mop water along with a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Make sure you wring out your mop well so it is only slightly damp, then dry the area with a cloth or dry mop. If you are open to a store-bought solution, Aunt Fannie's vinegar-free hardwood floor cleaner is highly rated by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) for containing few chemicals and being a low concern for health risks.