floor tiles problem

[martin]

I recently had some dark blue Marley tiles laid in my kitchen (the label on the box the contractor left said they were 'semi-flexible').

Today I noticed a few thin white lines on them. The only thing I'd ever dragged over the floor was a polythene mop-bucket, which I thought was far too soft to scratch them, so I thought these lines must be something I could clean off.

So I tried to remove the lines with a mop and Flash liquid, and when this didn't work, I rubbed them with the sort of plastic scouring sponge you use for non-stick pans. I thought that since it was plastic on plastic, it couldn't do any harm.

Now the floor has lots of large pale patches that I can only assume must be thousands of tiny scratches made by this scouring sponge.

Is there any way I can polish them off? I've only had this floor for a few weeks and I'd hate to think I've messed it up for good.

Marley's own site has nothing about floor tiles, so anything anyone here can suggest would be very welcome.

Thanks in advance

Martin

[Norminn]

I know nothing about your tiles, but did a quick google search and found this:

For the one type that I checked, the instructions for maint. are very specific, bold type. I think that your fine scratches will disappear when you put on some sort of coating (according to instr. for your type of tile, of course). The one I checked was also specific about not letting water stand .. damp mop so's it dried in 15 sec. Seems rather odd for vinyl. Good luck.

[Stuart Noble]

IME it's often residue from cleaning products that discolours vinyl flooring. The abrasives are fine enough to penetrate and leave a dull haze. It seems unlikely the abrasive you used would have scratched them. I'm sure it'll all look the same in 6 months time

[RicodJour]

You can use the scrubber pads to polish metal, so it's not a stretch to think it could affect vinyl tile. They make a bunch of different types/colors of scrubber pads. Check the 3M web site for Scotchbrite pads and pick the least abrasive one.

R R