Cleaning rubber off the floor

[aroncox]

I keep my bike in the living room and every now and then I accidentally turn on the motor when I'm getting ready to go to work or attempting to fix something. This has left a number of black marks on the floor, which appear to be rubber from the tyres. The floor is made out of a (I assume fake) terracotta type tile. Does anyone know of a way to easily clean off the rubber/black marks?

Thanks!

 

[flecc]

Methylated Spirit is very effective for this and doesn't normally damage surfaces.

White Spirit will do the job with a bit of effort and usually no damage.

Petrol is also effective, but can seriously damage some surfaces, so best avoided unless there's a hidden test area available.

If there's scoring into the surface and solvents don't get it entirely clean, an old fashioned abrasive household cleaner like Vim or Ajax will do the trick.
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[DBCohen]

Nothing is simpler and easier for this than one of those Flash Magic Erasers. They are available in packs of four (I think) from most supermarkets.

Simply make it damp and then give it a good rub - those marks will come straight off. Much less smell and mess than a solvent-based approach.

David.

 

[flecc]

A tip which might be of use. I also keep at least one bike indoors and occasionally used to suffer the same accidental operation and marking. So I got into the habit of flicking the meter switch to Pedelec when I parked a bike.

That way, when I switch on preparing to go out, there's no risk of accidentally spinning a wheel. I'm still doing that out of habit even though both, including the Torq based bike, have rear wheel motors so the accidental spin is no longer a problem.
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