whats best for oak floors?

[OnlyWantsOne]

My solid oak floor boards in my living room, hall way and down stairs WC are covered in marks / scratches / water marks / odd pen scribble and in fairly crappy state.

I want to sort them out, but I cant really sand them - as Im PG and DP wouldnt do it, so... scrub with hard brush, or some thing miracle that I could treat them with would be fab

Are they sealed or unsealed?

unsealed, before I moved in they were sanded, and left (its a rented house)

I wonder if you could rent a sander -- marks like water and pen can't really be scrubbed out. How much do you stand to lose on your deposit for excessive wear and tear vs. the cost of getting small areas sanded?

The pro of doing a few areas with a sander are that big marks are not as visible when your landlord comes to assess the cost to you if and when you move. The big con is that everywhere else is going to look bad in comparison to the sanded area. So maybe use the sander for the downstairs loo and forget about sanding elsewhere. Then put down a piece of scrap lino or something else water resistant immediately. Unsealed wood absorbs every drop of water that lands on it, so a bathroom would need to be covered.

For the odd mark elsewhere, a solution of a little white vinegar and a lot of water, with a very well wrung-out sponge and a bit of scrubbing might do the trick. Mineral spirits might work for pen marks. Don't wet the floor much at all. I would be inclined to test an area first, and only spot clean patches where the marks are the most obvious.

I would take steps to cover areas of heavy traffic and high wear and tear with rugs once you've had a go at cleaning.

If the floors are unsealed, it's possible the landlord could be argued with if he or she wants to charge you for marks on the floor when you leave -- they're nearly impossible not to damage either by scratching or other marks and really hard to clean or repair.