The Best Way to Clean Yellowing Stains on My Linoleum

If your kitchen or bathroom has linoleum flooring, knowing how to keep the floors looking their best is essential. Linoleum is a durable and long-lasting floor covering, but maintenance is key to keeping it looking clean and fresh. Over time, linoleum tends to turn yellow, particularly after withstanding a number of spills or waxing. While waxing linoleum floors can make the floors look bright and shiny, wax can also trap dirt particles and dust. Years of layered waxes can leave the floors looking less than brand new. Using commercially available linoleum cleaner or even just a cleanser fashioned from few affordable household items can remove the unattractive yellowing from linoleum.

Yellow linoleum removal an be a big job. Whether you have pink stains on a linoleum floor, or orange stains on a vinyl floor, it's likely that a cleaning solution based around baking soda and lemon juice will lift the marks. Mix baking soda and lemon juice to form a paste, then apply it directly to the yellow stains on your linoleum floors.

To ensure that the ingredients are working effectively to remove the stain, work in the cleaning agents with a toothbrush for small spots or a brush with firm bristles for larger yellow floor blemishes. Brushing the detergent into the stain for a few minutes should successfully lift the yellow tint from the linoleum surface. After you rinse the baking soda and lemon juice from the floor thoroughly, wipe up any excess with a damp cloth.

Pour a solution of bleach and water onto the yellow stains on the linoleum, and let the solution sit for a half an hour to 45 minutes, according to Apartment Therapy. For especially stubborn stains, sponge or mop up the water and bleach, then reapply. Pouring baking soda over the bleach mixture while it's on the floor will increase the whitening action and lift the stain quicker.

A powdered cleansing agent that contains bleach may be effective in getting rid of the yellowing spots on linoleum flooring. The Creative Homemaking website suggests wetting the stained section of the floor and pouring the detergent directly onto the yellow spots. Leaving the detergent on the floor for a few minutes will help break up the yellow sealant on the floors. Remove the cleaning agent from the floor with a damp sponge.

Use white distilled vinegar as a linoleum cleaner by applying it directly onto yellowing linoleum floors for 10 to 15 minutes, and wipe up the vinegar with a sponge or cloth. For stains that are particularly resistant, sprinkle baking soda over the vinegar to help take the yellow hue out of the floors. After scrubbing the area with a sponge, rinse thoroughly with water.

Purchase a floor cleaner in which ammonia is the main ingredient, and pour it onto the linoleum floor to lift the yellowed floor wax. You'll want to scrub the floor with a firm sponge or scouring pad, and mop the solution off the floors. You will have to apply a new coating of floor wax to the linoleum, or mop the floors a final time with club soda to give the flooring an attractive shine.