Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
How do I get oil spots off linoleum caused by casters?
Doreen from Cranbrook, BC, Canada
Is it REALLY linoleum flooring (made from linseed oil) like back in the 1930's. or is it VINYL flooring, like the newer flooring. This makes a difference in cleaning etc. (most people use these terms interchangeably). Also, what are the casters made from that made the "oil" mark?
The best way to remove oil, tar and anything else that seems to stubborn, is WD40. I use it on so many things i wash I owned some stock in the company. Trust me, you will be amazed.
I had some knee covers that had old black tar from removing basement tile. They were while when I started and after cleaning them with WD40. They were like new again. My helper wanted to throw them away. I still have them. And they look and work great.
Goof off. It gets ANYTHING off.
My husband broke a bubble nightlight on the vinyl flooring. Now we have a red patch that so many people think is blood. Any suggestions? Thank you
Why don't you try cleaning the spot with a solution of water and bleach?
Try hydrogen peroxide and water, or if you can't clean it off, try painting over it with acrylic paint in the same color.
Sorry to say this, but I had a yellow one break while on the tree and leak onto my linoleum flooring...I could never get it off. We remodeled this past year and of course, now it is finally gone!
I rent an apartment, and I recently put an offer in on a house, but I'd like to clean my apartment very well to cut down on the costs of moving out. In my bathroom I have vinyl or linoleum flooring, in the kitchen also. In the bathroom next to the tub my flooring is kind of stained. Water must have gotten to it even though I tried hard not to let water out of the tub. Its like a yellowish stain.
Is there something that may get this out? Or are they gonna have to redo the floors? The trim near those areas is kind of worn too. I am not sure how to tell if it is mold or if it's cleanable. If it is mold, can it be cleaned? I know it says somewhere just to use water to clean the floors, but that's what I've done the whole time I've been there and it doesn't work. Any suggestions are great, or if you have any additional questions for me I'd be happy to answer them for you. Thanks.
If you have vinyl discoloration from water, you cannot clean it as it away as the water has changed the vinyl area itself, not stained it. Stains, like mildew, can be treated.
How do I clean a white plastic floor in the kitchen and bath area, it's not smooth area.
It is a pure white and over a year changed to a dirty floor.
By K. Ismail
You could use bleach and mild soap, but not too strong or it can cause yellowing.
I spilled a 64oz bottle of diet Coke on my small kitchen red rug. In the process of cleaning up the mess, the rug dye bled onto the white vinyl floor and stained it. I have tried bleach, a Magic Eraser, and Comet. Any suggestions to remove it?
By Toni S. from Beverly Hills, CA
Try hydrogen peroxide.
Try baking soda or Barkeepers Friend
My vinyl floor covering is white with slight metallic grey pattern on. It has got nicotine patches on it. Please what is the best to remove the yellow nicotine stains?
By Sue K.
The Dollar Tree sells a cleaner called Awesome (some other retailers carry it as well). I've found it will get most stains off of tile & linoleum without harming the finish.
The heat from our refrigerator has caused a brown stain on on my no-wax linoleum floor. I have tried Oxi-clean, Clorox, etc. with very little success. I would appreciate any suggestions.
If the heat discolored it, it may not come out.. in a way
the heat may have cooked it a little.. so to speak. At first
I was going to say try *Whink* its in the laundry dept.. it
Try a Magic Eraser. I have found that when all else fails, this little "sponge" will do the trick. They make store brands now, and they are very inexpensive. Good luck!
While using clorox cleaner on a vinyl floor, I got a call and had to leave for a while, forgetting the cleaner on the floor. Now it's got brownish stains on it. Is there any way to clean this type of stain? Thanks for any help!
You might try saturating the brown spots with hydrogen peroxide. Let the peroxide sit for quite a while, perhaps renewing it, if it dries up.
You need to keep in mind that you "bleached your floor" not stained it. If you spilled hair dye on your flooring that would "stain" it. Perhaps you could cut that part of the floor out and patch it if you have left over flooring? Good luck!
How do I remove pen ink (biro) from my linoleum floor?
Tracey from Queensland, Australia
Windex worked best. Isopropyl whitened the lineolum too much. Oxyclean had hardly any effect. A paint thinner was useless.
Windex to get most up first, Then small amount of acetone followed by water and soap. If you use acetone initially it smears badly.
How to remove printers ink from a vinyl floor, the ink is used in printing daily newspapers.
I have a vinyl floor in my kitchen which I love. It is easy to clean and looks like tile. When the sun hits it yellow marks appear. At night when there is no sun, it is fine. Anyone ever hear of this?
Does anyone know what I can use to remove white spirit stains from vinyl flooring?
My vinyl flooring had paint on it so I used paint thinner to remove it. Now I have a light, misty, dried looking white stain on the tiles. Is there anything I can use to remove this?
Try rubbing alcohol or oxalic acid.
I had a new vinyl floor installed 18 months ago and a red stain started showing up about 6 months ago. How do I get rid of it?
There are easy steps to take to clean this stain.
Also check the guarantee of your floor and see how long it is guaranteed for. If it is 2 or 3 years I would call the company and have them come out and look at this problem. It might be something under the flooring that is coming up through to the top now.
I have tried everything to get rid of this yellowing in certain parts of the floor, mainly around the edges. The strangest thing is when it's light out you see these stains. When it starts to get a little darker the stains disappear.
I have tried Armstrong's stripper and a few other things. Anyone have any suggestions? It's driving me nuts. I would get another floor, but I'm afraid the same thing would happen.You can try using baking soda.
How do you remove pen drawings off vinyl timber looking floors?
By Vicki from Parafield Gdns, Adelaide
Use toothpaste it's a abrasive put some in a dish use fingers if you want and just rub it will work on any surface even wall paper and just clean of .
My navy blue bath mats in my bathroom have stained my white vinyl floor. I have tried bleach, Mr Clean Eraser pads, alcohol, peroxide, lemons, salt, baking soda, and scouring powder. If anyone has any other suggestions feel free. I will continue to use rugs to camoflauge. We want to sell the house and don't want the expense of replacing the flooring.
By Peyton
You can try Barkeepers Friend or a combination of 2 parts hydrogen peroxide and 1 part blue Dawn
I placed containers of laundry detergent - All, Oxiclean, Woolite, Clorox, and Shout on the floor in my laundry room. I now have some orange, almost rust colored, stains that I can't find a way to remove. I used ordinary soap and water, bleach, and Comet and nothing worked. Do you have any suggestions?
By Stanley
Need to know the type of floor to provide an answer.
Any ideas of how to remove self tanning solution stains from bathroom flooring. I think it is linoleum.
Angie from Nanticoke, PA
Try Mr. Clean "eraser". I use it for everything. It the greatest thing invented next to sliced bread. :)
What takes brown suede dye off a kitchen tile floor?
By joan from NY
A friend of mine spilled vodka on my vinyl floor that has that wood look and it bleached it. Does anyone know what to do about that?
By Kevin from St. Louis
Unfortunately the backing on bath mats and other throw rugs can have a chemical reaction with your flooring causing stains. This is a page about removing throw rug stains on linoleum.
This is a page about cleaning mold on vinyl flooring. Mold can grow on the underside of vinyl flooring or near the edges, often due to moisture.
Mold will stain just about anything it grows on and linoleum is no exception. Check out these ideas on how to remove mold stains from a linoleum floor.
Oven cleaner uses very strong chemicals to breakdown burnt on food and stains in your oven. Removing oven cleaner stains from floor can be a difficult chore.
