Removing Bleach Stains from Vinyl Flooring
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Q: How do I remove a bleach stain from a vinyl floor?
A: It is always helpful to know a little more about the stain. For example: is it lighter than the overall color of the vinyl floor, or is it some sort of discoloration? Do you know how it happened, and the age of the flooring? All of this is important because vinyl flooring is made with a “wear layer” according to my local flooring company. I stopped in to talk to them since I really don’t have much experience restoring damaged vinyl floors.
I do know that vinyl flooring can be safely disinfected with a solution of ¾ cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach per gallon of water that is applied for 5 minutes, rinsed, and allowed to air dry. However, we never recommend applying full strength bleach to any surface – it should always be diluted first.
My local flooring company said that undiluted bleach would have to be left on a vinyl floor for quite an extended period of time before causing any discoloration due to protection from its wear layer. Just as with fabric, I expected that bleach damage to the floor would be irreversible. The flooring company confirmed this, and unfortunately did not have any tips for restoring the damage. Their recommendation was to remove the stained area and patch it with additional flooring material that was hopefully saved when the vinyl was installed.
Has anyone had similar issues?
Posted to by Dr. Laundry 2
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Comments (2)
J Hardy's comment is:
24 May
Recently a jug of bleach leaked on our kitchen floor. The jug sat there for three days before it was discovered. There is now a yellow ring stain on the vinyl floor. This appears to be irreversible as is stated above. We have tried whitening agents, cream of tarter and whitening toothpastes as suggested on other websites, but these have failed to improve the condition of the flooring. Looks like I will be giving my wife a new kitchen floor for our anniversary.
Dr. Laundry's comment is:
24 May
Hi J.H.— I’m so sorry to hear about your floor! Your situation definitely matches what the flooring company described as a condition where undiluted bleach could damage a floor, specifically prolonged (72 hours!) contact. In addition to the discoloration, your floor has probably also lost its protective wear layer, so replacing it makes sense. In the future, you may want to consider setting the bleach bottle in your ceramic or stainless steel sink instead of on the floor—this way if any bleach runs down the front of the bottle and spreads out around the base, you can easily rinse it away. Setting the bleach bottle on a paper towel is another great way to easily see if the bleach is dribbling down the side of the bottle as you pour. Adjusting the speed at which you pour can get this under control—pouring into a measuring cup can also help control dribbles. And if it’s a bottle of Clorox® Regular-Bleach that actually has a leak, please let us know here: http://www.clorox.com/contact/. Hopefully your wife loves home remodeling projects, and will appreciate the idea of a new floor as an anniversary gift. In the context of “for better or for worse” it would be great if this is your biggest challenge, although you may also want to give her some flowers and take her out to dinner! --Dr. Laundry
The views, opinions, depicted results and experiences expressed in user-submitted-comments are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Clorox Company and may not be representative or typical of the product under actual conditions of use as directed. User comments are not edited for accuracy or safety.
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