How to Get Stains Out of Linoleum

By Matt Oden | Comments | Surface Stains → Linoleum

Wondering how to get stains out of linoleum? There are more ways to clean and remove linoleum stains than you might think. Since linoleum is a common flooring many find themselves thinking about how to get a plethora of different stains out of their flooring and many have found the answers.

How to Get General Stains Out of Linoleum

What you will need:

Mild liquid soap
Warm water
Baking soda
Nonabrasive washcloth
Soft-bristled scrub brush
Broom and Dustpan
Mini vacuum
Lemon juice
Plastic bowl
Empty spray bottle

When trying to remove stains from your linoleum floors you need to take a few pre-steps. The cleaning of your floors, before beginning the stain removal process, is very important. Do not skip this step.

Remove all of the dust from your linoleum. You should do this by using the good old fashioned broom and dustpan. Try to make sure to get under the tables, chairs, cupboards, stoves, etc...
Once you have swept you should now go over the linoleum floors with a mini vacuum. This will ensure you have gotten the dust off of your floors. If you don't happen to have a mini vacuum you can use a dampened paper towel. You should change the paper towel every so often to ensure you are still removing dust.
Next, you will need to clean/prepare your linoleum flooring by creating a mixture of mild liquid soap and clean warm water. Put the mixture in a clean spray bottle.
Shake the spray bottle until the mixture begins to look sudsy.
Spray the entire linoleum floor with the solution. Allow the mixture to sit for a few minutes.
Next, use a sponge or nonabrasive cloth to clean the floor. Ensure you wipe the floor clean using a circular motion across the entire floor. Make sure you pay extra attention to the stained area of the floor. This step could be good enough to clean away some stains if the stain has not sat for too long with out being treated.
Inspect the stained area. If the stain remains move on to step 8.
Now it is time to make a homemade stain remover. You can do this by mixing baking soda and lemon juice in a plastic bowl. Stir the mixture until it makes a toothpaste consistency. This will be your cleaning paste.
Use a paper towel or wash cloth to evenly apply the paste to the stained area on the linoleum floor. Allow the paste to sit for about 3 to 5 minutes.
Next, use a sponge, washcloth, or soft-bristled scrub brush to scrub the stains away.
Inspect the stained area of the linoleum flooring. If the stain remains repeat steps 8 and 9. If the stain has been removed rinse the floor with warm water to remove all of the stain fighting ingredients. You do not want to leave any of the cleaning products on the floor as they can change the color of your linoleum and make an even bigger problem for you.

How to Remove Yellow Stains Out of Linoleum Flooring Method 1: Sunlight

What you will need:

Sunlight

This method of removing yellow stains from your linoleum flooring is a little radical and hard to believe it could really work. What you need to know is a lack of sunlight causes your linoleum flooring to yellow. With this great insight continue reading for one of the easiest ways to remove yellow stains from your linoleum floors.

Remove any rugs from your floor. The rugs block the light and cause ugly yellow stains to form under and around the rugs.
Once the rugs have been removed allow the sun to shine in on the stained linoleum. Exposure time will differ depending on how long the rugs have remained in one place on your floor. The longer the rug was on the floor the longer you will need to expose the area with sunlight.
Once the yellowed part of the linoleum begins to look the same as the rest of the floor you can replace your rugs.
To prevent further yellowing of your linoleum floors ensure you expose the covered parts of the floor with sunlight. This will lessen the chance the stain will happen again.

How to Remove Yellow Stains From Linoleum Flooring Method 2: Baking soda

What you will need:

Baking soda
Water
Soft cloth

If method 1: sunlight did not work to remove the yellow stains from your linoleum flooring you can use this next method. Like the most stains it is much easier to remove a stain on linoleum when you can treat the stain right away.

To begin this method of stain removal, remove any rugs from the floor.
Next, sweep or vacuum any dust near the yellow stain.
Wet the entire stained area with clean water.
Do not dry the water. Sprinkle a generous amount of baking soda on the yellowed part of the linoleum.
Allow the baking soda to sit for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Using a damp cloth wipe away the baking soda.
Inspect the area. If the stain remains repeat steps 3 through 6. Don't be alarmed if you need to repeat this method several times.
Once the stain has been removed use a damp cloth or paper towel to wipe away the remaining baking soda.
Periodically clean your linoleum floor with baking soda to keep the yellowing stains from coming back.