I recently had to deal with a stained white laminate counter top, due to a tea spill that wasn't cleaned up right away. I tried everything to clean it: thick bleach, baking soda (left on for two 24 hour periods), dish soap, all-purpose cleaners, and Vim powder; nothing worked! In fact, bleach seemed to darken the stain, and I suspect this is due to the hard water in our location.
What did work was a melamine "magic eraser", such as the Mr. Clean brand, but any type of melamine foam pad will work. Scrubbing really hard on the stain with the eraser did what no other cleaner could. Now the countertop looks just like normal, after a few sessions with the eraser. Save yourself a lot of trouble and just go with the melamine foam.
Link: http://ask.metafilter.com/18615/Getting-stains-out-of-a-white-formica-kitchen-counter
I'm not worried about restoring the shine, I just want a way to get the stains out from my cooking. I tried bleach and it worked somewhat OK, but I had to leave it on for hours, and I think that took whatever finish there is off. I cook late at night, then get up and make coffee and a sandwich before going to work and don't clean up until I get home in the evening, so the coffee dribbles, the paprika and chili powder, and all the other stuff I splatter stays there for hours.
Magic Eraser is great for this.
I have a 1950s Formica table with a built in extension. The extension is still the bright red the table had, but the outer portions have turned dark, how can I correct the darkened areas?
By Aleah
You probably cant. The table has oxidized as a result of exposure to light and cleaning products
How can you remove stains from Formica tops?
By Joy
How to remove sanitizer from formica countertop?
What is the best way to clean a 1950s Formica top table?
By Sandra Balf from Tamaqua, PA
I had one for years. It was new when I bought it in 1965. I just cleaned the top on a regular basis just like cleaning the counter tops.
How do I clean rust stains on white Formica?
By Julienne I
I've had good results using a scouring powder like Bon Ami, Barkeeps Friend, and in drastic application, Comet or Ajax. Test a small corner to see if it will make things worse before trying to do the whole thing, though, to be sure you can live with it.
This is not really about a repair, but a question about cleaning and polishing an old '40s style Formica table top. It is yellow with a cracked ice design, some of which is worn away. It also has a painted fish design around the edges, which shows some wear, but I do not want to repair or replace the table top.
It's looking more dull than when I bought it and I'd like to clean (if necessary) and polish it without causing any more wear to the Formica or the painted design. Anyone?
You can use Pledge on it.
I have a green Formica countertop that has pink mold in the crease behind the sink area. How do I remove the mold without removing color from the Formica?
The color should not come out of the formica, unless someone painted over it. I would clean it with a toothbrush and a cleaner made to kill mold/mildew, or bleach water and oxyclean made into a paste.
If you are afraid of bleaching out the color, try vinegar or the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.
How do I remove product stain from a black Formica countertop?
I want to clean Formica so that I can faux paint it to look like granite. What should I use to make sure it is really clean and the paint will stick?
By mary ann penson from Phoenix, AZ
TSP is the best thing to use to clean them properly. Just make sure you also rinse and dry well before painting.
Kim from Penetang
Hi Maryanne:
I just created a blog through this website all about my experiences remodeling my kitchen. I painted my counter tops to look like galaxy granite and talk about some of the troubles I ran into while doing it, which might be of benefit to you. I'm not sure if my blog is working correctly or if anybody has taken a look at it, but I'd love it if they did.
Like grammakin suggested, I used TSP to clean my counters and in my blog I talk about some of the other steps involved.
Thrifty-Something Blog:
www.myfrugallife.com/
Be sure you are logged in if you want to connect to my link. I'm not sure if it's just my computer, but if you want to see additional information about each photo you have to click on the photo.
Good luck with your counters.
I had accidently sprayed some oven cleaner on my black Formica counter. It has left a stain. How can I restore the color to the counter?
By Helen E. from Bellingham, WA
I have a vintage Formica-top kitchen table in my bedroom. It sounds weird, but it fits in and there's room for it. I have a large room and a small table.
The other day, I (foolishly) stood beside it while using hairspray, and now when you run your hand across it, you can feel the overspray. You can't see any difference.
How can I clean this off without damaging the 50-60 year old table? It didn't come clean with Windex.
By Claire
Try warm soap and water. One coat of hairspray shouldn't be that hard to remove.
The same thing you use to get hairspray off your hair, shampoo!
