How To Remove Bleach Stains From Laminate Floors

If you want to learn how to remove bleach stains from laminate floors then you have come to the right place.

Permanent bleach stains require either replacement of individual floorboards or sanding and staining to repair, but if you manage to get to the bleach quickly after it is spilt we recommend trying hydrogen peroxide first.

When it comes to bleach on laminate flooring it all comes down to time. The longer the bleach is left, the more likely it is to cause permanent damage.

How Does Bleach Stain Laminate??

If you leave bleach on the surface of a laminate floor for an extended period of time it will leave a bleach stain, where the laminate will be discolored and lighter than what it usually is.

The amount of time it takes depends on what concentration of bleach was used. A mixture of warm water and bleach – commonly used to clean laminate floors – will take a long time to cause any noticeable bleaching.

Whereas a conventional toilet bleach normally contains between 3%-8% hydrogen hypochlorite, which requires much less time to cause a beach stain. It also depends on how old your laminate flooring is, as older laminate floors tend to have a weaker coating that can be damaged more easily.

The key point with bleach on laminate is to clean it up as soon as possible, the longer you wait the higher the probability of a stain.

Let’s take a look at how you can approach a bleach spill on laminate flooring, and then the techniques that you can use to deal with any stain that might be left behind.

How To Remove Stains From Bleach From Laminate Floors

The first thing you need to do if you spill any bleach on a laminate floor is to remove it as soon as possible. This will reduce the likelihood of staining, and even in the worse case make the stain less severe.

Remove Excess Surface Bleach

To remove the bleach, wear rubber gloves and use a damp cloth to wipe away the excess. You can then use a dry towel or paper towels to absorb the rest, and once you have done this you can move on to tackling any bleach that has soaked into the laminate.

Hydrogen Peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide is an amazing cleaning agent that can be used on hardwood floors as well as laminate.

Use a spray bottle to apply a generous amount of 3% hydrogen peroxide solution to the area where the bleach was settled. Leave this for up to 10 minutes and then use a clean cloth to wipe away anything that is left behind.

If hydrogen peroxide doesn’t do the trick, you can try out a couple of other options to confirm if the stain is going to be impossible to remove just by cleaning.

Laminate Floor Cleaner

Laminate floor cleaning solutions can be bought from almost every hardware or general store and are great to try on fresh bleach marks or stains.

Simply follow the guidelines on the label and use the solution on the bleach mark, you may just find that this will remove the bleach entirely.

Dish Soap and Water

A classic cleaning solution is dish soap and warm water, and it is should come as no surprise that you can use this to tackle bleach on laminate flooring.

We recommend diluting a couple of drops of dish soap into a container of 2 or 3 litres of warm water. Mix the water and soak a clean cloth into it, wringing it out afterwards to leave it damp.

Once the cloth is damp you can go to work on the bleach stain, working in circular motions and regularly rinsing the cloth in the solution to keep it clean.

What If The Stain Is Still There?

If you have tried the methods above to remove the stain it is likely that too much time has passed and the bleach has made its way beneath the surface of the laminate.

At this point you have two options, you can either hire a professional to replace the affected area, or you can use a sanding machine and stain the floor yourself. There are pros and cons to each method, so let’s dive into them to see which is the right choice for your situation.

Replacing Affected Floorboards

The best option, in our opinion, is to contact a professional and get the affected floorboards replaced. This is because you are guaranteed that the floorboards will match up to your floor, and it is the least stressful option.

The downside to this option is clearly the price. You will have to pay for the consultation, raw materials and also the hours of labor required to switch them around.

Sanding and Re-staining

If you are comfortable with using a sanding machine (or sandpaper) and staining your floor you can attempt to use this method to tackle bleach stains.

The theory behind this is that if the bleach has only penetrated slightly into the floor, you can sand away the affected area and then apply a stain to hide the damage. This is the same theory that is used when sanding scratches on hardwood floors.

Simply use your sanding machine, or sandpaper, to sand the bleach stain. Do this slowly and carefully, taking breaks often to see when you have removed it all. Once you are confident that the stain has been removed, apply a stain that is ideally the same brand and color used for the rest of your floor.

Final Thoughts

We hope you have learnt how to remove bleach stains from laminate floors in this article.

The most important lesson to remember is that the longer you leave the bleach on the floor, the worse the stain will be not only to repair but also aesthetically.