How to bleach plastic from yellowness. Rules for bleaching yellowed plastic using folk remedies. Prevention, tireless work and whiteness

Almost all cladding household appliances, as well as windows and window sills, are made of plastic. Over time, the color changes and turns yellow. Therefore, many are looking for an answer to the question of how to bleach yellowed plastic and return products to their original appearance. There are ways to bleach plastic, and we will tell you about them.

Methods for bleaching plastic

Most often, the lining of kitchen appliances has a yellowish coating due to the accumulation of grease and dust on it. Warm water with detergent and a hard sponge can easily handle this. If you install a good hood in the kitchen, then you can forget about the problem.
Regular laundry soap, which contains a lot of alkali, can help remove yellow deposits from plastic items in the kitchen. Any alcohol works well to remove yellowness on a plastic surface. Apply a little alcohol to a soft cloth and wipe the surface. Before doing this, test the alcohol effect on a small area of the surface that is not visible.
Use car cosmetics that can effectively whiten yellowed plastic and significantly refresh the appearance of the surface. Automotive stores sell special products in the form of a spray - plastic restorers, as well as polishes and cleaners for plastic products in liquid form.
Small plastic objects can be placed for several hours in a solution prepared according to the following recipe. For a liter of water, take one spoonful of soda, washing powder and bleach.
Stores selling computer equipment sell wipes soaked in a special solution. With their help you can slightly whiten yellowed surfaces.
Any technical alcohol dissolves the top layer of plastic products, which allows you to remove yellowness from the surface. This technique requires great care; processing must be carried out without excessive fanaticism. Otherwise the surface will become uneven.
In some cases, good results in whitening yellowed plastic can be achieved using hair lightening products. Of course, this technique is expensive, given the cost of paint, but, if you wish, you can try.
Concentrated ammonia is a good way to remove yellowness. Using this technique, you need to provide your own protection: glasses, respirator, gloves.
Try pouring a little hydrogen peroxide on a sponge and then wipe the surfaces you want. Repeat steps 3-4 times. The result will definitely be there. From my own experience. On the advice of a friend, I tried Defender plastic surface cleaner. It whitened yellowed plastic perfectly. After treatment, a film with antistatic properties remains on the surface.
Some people use acetone to remove yellow residue from plastic. This aggressive component can dissolve some types of plastic, so the extent of its exposure should be checked before processing. To wipe the surface, apply a little acetone to a piece of cotton wool. This will help avoid leaks. Wipe quickly.

If irreversible changes have occurred in the plastic, most often due to service life, do not rush to throw away the item. You can “give” her new life, if painted with aerosol paint.

Summary

Even if you know how to bleach yellowed plastic, try to keep its white color longer. If possible, protect plastic surfaces from sunlight and clean them frequently with specially formulated detergents. You should not smoke in a room with plastic windows, and you should ventilate the room more often. Good luck.

Plastic has long become one of the most popular materials for the manufacture of various things. It is found in toys, electronics, home appliances, cars and home decor. But over time, any white plastic products begin to acquire yellow tints. The reason for this is exposure to sunlight, sudden changes in temperature, improper care and natural reactions with oxygen. In such situations, you can try to bleach the yellowed plastic to restore it to its former beauty.

Special attention deserve windows. Plastic structures used in conjunction with glass very often turn yellow under the influence of ultraviolet radiation emitted by the sun. Bright rays can illuminate them all day. If this happens regularly over several years, then the appearance of a yellow tint is inevitable. Additional factors include sudden temperature changes and improper operation.

The plastic used for window elements contains various substances that can extend its service life. Therefore, you should clean the window sill with care. You cannot use:

Dishwashing detergents;
Hard sponges;
Abrasive powders;
Acetone and similar products;
Alkaline substances;
Hot water.

All other means of getting rid of yellow spots can be used without fear.

How to bleach plastic

It is not so difficult to return plastic products to their original appearance. This can be done at home without outside help. You just need to stock up on everything necessary means, which will be used to achieve the goal. There are several cleaning methods.

Useful video on bleaching plastic - video:

A simple but very effective remedy. Laundry soap will help renew old plastic, giving it a white tint again. This method shows maximum effectiveness when color changes are caused by exposure to fatty deposits.

How to proceed:

Grate (½ bar).
Pour warm water (150 ml) and stir.
Apply the prepared solution to the problem area. Wait 30 minutes.
Wipe with a clean sponge, wash away soap marks with clean water.

You can use this method in any case, because soap is harmless.

Special napkins

Electronics stores sell special wipes. They contain various substances that can clean computer equipment of dirt without any harm. They also help with yellowing.

How to clean:

Every 6 hours, wipe the yellow mark with a napkin.
Repeat daily for several days until the yellowness disappears completely.

This option is ideal for household appliances and plastic window sills.

Tooth powder with chalk

This unusual mixture allows you to return the white color to things if shades of yellow have appeared recently. You can try it for old stains, but you are unlikely to achieve significant results.

What do we have to do:

Mix a small amount of chalk and tooth powder.
Add water to make a thick paste.
Spread over the entire surface of the plastic and wait until dry.
Remove any remaining powder with a dry cloth.

The procedure can be repeated many times.

Soda and washing powder

Baking soda is very often used to clean dirty stains from various things. It also copes well with yellowness.

How to use it:

Mix soda (1 tbsp), washing powder (1 tbsp) and water (500 ml).
Apply liquid to plastic object. Wait 8 hours.
Wash off all traces with a damp cloth.

An excellent option for cleaning window sills.

Vinegar

No less effective way Acetic acid is used to restore the whiteness of plastic products. To do this you will need a 70% solution.

Cleaning process:

Moisten soft cloth or big cotton pad in vinegar.
Wipe down the plastic.
Wash the surface of the object with water.

When using acid, you should wear latex gloves and ventilate the room. It is also not recommended to use the yellow remover on sensitive plastic.

Citric acid with chlorine

A powerful yellowing agent that can be used on thin plastic products without worrying about their integrity.

How to use:

Mix equal amounts of citric acid and chlorine.
Apply to stains. Wait 30 minutes.
Remove any remaining product.

This mixture can be used repeatedly until you can return the yellowed plastic to its usual appearance.

Hydrogen peroxide

This medical product is very popular and is present in every first aid kit. It helps not only to disinfect wounds, but also to tidy up the surface of yellowed plastic.

Mode of application:

Wet a soft sponge with peroxide.
Wipe repeatedly yellow spots.
Wash off any remaining traces of peroxide.

The product does not harm plastic. Therefore, long-term and repeated use is allowed until the desired result is obtained.

Alcohol

Alcohol has become very popular in cleaning stains. It destroys the composition of any dirt, making things clean again. It helps to whiten heavily yellowed plastic no less effectively. Its composition not only removes yellowness, but literally destroys the structure of the upper layers of the object. Therefore, it should be used with caution.

How to use alcohol:

Soak a rag in it.
Wipe the yellow parts of the surface.
Remove all traces of alcohol with clean water.

This method is suitable for rough, dense plastic on household appliances and various devices.

Acetone

Another very aggressive solvent that can not only lighten the plastic, but also damage it. Before use, it is recommended to apply a small amount of acetone to an inconspicuous area of the item to check the reaction. If everything is in order, then it can be used. Nevertheless, caution will still not be superfluous.

Whitening:

Soak a thick cotton pad with acetone.
Wipe down the plastic.
Wipe off any traces of product with a damp cloth.

Instead of acetone, you can use nail polish remover. Its composition is not so harmful to the coating, but shows less effectiveness.

Special products for plastic restoration

You can return white plastic objects to their original appearance using special products that are designed to restore plastic in cars. You can buy them at auto repair shops and spare parts stores.

How to use:

Apply to the problem area following the instructions.
Wait until dry.

Before use, be sure to read the instructions.

Bleach

Option for small items. It involves completely soaking the item in chlorine.

How to do it:

Dilute bleach or bleach (1 tbsp) in water (1 l), adding a little soda (1 tbsp).
Place the item to be restored into a container with liquid. Leave overnight.
Remove and rinse the item thoroughly under cool water.

If the yellowing is very strong, soaking in pure bleach without diluting it with water is allowed.

conclusions

The methods listed should be enough to cope with the problem and get your white plastic back. If the yellowness turns out to be very old and does not respond to any remedy, then you can simply carefully cover it with paint that best matches the shade, or paint the entire product. This way you can hide all problem areas.

By carrying out a comprehensive general cleaning, you can take care of household chores that you have been planning to do for a long time. For example, bleach plastic items that have turned yellow during use.

Plastic is an excellent universal material from which a large number of the most various items. They look very dignified and presentable in white, but over the course of their lives they lose their former appearance and turn yellow. This is due to a large number of negative factors affecting plastic items.

Plastic window in good condition

To return former whiteness, you need to remove yellow dirt. Today we just want to tell you how to bleach yellowed plastic.

Causes

First of all, I would like to understand the reasons for the yellowness on plastic objects, and only then do everything possible to remove it.

As we have already said, a lot of items are made from plastic, from children's toys to finishing panels, from household appliances to storage boxes. Some of the most common white plastic items that develop a yellow coating include the window sill and window frame. As they are used, these plastic coatings most often become covered with a yellowish tint, which, for various reasons, housewives simply cannot wash off.

Windows are most exposed to harmful factors

Among the popular reasons for this negative process are the following:

the negative impact of sunlight, in particular ultraviolet radiation, on the plastic surface;
as a consequence, the variability of the temperature regime, jumps and drops;
a plastic composition in which various ingredients are present, some of which come to the surface in the form of a yellow coating;
smoking, presence of tobacco smoke.

As you can see, all the main factors that negatively affect plastic products primarily affect the window sill and frame, therefore, among all household plastics, these items are more susceptible to fading and replacement white to yellow.

A large number of plastic products in the kitchen

Having found out the reasons, you can work with the damaged surfaces, but first of all you need to prepare them, and the frame properly. This is done with a regular detergent, which you can purchase at any hardware store. We need to remove all grease, all dirt and dust in order to fully work with bleaching agents. Now let's look at how to bleach yellowed plastic.

Whitening

The main methods of combating yellow plaque on plastic are based on the use traditional methods. The recipes involve common ingredients found in your kitchen.

Soap solution

If plastic contamination is not catastrophic, if it is not caused by burnout, but created during use or smoking, it is possible that it can be removed with a regular soap solution. To do this, you should arm yourself with a brush with strong bristles, add a soap solution from laundry or regular soap, and rinse the plastic surface in several approaches. Instead of a brush, you can use a dishwashing sponge or a melamine sponge.

Our indispensable tool in the fight for cleanliness is an ordinary sponge.

Alcohol

The second thing you should try to clean the window sill or frame is rubbing alcohol. The aggressive composition of this liquid not only washes away dirt and yellowness, but also corrodes the upper layers of plastic, which is why the maximum effect is achieved. If you leave the composition on a polymer product for a long time, it will definitely ruin it. When working with alcohol, you must be careful and attentive, use a cotton swab or lint-free rag, do not press too hard on the surface, and do not rub quickly.

Acetone

If there is no alcohol in the house, you can wash off the yellowness with acetone or nail polish remover made from it. Acetone has a similar functionality and is a priori used for washing coloring materials. Like alcohol, it is capable of corroding the top layers of polymer products, which means more effectively cleaning them from dirt and yellowness. Do not forget to ventilate the room after working with alcohol-containing preparations.

High-quality domestic acetone from the manufacturer Vershina

Hydrogen peroxide, wipes, aerosols

Hydrogen peroxide saves a housewife in many cases, and it will probably help in ours too. To do this, pour it generously onto a sponge and wipe the yellowed surface. Hydrogen peroxide does an excellent job of removing the yellow residue from tobacco smoke that is often present on white kitchen surfaces.

By the way, if you have wet wipes at your disposal for wiping household appliances, you can try to clean the yellowness with them. They contain alcohol, which will help us in our fight.

By and large, the plastic of household appliances is not much different from the polymers used to create window sills and frames, so in some cases napkins help.

Every housewife should have hydrogen peroxide available.

To clean plastic household appliances and plastic in cars, special aerosols are produced, which are sold in automobile stores; you can also use them for the frame and window sill. Many housewives claim that such products remove yellow plaque well.

Soda and chlorine

If you completely immerse yourself in folk recipes, you can try the mixture washing powder for whites and soda ash. Both ingredients are poured into water, approximately 1 tablespoon of each powder per half liter of water, mixed and applied to a plastic surface with yellow. It will take several hours for the mixture to dissolve and bleach the top layer of plastic, after which it is washed off and your window sill becomes white.

If we need to bleach removable parts, then chlorine will come to the rescue. Simply immerse plastic items in a chlorine-containing cleaning solution and leave to sit overnight. In the morning you will wash your white, clean parts.

If none of the above means of whitening plastic objects helps you, then the yellowness has already become firmly embedded in the structure of the material. Now, to give it a white color, the object can be simply painted. If we are talking about a window sill, then it can be covered with white self-adhesive film, the result will be very good.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that removing yellow stains from plastic objects is not difficult; modern household chemicals and improvised means help us with this very well. Well, if yellowness has already become part of the plastic, then you just need to update it.

Plastic products change color after long use: the plastic turns yellow, the appearance of the product becomes unpresentable. Bleaching yellowed plastic is not always an easy task. The abundance of household chemicals that are specifically designed for vomiting usually does not help cope with this task. There are a number of effective folk methods, but their effectiveness depends on the time of accumulation of yellowness. It is worth remembering that before bleaching plastic, it must be thoroughly washed to remove grease and dirt, especially if we are talking about a kitchen product.

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Proper preparation of the product for cleaning

The most common yellowed plastic products include: household appliances, window frames and sills, children's toys, knitting machine and various decorative details.

If the structure is made of plastic, it is necessary to disassemble it into its component parts. This will make the cleaning process easier. If you need to bleach the yellowed plastic on the outside and inside of the refrigerator, it is much more convenient to remove all the shelves and drawers.

First you need to remove the top layer of dirt. Then you should wash the item or structure with plain water and soap; you can also use other detergents. A visual assessment of the surface for “fear” of mechanical damage is necessary. There are two universal rules: Use a soft sponge to clean glossy plastic; a brush is suitable for rough surfaces.

In some cases, the yellow tint does not remain after ordinary washing. If this does not happen, you need to turn to special means.

Getting rid of soot and grease

Often, plastic products intended for use in the kitchen acquire a greasy coating or a layer of soot. The product seems to be in a yellow film, which makes the interior untidy and sloppy. In such a situation, it is advisable to use laundry soap:

1. Half of the block is grated (the chips should be large).
2. Next, the soap shavings are poured with hot water and stirred.
3. The resulting solution is applied to the contaminated surface and left for half an hour, after which it is washed off with plain water, without using any cleaning agents.

The secret of this simple recipe is the alkali contained in laundry soap. It is absolutely safe for any type of plastic and can clean the surface of grease and some other stubborn contaminants.

How to wash windows on a balcony from the outside without streaks: safe methods

Alcohol to restore whiteness

To clean plastic that has yellowed over time, it is recommended to use alcohol, preferably medical grade. If there is no alcohol, then you can use isopropanol or methanol.

Work should take place in a ventilated room to be able to get rid of the unpleasant odor. Alcohol should be applied to a soft sponge (fleecy or terry cloth is not suitable) and wipe the surface with it.

Window whitening

Plastic items tend to fade from constant exposure to ultraviolet radiation. In this case, colored plastic loses its color, becomes dull, and white plastic begins to turn yellow. Unfortunately, plastic windows are also exposed to this effect.

To whiten a window or the sill of a plastic window that has turned yellow in the sun, you can use a recipe in which part of the washing powder and part of the soda (they must be equal) are mixed and then diluted in water; one tablespoon of the resulting mixture is required for half a liter of water. Soak the surface with a solution of powder and soda. This requires generous application of the composition to the frame and window sill. After two hours, wash off. The same method works for air conditioning.

Traditional folk remedies

If the methods described above do not help, you can try to get rid of plaque with other folk remedies, for example using vinegar.

You need to use vinegar essence (70-80%), the use of a food solution (9%) in this case will not help. Acetic essence is a concentrated acid, so it can only be used in a well-ventilated area, and thick gloves must be worn on your hands.

A cotton swab or sponge soaked in vinegar essence is suitable for cleaning. Problem areas just need to be wiped.

You can use another method of cleaning plastic from yellowness - using chlorine and soaking in it. This method is used for small products.

Small parts can be soaked in chlorine solution

Among the wide range of household products, you need to choose one that contains chlorine. These include: bleaches, plumbing solutions or various stain removers. Powdered cleaners need to be diluted only according to the instructions, and liquid solutions are used in their own form (water cannot be added). The yellowed item should be placed in the cleaner and left there for 6-9 hours. It is more convenient to soak the item overnight. Since chlorine is a potent substance, it can restore the original whiteness even of heavily soiled surfaces.

The situation is more complicated with transparent plastic. Unfortunately, it cannot be bleached. In this case, the only thing left to do is replace the product.

Other means

Yellowed plastic products can be returned to their original color using specialized products. For example, using wet wipes designed to clean equipment or car showroom. These wipes will help remove stubborn stains and lighten the color by 1-3 tones.

Car wipes

The most effective means is a special stain remover for plastic. It is sold in the auto care department or hardware store. Be sure to read the instructions for use. It indicates how long the product should be left on the plastic; when using some products, cleaning should begin immediately after application.

Whitening large surface areas

It happens that most of the surface has acquired a yellow tint, for example, the plastic on the microwave. Only special sprays can cope with this situation.

Household chemicals have a positive feature: a large number of plastic sprays envelop the product with a protective film, which helps maintain cleanliness for a long time.

There are cases when nothing helps clean the plastic. Then you can resort to an extreme method: buy aerosol paint, which paints over the yellowness. Typically, this method is used to restore the facade of household appliances, parts of a washing machine, or large-scale decorative items.

Housewives' opinions on whitening at home

Many people are quite happy with the use of laundry soap and chlorine. According to reviews, Belizna has the optimal cost and efficiency. “Whiteness” can quickly and efficiently wash yellowed plastic by first soaking it. Many families use this inexpensive bleach. Other housewives note that alcohol or vinegar are excellent for cleaning plastic.

If we take into account specialized products, then the opinions of housewives differ. The composition of some cleaners can remove any contaminant in a matter of minutes. Some are simply useless, although their cost is quite high.

Plastic is a universal material from which today household appliances, kitchen utensils and other household items are made. But, under the pressure of time and other factors, white plastic begins to turn yellow, which spoils appearance products. It is in such situations that housewives are looking for an answer to the question of how to wash and bleach yellowed plastic?

How to bleach yellowed plastic?

The following products will help eliminate yellowing from plastic items:

ethanol;
washing powder;
chlorine bleach;
nail polish remover with acetone;
special cleaners in the form of sprays;
soda ash;
perhydrol.

All of the above products are equally effective in combating yellowed plastic. Therefore, when cleaning, you can build on what you already have on hand or what will be more economical for the family budget.

Methods for bleaching yellow plastic

To restore the whiteness of yellowed plastic, it is not enough to choose the right product, you also need to use it correctly. There are several options that will help even very old plastic shine white.

Remove yellow stains with detergent and sponge

This option is appropriate to use if the lining of kitchen appliances, on which particles of grease and dust often remain, has succumbed to yellowness. You can fix the problem as follows:

Soak the sponge in soapy water or liquid detergent and wring it out.
Use gentle movements to wipe the areas that have turned yellow.
Rinse the sponge under normal water so that no traces remain on it. detergent, squeeze well and rinse the plastic again.
Finally, rub the plastic surface until dry with a regular textile cloth.

For the soap solution, you can use laundry soap. It contains alkali, which plastic is not afraid of, and which perfectly eliminates signs of yellow color.

Ethanol against yellowness

Before using ethanol against yellowness, you need to put rubber gloves on your hands, a respiratory mask on your face, and safety glasses on your eyes. It is also advisable to ventilate the room. This is done in order to prevent poisoning from ethanol vapors.

Next, you should check the reaction of a plastic item to alcohol. To do this, you need to wipe the area that is least noticeable with the substance. If no negative consequences no, this means that ethanol can be safely used in the following way: apply ethanol to a cotton pad and rub the yellow areas with it until they turn white.

Wet wipe for plastic

On the shelves of computer stores you can find wipes that are impregnated with a special substance, the effect of which is designed on plastic surfaces and monitors of computers and laptops. These wipes can be used to clean plastic and get rid of yellowness without much effort. The main thing is to wipe dirty and yellow places with them every day, and in a couple of days not a trace will remain of them.

These wipes are best used to bleach plastic washing machine, refrigerator, and also wipe plastic window sills with them. The fact is that the napkins are very soft in texture and do not require mechanical effort when cleaning, and this guarantees that the equipment will remain without damage, scratches and will shine like new.

Spray cleaner for plastic

It is advisable to use professional spray cleaners, since they not only eliminate yellowness, but also create a special film on surfaces that protects them from external factors. The only negative here that can be highlighted is the high cost of such sprays. But, a minimal amount of this product is required to clean the plastic and it lasts for a long time.

Such sprays are also suitable for cleaning yellowed plastic on a washing machine, refrigerator and windowsill, and even on a computer power supply.

If the plastic parts are small, then they can be left overnight in chlorine-containing bleach, which over such a long period of time will not leave a single piece of yellowness. But, unfortunately, this method can only be used with small objects that can be wet (for example, you can’t get a toaster wet). There is no point in simply rubbing the yellow areas with chlorine bleach, since the effect requires long-term exposure to this component.

Instead of chlorine bleach, you can use a solution with soda ash:

For a liter of water, take a tablespoon of soda, the same amount of washing powder or a tablespoon of bleach.
Soak the plastic product in the resulting solution for 10 hours (if the yellowness is strong, you can soak for a longer time).
After soaking, rinse the plastic part under clean water and wipe dry.

Using perhydrol

Perhydrol is the most common hydrogen peroxide. In this case, you need to act according to the following scheme:

Pour a little perhydrol onto the sponge.
Use a sponge to walk over the yellowed surface.
Repeat the procedure three times, once a day.

Nail polish remover with acetone

Considering that this remedy has a very aggressive effect and can dissolve plastic, you must act quickly in a horizontal direction from top to bottom. In this case, a textile napkin is used, onto which nail polish remover with acetone is applied. It is important to ensure that the acetone does not remain on the surface, otherwise stains will appear that can no longer be removed.

Vinegar against yellowness

Undiluted vinegar essence (70-80%) should be dropped onto a cotton pad, then rub the areas that have succumbed to yellow discoloration. After this, wipe the surface with a damp cloth and go over it with a dry cloth. Before starting work, be sure to wear rubber gloves.

Video: How to whiten yellowed window sills and windows?

Not all of the methods listed above are suitable for eliminating yellowness on windowsills and plastic windows. Alternative instructions for whitening are presented in the video:
We also recommend reading the article:.

Note to housewives

To prevent the plastic from turning yellow and losing its original impeccable appearance, you should use the following recommendations:

You should not smoke in a room where plastic window sills are installed, as over time the plastic will turn yellow from nicotine.
To keep plastic white longer, you should protect it from direct sunlight.
Plastic can only be washed with soft sponges or special wipes; using other equipment can leave scratches on the surface.

The appearance of yellowness on plastic is not a death sentence, because there are many means that can help effectively eliminate the problem, and at the same time they do not take much time and effort. If you follow all the recommendations, then even very yellowed plastic can be given a second life!