Virtually everyone with original Formica or other brand laminates is eager to find the right cleaning products to restore or brighten up their kitchen and bathroom countertops. Over at Formica, they have several stories on cleaning laminate – check them out here.
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38 comments
Jamie Farone says
Hello! I have the vintage white countertops in my kitchen and bath that have the gold fleck in them.. unfortunately some of the gold fleck has worn off and looks black ish.. whatever the backing to the gold would have been.. anyway. it stains pretty darn easy.. ive found that the mr clean magic eraser takes the stains right off but then i try to use pledge or something of the sort to buff over it to protect.. doing this often keeps it from staining as bad and having to use the magic eraser as much. But also we had a problem with little ants in the kitchen and bath and using a citrus or orange scented ploish or pledge has helped quite a bit…. its double duty! But my counter tops are in great shape otherwise.. I do lot and lots of baking and I have an at home cupcake making hobby business.. so keeping my original counter tops in tip top shape for my 1950s style retro pink kitchen is a must! I will never part from these counter tops! they dont make them anymore.. plus mine have the awesome steel trim and the steel cove trim between the back of the counter and the back splash…. great blog article here! more ideas for keeping these counters intact! thanks!!!
lynda says
I ordered the Hope Countertop Polish from Amazon. I used it on my white laminate cabinets (from 1977) and they look very nice. They were not really dirty, so I don’t know how the product cleans. However, the cabinets feel very nice and have a nice glow without being shiny.
I also used Hope’s Floor Revive Floor Shine on my Saltillo tile floors and that was a nice product too.
jmb says
I’ve found most wood furniture polish with lemon or orange oil in it does a great job cleaning my Formica. I currently have been using Spartan “Citro Shield” Furniture Polish. It mentions Formica on the label, and I buy it at state surplus store for one dollar per can.
Glamorlux Nancy says
Thanks for the suggestions, Pam! I’ve tried Countertop Magic and was not really impressed by it. It doesn’t clean better than Dow Scrubbing Bubbles (my “go to” cleaner), and it doesn’t make my 1959 countertops – or my laminate table top – look any newer or shinier. I’m gonna try one of these alternatives that touts more “shining” properties.
Oh, BTW, Clorox Clean-Up works great to get out coffee stains on our light-colored counters.
lynda says
Be careful with bleach on white laminate, it can make it yellow.
Andi says
My original (’50s) aquamarine Formica countertops are in good shape overall but stain easily (coffee, tea, blueberries, red wine, almost anything with color will leave a mark). The only thing that removes the discoloration is a commercial bleach-spray, which does work but I hate using it for obvious reasons.
The countertops really need a protective finish coat. “Magic” is sounding good—thanks for the recommendations!
J D Log says
Over in Australia Magic is not avaliable I normally use Windex. this works well for my Formica cabinets and pieces which are in good condition, but I have a table and one cabinet with 50’s red Formica which are dull due to sun fade the Windex or pledge will make it look like new then when it dries it is dull again. Is there anything I can get which will work or is the Formica permanetly damaged in this way, it looks presentable but dull
J says
Try Armour All or a car polish – it looks great and wears well
Denice Ming says
I am eyeing a red (now rosey) formica top drop leaf table to purchase. Found a good answer in reply to this question. But, Re car products…. had been wondering if a dab of auto compound would harm it. We used to use it in the day to bring back the shine on old cars that had hazed.
pam kueber says
I don’t know. Use my search box to get to my story on how laminate is made. The top layer of laminate is melamine — that’s what you are treating and trying to restore.
IMissLiberty says
I haven’t tried lemon oil for this purpose, but I do use lemon oil to kill ants in the kitchen.
Originally, I needed something to get rid of fleas, and read that lemon oil works to repel them. So I bought a spray can (aerosol with no propellant other than air) of air freshener with only lemon or orange oil in it at Smart & Final (I forget the brand, but it’s all citrus oil in the air freshener section). I accidentally found that not only did it make fleas hopping mad, but it killed ants, so I kept it around for kitchen invasions, since I assume it is safe around food.
They say not to use it on floors (slip and fall hazzard), and it can damage some fabrics, but for kitchen and bath areas it seems to get rid of ants and fleas. Now, it appears, it could shine up the countertop!
Annie B. says
IML,
I think you’ve just made me a very happy woman! We’ve been waging a war with carpenter ants in our kitchen, attempting to use only products non-toxic to pets and wildlife. So far, the ants are winning. I’m buying citrus air freshener today. Thank you for the info!
Patty says
My mother had circa 1970s white laminate with specs in it. Occasionally Kool-aid or something would get spilled on it and stain it — for awhile.
I don’t think she used anything special – eventually if would just disappear through normal wiping down with a dishrag. Might take a few days, but they disappeared. Mine’s the same way.
Kris says
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser really works well to remove stains on Formica countertops. Mine are yellow (on purpose:-) )
pam kueber says
Has acid, though. Beware.
Pam Raif says
I just want to say my wait formica countertop got yellow with bleach thank you for the idea of magic eraser it worked wonderful
Janet says
Good to hear a recommendation, Annie! There is no mention of the new Jubilee type cleaner from the Vermont Country Store. Is that for formica too? I actually have an almost full bottle of Jubilee out of a very old house we rented while we were building our house. I will have to dig it out and look; I have never used it, although I know alot of people were still looking for it even twenty years ago. Like I said, I save everything.
P. Simmons says
I used to use Jubilee on everything I wanted to shine, formica, refrigerator doors. Not sure it can be found? I believe it had coconut oil in it. Seems it came in an aerosol can, too.
Annie B. says
Thanks to Pam’s great post on the Wilson House Iaminate, I learned about the wonders of Countertop Magic. It cleans and shines the laminate top of my surfboard coffee table like nothing else can. No streaks, no finger – or paw – prints can smudge the finish, no residue, and it’s not an expensive product. Just love it.