Does Ammonia Strip Wax From Linoleum Floors?

Wax Build-Up

• Over time the wax you apply to your floor is worn away by the normal, daily traffic that flooring takes. High-traffic areas, those which see the most use, wear more quickly than areas that are out of the general traffic flow. These low traffic areas probably still have a wax finish when the wax on the rest of your linoleum is long gone. As you reapply the wax to your floor, the low-traffic areas may begin to show a yellowish discoloration, evidence of wax build-up.

Stripping the Wax Build-Up

• While there are many commercial cleaners you can use to remove the wax build-up before reapplying your wax, a half cup of ammonia, mixed with a cup of laundry detergent and a gallon of water will get the job done. Scrubbing the floor with that mixture, using a stiff brush, will loosen up the build-up. Then it's just a matter of mopping your linoleum with clean water. Ammonia is a bit hard on flooring, and can dry it out, so you shouldn't strip off the old wax more than annually.

Reapplying Wax

• Because ammonia is hard on a floor, and because the remaining traces may interfere with the reapplication of your wax, give the floor a few days, even a week, before you clean it and reapply the wax.

Ammonia Warnings

• When cleaning your linoleum flooring, ammonia should never be mixed with bleach, or used in conjunction with bleach, because the two together produce a highly toxic gas. Also, though ammonia is safe for stripping wax from linoleum, it can damage laminate wood flooring by stripping off the protective coating. While small amounts of ammonia probably won't do damage, laminate floors should not be washed with ammonia.