# white Plastics going off white in our house



## Leah Frances (Jan 13, 2008)

Bump to follow thread.


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## aimeesrockworks (Oct 20, 2009)

Strange, normally I would expect that from sun damage. Is the yellowing duct over the stove area? Wonder if you're getting airborne oils on it (unintentionally of course!).

You might try attacking the stains with a Magic Eraser or even soaking them in a bleach-bath. But I'd probably guess it's permanent. Suppose you could also cover it with that new fancy plastic paint I've seen at the hardware store. 

Good luck!


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## agdp07 (Nov 30, 2009)

Its in our living room which has nothing but books and 2 lounges.
Its weird because the outer rim isnt effected.
I have hads alot of white plactics over the years do this in different houses.
Didnt realise it would be this hard to get an answer to be honest as Im sure Im not the only one who has this problem.


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## houseinthewoods (Jan 17, 2010)

I remember reading an article on a computer forum about people who restore old PCs. The white plastic cases tended to yellow because of a flame retardant that was added to the plastic. I don't believe contemporary white plastics have the same problem.

Here's just one hit I found:
http://hackaday.com/2009/03/02/restoring-yellowed-computer-plastics/

Do a Google search for 'restore yellowed plastic" and you'll get a bunch more.

The article has a formula for something to restore the white.


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## eagle09tbl (Oct 18, 2009)

I have had the exact same issue with the trim rings surrounding my recessed (pot) lights. So far I don't know what causes it or found anything to restore the bright white color.

I've had my house 9 years now and so far I've replaced the trim rings twice. Personally, I think it's just poor quality materials but I'll follow this thread with hopes that somebody offers a solution here. Thanks for bringing this up *agdp07*.


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## mrominger (Apr 25, 2011)

*metal switch plates*

I had this same problem in our previous home. With time all the white plastic switch plate turned an ugly ivory color from sun exposure. I didn't know what to do until a friend of mine recommended removing them and purchasing all metal switch plates. At first I thought she was crazy, but it turned out that the metal ones only cost me a few cents more than my plastic ones and I was able to get them in white metal. Perhaps you can switch to metal too?


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