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The most important thing is not to reach for aggressive cleaners right away - plastic scratches easily and then it'll look even worse. Try starting with warm water and a bit of mild dish soap, just wipe it down with a soft cloth. For stubborn discoloration, a mixture of vinegar and water often works well, or you can use special plastic cleaners from the hardware store. They're usually cheap and gentle enough.
If the discoloration is really deep-set or comes from UV radiation, then unfortunately it gets tricky. Sometimes only a plastic polish helps, or in the worst case you'd have to replace it. But before that I'd definitely try whether more regular cleaning prevents the stuff from getting so dark in the first place - just go over it with a damp cloth every few weeks before anything gets stuck on.
Bleach and scouring powder are indeed poison for plastic, you're right about that. But what a lot of people don't know: toothpaste with mild abrasive action can help with stubborn discoloration - it's way gentler than abrasives and most people have it lying around anyway. Just apply it thinly, gently rub it in circles with a soft brush, and rinse it off with water. It works surprisingly well on yellowed or grayed-out spots.
If the discoloration is stubborn, I'd try vinegar first - just use it straight or diluted on a cloth and rub gently. That works better than dish soap for a lot of dirt and it's still gentle enough for plastic. If that doesn't help, you can always fall back on toothpaste, but really only use a mild one and don't scrub too hard, otherwise you'll actually get scratches in there that you won't be able to get out.
For discoloration on plastic windows, I'd go with vinegar water - it's way more effective than just dish soap and still gentle enough 🙌 Just mix it 1:1 with warm water, let it sit, and wipe it down with a soft cloth. For verdigris or algae spots it works great, and you don't need to mess around with toothpaste or other experiments. If vinegar doesn't cut it, there are special plastic cleaners at the hardware store, but honestly you usually don't need them.
Try using a cloth with olive oil - sounds weird, but it works great for discoloration and makes the plastic nice and shiny again without damaging it.
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