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Step by Step Guide on How to Clean Grout

Grout has been realized that can even affect your health when left to accumulate more and for longer. Therefore cleaning grout should be part of your daily routine, but do you know how to clean grout effectively and easily?

In this article, you are going to learn to remove grout haze and make grout cleaner at home. Keep reading if you want to learn more.

remove efflorescence from grout with backing soda

 

How to Get Floor Tile Grout White Again?

You might keep wondering how you will whiten tile grout, either in your kitchen, bathroom, or any floor area within your house.

Watch this video to learn the best way to clean tile grout floors:

The following tips should help you perfectly clean your floor grout:

Step 1:  With a stiff-bristled brush and warm water, scrub dirt from your grout. You can achieve this by simply spraying some warm water on your grout lines, then in circular motions scrub off the accumulated dirt and then allow it to dry.

Step 2: On the dried parts, spray a few amounts of vinegar and warm water and leave to soak for a few minutes, then with a stiff brush, scrub it off.

Step 3: Cover your grout lines with baking soda, paste with water and then spray along with vinegar. Wait for the mixture to stop foaming, then with a brush scrub it off, and use plain water to rinse.

Step 4: Pour some hydrogen peroxide on the grout lines to enable you to moderate the grout stains.

Step 5: If you are dealing with tougher or stubborn stains, consider applying oxygen-based bleaches. After applying the bleach, leave it to settle for at least fifteen minutes to ensure that the tough stains are removed.

Step 6: Rinse with clean plain water to prevent the bleached dirt from resettling back on the grout lines. You will have achieved white grout lines at this point.

  • However, there are various bleaches you can use on your grout. Oxygen-based is not the only option, you can as use well use chlorine-based bleaches, but these are used sparingly, not frequently since they are known for causing unanticipated damages.

 

How to Clean Dirty Grout in Shower?

get excess grout off tile and get mildew out of grout

Cleaning the grout in your shower can be challenging and tricky to anyone only because this is the highest place where grout is built up.

Therefore, one should learn more than the common basics of dealing with shower grout. To successfully clean your shower grout consider understanding the following simplified tips.

Step 1: Before you start your cleaning process, close the bathroom doors and windows, then run a hot shower for at least five minutes. This makes the loose dirt on the grout soak and can be easily removed by simple scrubs.

Step 2: Create a paste of hydrogen peroxide and an oxygenated powder product of your choice. It can even be baking soda or any other available powder. Ensure the paste is thick enough to stick on the wall grout lines without dripping and perfectly work on the molds and mildew.

Step 3: Use an old toothbrush or any other substance to apply your hydrogen peroxide and baking soda paste to the grout lines between your shower tiles. Put much focus and concentration on areas where molds are visible as you also cover the areas highly prone to molds effects. Make sure every area is completely covered.

Step 4: Leave the paste to settle for a few minutes to work on the grout stains. To achieve a good measure, thoroughly scrub the grout lines using the brush.

Step 5: After this, thoroughly rinse the grout lines and surface using plain clean water and a clean cloth to wipe the surface clean.

  • When cleaning shower tiles, you are advised to use white vinegar for all non-porous tile surfaces, while if your shower floor is made from marble or any other natural stones.

You should only use plain water to prevent any damages to their color or finishes. Inquire about cleaning products that have specifically designed for cleaning natural stones.

 

How to Clean Kitchen Tiles with Baking Soda?

remove paint from tile and grout

A kitchen is among the busy areas of any home since it is busy and a special place that needs attention and proper cleaning. Therefore, it is vital to understand how you should get mold out of dark grout lines to maintain high hygiene in your kitchen. You will need the following:

  • Wet cloth
  • Water, hydrogen peroxide or vinegar
  • Mixing bowl
  • An old toothbrush
  • Grout sealer
  • Baking soda

Step 1: Use a wet cloth to wipe loose dirt that might have been accumulated on the grout area, remove all dirt and any other stains from your tiles.

Step 2: Your kitchen tiles grout’s current state determines the kind of solution you will use to clean it. If you are cleaning to remove normal daily dirt, mix one-part water and two parts of baking soda. If you plan to work on stains and discolored grouts, mix one part of vinegar and two parts of baking soda.

Step 3: Using the old toothbrush apply the cleaning solution you have prepared on the grout lines. If you are using vinegar solution, apply small amounts to prevent the acidity from staining your tiles’ surfaces.

Step 4: Allow the paste solution to settle and soak for several minutes, then use a stiff-bristled brush to scrub the paste from your grout lines thoroughly.

Step 5: Use clean plain water to rinse the grout lines and your tiles. Leave the surface to dry for 24 hours before you apply grout sealer to protect your grouts.

  • Different efforts are required when dealing with different stain levels. High and deep stained grout lines need more acidic cleaning agents while the slightly stained need common or even homemade cleaning products.

Cleaning black grout is really tiring, you may try another tool. That is a steam mop for grout which will help you a lot.

 

Is Bleach Bad for Tile Grout?

Most bleaches are highly alkaline with a PH of 12 and above, making them more acidic as they can easily cause severe injuries and burns. The high PH is believed to be making the solution corrosive.

As for vinegar, it is at PH 2, making it strongly acidic. However, one can mix vinegar with other basic substances such as baking soda to neutralize the acidity to clean grout. It reduces the damages they are likely to cause when used bare.

Grout allows fluids to pass through. Therefore, it will absorb all the bleach and allow it to get down to your subflooring or over the baseboards, where it can cause extreme damages, and cannot be easily rinsed.

Therefore, we recommend you use a steam cleaner to clean grout because it less damage to your tile and makes the whole process effectively. Here is a Secura detachable steam mop for tile grout.

Of course, if you wanna make grout cleaner by yourself, here is a video to instruct you.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some other questions that may help you:

1. What Is the Best Homemade Tile and Grout Cleaner?

Take a half cup of baking soda, a quarter of hydrogen peroxide, and then one teaspoon of dish soap. And mix the three together and apply them to the grout. Then leave it to settle for about ten minutes. At least, scrub it off and then rinse.

2. How to Remove Grout Haze from Tiles?

First, you’d better wear a pair of rubber gloves before starting cleaning work. Second, mix warm water, baking soda, and distilled vinegar in a bottle, then spray it on tiles. Then, use a duster to rinse the tile.

 

Conclusion

Having a general knowledge needed to clean up grout will make a greater difference and the appearance of every place in your house. You should not always wait until the grout lines become highly stained so you can clean them.

Make it a habit to always check on your grout lines’ condition. It will reduce the costs of purchasing cleaning products and improve your grouts and tiles’ lives.