Grout and Tile Cleaning Tips

Does your grout in your kitchen or bathroom look dingy? Sometimes it seems no matter how much we mop and scrub the floors, our grout lines just don’t look as crisp and clean as the day it was laid down. Well, we’ve found a few easy and effective ways to clean stubborn grout stains and get your tiles looking like new again.

Getting Ready: Some General Cleaning Guidelines Use a stiff nylon brush or an old toothbrush (or electric toothbrush) to achieve the best grout-cleaning results. Their firmer bristles work well in hard-to-reach places. Here are a few do’s and don’ts for getting started:

• Do not use metal bristles — they’ll scratch grout and tile
• Prior to cleaning, wipe down wall tiles and grout with water to remove any loose surface debris. Sweep or vacuum floor tiles
• Before beginning the full cleaning project, test out the cleaning method on a small area that isn’t easily visible
• Do not use chlorine bleach on colored grout as it leads to discoloration
• Do not clean granite or natural stone with household cleaners

Grout & Tile Cleaning Methods There are actually a few methods for cleaning your tile, but here are a few that use household items you probably already have on hand:

Hydrogen Peroxide Hydrogen peroxide is a wonderful natural disinfectant and is safer and cheaper than chlorine bleach or ammonia.

1. Fill a spray bottle with 1/2 hydrogen peroxide and 1/2 water with a few drops of dish soap
2. Spray solution onto grout
3. Let it sit for 15 minutes and wipe clean

Keep a bottle on hand in the shower and spray regularly to keep mold and mildew from growing on bathroom tiles and grout.

Baking Soda

1. Create paste with baking soda and water
2. Stir until it has a toothpaste-like consistency
3. Spread paste over grout and leave for 5-15 minutes
4. Scrub with an old toothbrush or nylon brush and rinse with water or a damp paper towel

White Vinegar

1. Dilute 2 parts vinegar with 1 part water
2. Add a few drops of dish soap
3. Spray solution on grout and let stand for 15 minutes
4. Wipe clean with a damp sponge sprinkled with baking soda to neutralize acidity of the vinegar
5. Follow with clean water

Avoid this method on marble, travertine and limestone (or other alkaline stones), as they’re generally sensitive to acids.

You can help grout stay clean and protected by applying a grout sealer approximately once per year. Because grout typically breaks down with repeated cleanings, and using bleach or vinegar will make this occur even faster, make sure to not overly clean it!

For those tough to clean grout stains, check out AmeriClean. We don’t always have extra time to spend scrubbing away at our floors – so let the crew at AmeriClean do the work!

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