If you have ever admired a gorgeous tiled floor, surely you have noticed the lines between the tiles. Known as grout, they are the often-overlooked substance. Typically, grout is the cement-like material that fills the spaces between tiles. It provides stability to the structure and prevents moisture from getting underneath. Apart from playing a crucial role in your tiles’ installation and longevity, grout can decide on the overall aesthetics. Unfortunately, it can act as a magnet for dust, grime, and mildew. Indeed, tile grout can turn from pristine to problematic in no time if it lacks cleaning and maintenance.
However, you need not spend your whole afternoon scrubbing grout. With some simple cleaning and upkeep strategies, you can keep your grout looking fresh and your tiles shining bright. Let’s decode the secret to keep the tiled surfaces as outstanding as the day they were laid!
8 Ways to Clean Your Tile Grout
Fresh grout looks stunning but the lack of proper care and cleaning can bring disaster to this tile-binding medium. In most cases, your tile grout would be stained, mildewed, or worse, cracked. And, if your grout starts falling, water can enter your floor and wall tiles. Not to mention, you will encounter major damage.
Additionally, the aesthetics will be at stake. Hence, we bring some effective tile grout cleaning and maintenance tricks to extend the tiles’ looks and longevity. Here’s what you need to follow to keep the grout sanity intact:
1. Perform Regular Scrubbing
Reportedly, scrubbing can make porous grout surfaces clean and tidy. So, take a brush and some lukewarm water to delve into the scrubbing regime. Choosing a medium bristle nylon brush is better because it won’t damage your tiles and grout.
Otherwise, you can invest in a specialised grout brush.
- Once you are ready with the supplies, spray or sprinkle warm water over the grout.
- Then, take the brush and start scrubbing.
- Make sure to keep the strokes in a circular motion.
- Afterwards, let it dry.
2. Try Dish Soap for Cleaning
Different tile grout cleaners are available commercially when basic scrubbing doesn’t cut the game. However, some cleaners can be too powerful or toxic to use. As an alternative, you can have your faith in dish soap solutions.
Indeed, tile cleaning experts have approved this particular method to keep the grout shine and efficiency intact. However, here’s how you can proceed with dish soap and grout cleaning.
- First, pour some dish soap into an adequate amount of water.
- Once the solution is ready to use, take a microfibre cloth.
- Mop the floor with the microfibre cloth along with the soapy solution.
This DIY grout cleaner should work for mild to medium-tough stains.
3. Maintain a Regular Cleaning Routine
Consistency is the key to keeping your grout’s sanity. Perhaps, you don’t need daily scrubbing. All you need to do is to sweep and mop the concerned tiled surfaces daily. In case your grout requires a deeper cleaning, you can consider using a dedicated cleaner.
However, don’t forget to check out the specifications of the cleaner. For example, see if the label says whether it’s suitable for your grout type (epoxy, cement, or whatever). Additionally, avoid acidic ones because they can damage your tiles.
On a related note, make sure that you test the cleaner first before pouring it on an entire surface. It’s best to test the cleaner in a hidden spot. Then, observe if the tile grout cleaner reacts with the lining or tiles. Also, pay attention to the instructions mentioned on the label.
4. Go for Vinegar
If you don’t want to incorporate commercial chemicals for grout cleaning then here’s a trick. However, this should work if your grout has mild stains. Using vinegar may help you restore the grout to its original state without causing any damage.
- Take equal parts of vinegar and lukewarm water and mix them.
- Then, pour the solution into a spray bottle.
- Spray the solution in the grout.
- Don’t mop th grout immediately. Instead, let the solution sit for 5 minutes or so.
- Next, use a brush and scrub away the dirt from the grout.
- Rinse the grout properly.
5. What about Stubborn Stains?
Vinegar alone may not work its magic on tough stains. So, you can add baking soda paste to the vinegar trick to fortify the strength and rub the hard-to-remove stains away. Here’s what you can do for tile grout cleaning:
- Formulate a thick paste of baking soda and water.
- Next, prepare a vinegar-water solution as mentioned in the above hack.
- Now, apply the baking soda paste on the grout lines.
- After that, spritz the vinegar-water solution right on the applied baking soda paste.
- Soon, the mixture will create foam. When the foaming stops, use a brush and scrub the grout line.
- Use plain water to rinse it off.
Finally, you can dry the area with a rag or microfibre cloth.
6. Make Hydrogen Peroxide Your Tile Grout Cleaning Partner
Want to handle tricky stains without breaking a sweat? Then, hydrogen peroxide can be your go-to cleaning agent. However, we strongly recommend using gloves while handling hydrogen peroxide because it can lead to allergy and skin irritation.
Now, check out how you can proceed with grout cleaning with hydrogen peroxide:
- Make a thick paste of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide in a bowl.
- Afterwards, apply the paste to the grout line where you observed stubborn stains. Ensure that you apply the paste with the help of a brush or similar applicators.
- Let the paste work its magic for up to 10 minutes.
- Next, scrub the grout with a brush.
- See if the grout is as clean as you expected. Otherwise, you might have to repeat the process 2 to 3 times.
- Wipe the area with warm water and microfibre cloth.
7. Try Bleach
Typically, the toughest stain stands no chance against bleaching agents. If you still don’t have a breakthrough in grout cleaning then this DIY method with bleach can be helpful. Keep your gloves ready and ensure that you dilute the bleach in water whenever you use them.
Now, you can use a bleach in 2 ways. Either you can use it alone or include baking soda in the hack. However, we cover them both. Let’s see how you can proceed with using bleach directly, first:
- Take a gallon of water and 3/4th cup of bleach, and mix them.
- Next, spritz the solution on the affected grout areas.
- Allow the solution to sit for 15 minutes.
- Now, scrub the area with a brush.
- Rinse it with plain water once the stain is gone.
On the other hand, you can create a tile grout cleaner by combining bleach and baking soda. Here’s the deal:
- Form a toothpaste-like mixture with bleach and baking soda.
- Then, use a brush to apply the paste on the grout lines.
- Allow the paste to sit for 15 minutes or so.
- After 15 minutes, scrub the paste on the grout.
- Rinse it well with plain water.
- Finally, let it dry.
8. Mould Removal
Has your grout grown black patches on it? Unfortunately, black patches are a sign of mould. Well, you can use a commercial mould cleaner to get rid of them. Additionally, you can apply the following techniques to make the mould cleaner more effective:
- Verify that the mould cleaner sits on the grout for the recommended period.
- Also, you can scrub the grout line with a stiff brush.
- Rinse the concerned area with lukewarm water.
- As an alternative to a mould remover, you can use bleach as mentioned above.
Preventive Measures to Maintain the Grout Aesthetics
Apart from paying attention and effort to grout and tile cleaning, you should incorporate some preventive maintenance to keep the shine intact. Place mats at every entrance to reduce the dirt invited to your house.
Also, inspect areas where food and water are collected and place rugs there. Sweep or vacuum more often, especially in high-traffic spaces. Also, you might have to repeat a cleaning hack multiple times to achieve the desired tile grout cleaning. Contact Maids in Dubai if you find it difficult to clean grout on your own.
