How to Clean Grout

This post is sponsored by HomeRight.  As always, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.
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Hello! Today I’m going to be taking a quick break from all of the seasonal and holiday posts to talk cleaning.  {There is also an awesome giveaway for a HomeRight Steam Machine Plus at the end of the post so don’t forget to enter!} I have received quite a few emails over the past couple of months asking about how to clean grout, so I decided to pull all of my tips together for you in one place.   So here you go – my best tricks and tips for cleaning tile and grout!

Tile is generally not too difficult to clean, but grout can be another matter all together – dirt gets ground in, stains appear, and it just looks plain yucky {especially in the bathroom!}.   When you are trying to determine what cleaning method you will use, you will need to take into consideration the type of material that your tile is made of, the color of your grout {or at least what color it is supposed to be!}, and how dirty the grout actually is.  Before you get started, here are a few general guidelines to consider…

• Prior to cleaning, wipe down your wall tiles and grout with water to remove any loose surface debris. Sweep or vacuum floor tiles.
• Always test out your cleaning method on a small area that is not easily visible prior to diving into your cleaning project.
• Do not use chlorine bleach on colored grout as it can discolor it.
• Do not clean granite or natural stone {such as marble} with household cleaners or vinegar due to their acidic content.  
• Hydrogen peroxide can be used on light colored marble and granite and is a great green cleaner.
• A stiff nylon brush is generally best for cleaning although an old toothbrush or electric toothbrush with firmer bristles can work as well (especially for those smaller, hard-to-reach spots). Do not use metal bristles as this can scratch your grout and tile.
• Use protective gloves and safety glasses if you are working with bleach or other chemical cleaners and keep the area well ventilated if using chlorine bleach.

Now that you are all prepped, it’s time to get cleaning!

I’ve tried a few different ways to clean our tiles and grout, but steam cleaning is generally my method of choice.  It’s green, requires the least amount of time, and it hardly requires any elbow grease.  I’ve written a few times about my love for our HomeRight Steam Machine Plus {you can read some of the ways I use it here, here, and here}, and it does an amazing job on tile and grout.  We recently redid our main floor powder room with marble tile and we also have ceramic tile flooring in our laundry room and back entryway, so it is great that I can use the steam machine in both areas rather than having to switch up my cleaning method due to the different tile materials.

If you haven’t used steam before to clean, you really should give it a try.  The high temperature, high pressurized steam easily loosens and dissolves dirt, grease, and grime {meaning way less scrubbing!!!} and kills 99.9% of all germs and  bacteria without the use of any chemicals.  It’s definitely the best green clean around. The Steam Machine Plus is super light weight and easy to handle, and my favorite part is that it actually has a hand held unit that just pops off of the base.  This really lets you get into all of those areas that are hard to reach and it comes with a variety of attachments to clean almost anything!

When I am cleaning floor tile, I generally start with a quick clean of the whole tile with the steam machine mop and then pop off the hand held unit to really get into all of the grout lines. For the attachment heads, I either use the grout scrubber or the fine tipped nozzle.

I just spray with the steam cleaner and follow with a microfiber cloth. For the most part, there is really not a lot of scrubbing required; however, if there are specific areas that are extra dirty or stained, I will use one of the cleaning methods below on the grout in addition to steaming.  {I usually steam first to remove the easy dirt, add the DIY cleaners, and then steam to rinse clean}.  Here’s another before and after in our laundry room…

**NOTE: Broken grout with visible cracks SHOULD NOT be cleaned with a steamer. **

If you don’t have a steam machine though, don’t worry!  There are still other ways of getting a good grout cleaning – it’s just going to take a little more time and some muscle power!  As I mentioned above, the following cleaning methods below can also be used in combination with the steam cleaner for those extra dirty or stained grout lines.

• Hydrogen Peroxide – Hydrogen peroxide is a great green-cleaning option. It is a wonderful natural disinfectant, is safer to use than chlorine bleach or ammonia based products, and is typically cheaper.   It can generally be used safely on granite as well as light colored marble but I would still recommend spot testing the first time just to be safe.  To use, fill a spray bottle with a 50/50 mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water and spray it on the grout.  Let it sit for 15 minutes and then wipe clean.  You can also keep a bottle on hand in the shower to keep mold and mildew from growing on your bathroom tiles and grout!  If you have a particularly stained spot, you can soak a small rolled up towel in the hydrogen peroxide and place it over the stain overnight.  If it’s small enough, you can seal it in with some cling wrap.  **NOTE:  DO NOT mix hydrogen peroxide with bleach**

• Baking Soda – Make a paste with baking soda and water (you could also use bleach for this as well if you do not have colored grout) until it has a toothpaste-like consistency. Spread it over the grout and leave for 5-15 minutes.  Scrub with an old toothbrush or nylon brush and rinse with water or a damp cloth.  If you are using the baking soda and water (as opposed to using the bleach) you can also mix this with some hydrogen peroxide for an even deeper clean.

• Oxygen Bleach – Unlike chlorine bleach, powdered oxygen bleach can generally be used on all colors of tile and grout. It is non-toxic and does not produce any harsh fumes.  To use, mix a high quality oxygen bleach power with a bucket of warm water and stir to dissolve.  Pour the solution onto the floor so that the grout lines are flooded and let the solution sit for at least 30 minutes.  As the solution absorbs into the grout, continue to add more.  Scrub lightly with a nylon brush and repeat as needed.  This method works well for those stubborn, hard-to-remove stains.  To maintain your clean floor, add some oxygen bleach powder to your regular mopping routine.  Scrub the tile surface with the mop but leave the mop water/oxygen bleach solution in the grout joints for 30 minutes before rinsing with clean water.

• White Vinegar – DO NOT USE ON GRANITE OR OTHER SOFT STONES SUCH AS MARBLE OR TRAVERTINE.  Dilute 2 parts vinegar with 1 part water. Spray it on grout and let stand for 15 minutes.  Wipe clean with a damp sponge sprinkled with baking soda to neutralize the acidity of the vinegar.  Scrub stains or dirtier areas with a stiff toothbrush or nylon brush.  Follow with clean water.  

And finally, to help your grout stay clean and protected, apply a grout sealer approximately every one or two years.  Grout sealer will typically break down with repeated cleanings and using bleach or vinegar will make this occur even faster.  If all else fails and you STILL can’t get your grout clean, there are also grout colourants {such as Polyblend Grout Renew}, that you can actually “paint” over your existing cement grout lines.

Whew!  I feel like that was a lot of info!  Hopefully you made it down here because it is now time for the best part – the giveaway!!  HomeRight is giving away one HomeRight Steam Cleaner Plus to one fabulous reader!  Just follow the prompts on the Rafflecopter below to enter.  This sweepstakes is open to legal residents of the USA and Canada to those individuals that are 19 years of age and older. 🙂

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more ideas on steam cleaning, check out these posts…

Power Cleaning the Kitchen with Steam

How to Detail Your Car

How to Clean Your Fridge