Cleaning Bathroom Grout Safely & Efficiently

While there are many ways that you could clean bathroom grout and make it look beautiful once more, how many of them actually damage the grout? On top of that, how many cleaning methods are unsafe for you? Finding a cleaning method that not only cleans the grout to a spotless appearance but also manages to be safe for you and your home is a tough balance. Here is a method you can use to clean your grout without any of the concerns we have raised so far. This should be a part of your spring cleaning challenge.

Prepare the Grout

We want to save you the strain and work of having to scrub while on your hands and knees for hours. That’s what a lot of people end up doing when they clean the grout. They use a toothbrush or some other scrubbing tool and work vigorously between the tiles to make the grout look beautiful again. That’s not necessary if you take the proper steps to prepare the grout the way we are going to show you.

Take a spray bottle filled it vinegar and spray down the area you are going to work in first. Spray generously and cover the area thoroughly. Make sure you get everywhere and allow the vinegar to sit for about five minutes before trying to move forward with the cleaning process. It’s a good idea to have some ventilation going when you work and keep windows open, in case the vinegar is too strong for you.

Start Scrubbing

From there, you can do a little light scrubbing. You can use a grout brush, tile brush or toothbrush. Work between the tiles and scrub mildly to see how much dirt you can get to come out. Once you have worked over all of the grout, then you can rinse the area with some warm water.

Use Baking Soda

Then you can make a paste out of baking soda and water. How much you need depends on how large of an area you plan to clean. Just add in a tablespoon of baking soda at a time, then just enough water to turn it into paste. Once you mix it together, it should form into a thick, wet paste.

Use this solution and work it onto the grout using your brush. Once again, most any kind of brush will do the job, but grout brushes and toothbrushes will give you the finest touch.

Once you have worked the paste over the grout, you can then let it sit and bubble for a few minutes. This means that the baking soda is lifting the dirt and cleaning the grout on its own. Our house cleaners always take note of this.

After a few minutes, you can spray down your vinegar solution once more. This creates a soap scum that you will want to get rid of. Use your brush to scrape it all away and make the beautiful-looking grout shine through. Once you have scrubbed enough and ensured that you got the grout looking clean, you can rinse everything with some warm water.

Your grout should look great at this point, with nary a spot of scum or dirt on it. If you missed a spot, you can simply go back and repeat the process until the grout in that area looks spotless.

If you are having trouble getting grout to look good after a few applications, then you may just need to slow down and let the solutions sit on the grout for longer. When you allow them to soak in, that lifts the dirt more and makes it easier to scrub everything off.

All of the ingredients we listed here- water, baking soda and vinegar– are things that most people have in the house. Yet, they are strong enough to work well at getting rid of dirt and grime and making your grout look beautiful. They are also inexpensive and very safe. They should not cause any side effects, such as those caused by toxic fumes of other types of cleaners. This is a practical and effective way to clean that doesn’t require you to purchase any expensive, potentially toxic chemicals.
For the toughest stains, we suggest using a hydrogen peroxide and water solution, but most people’s grout will get clean using the methods we have already listed.