how do I clean the grout

[luvmyfam444]

in the tiles of my kitchen floors? We've never had tiles before & this house has them in the kitchen & bathrooms...it's a kakhi colored tiles with matching gorut - maybe a shade lighter....but there are spouts that are FILTHY...dark....I haven't figured out how to clean them---am I gonna have to get on my hands & knees & clean with bleach & a toothbrush??? Tell me it isn't so...there MUST be some better way???

 

[Stacerita]

am I gonna have to get on my hands & knees & clean with bleach & a toothbrush??? Tell me it isn't so...there MUST be some better way???

Sorry, but this is the way we do it around here. If there is another way, I need to know.

 

[FutureAshleyDukes]

You can buy the fancier and more expensive version of a toothbrush, apparently they now make grout brushes. I saw them at Target the other day.

 

[mum4jenn]

A regular old broom will do the trick. When our grout did this I mixed a solution of bleach and water and put alot of it on the floor and let it sit on the tileand grout for probably about half an hour. Then I just used a broom and briskly scrubbed the grout area and then I took a dry mop to soak up the extra water.

 

[Beca]

I get one of those small brushes that are sold with the dish sponges. Pour on the bleach, let it soak, and then scrub. Or...many carpet steam cleaning services will do this as well....they get it SUPER clean!!!

But, once you clean it, go to Home Depot or Lowe's and get a "grout sealer", and put it on your tile. It will keep your grout from getting dark ever again, and then you will only have to do this "scrubbing" one time (but, check the sealer's instructions....it will probably need to be reapplied every few years).



Beca

 

[sleepyone]

After cleaning your grout, I'd suggest you try grout recolorant. It's like "paint"...instant new grout color. It sealed the grout better than the grout sealer for our porous grout.

ETA: The grout colorant covers the blue mystery stain in my foyer nicely.

 

[PooohBear]

Ok, it's weird, but I have found the magic eraser to work very well ! you do have to use a few of them though

 

[barkley]

or you can "treat" yourself like i did with a very small portion of last years tax refund. i called serv-pro and found out they charge very little to send a couple of ladies out to get on their hands and knees and do that hard work. i was amazed that they charged so little (i have a long tile entry way and a large tile kitchen-it cost me less than $300 and was well worth it-the grout was 7 years old and despite my best clean up efforts had grape juice stains, punch stains....). my grout looked like the day it was put in. you can then follow it up with a sealant.

i started to do the "dirty work" myself with a clorox bleach pen-which worked great, but after working a few hours each day not much was done and i could barely walk.

p.s. don't call one of the advertised "grout cleaning" services they charge an arm and a leg as will any of the "merrie maid" type places. serv-pro has it down to a science and considers it an easy/inexpensive job.

if you're going to tackle it on your own try a bottle of "ultimate grout cleaner". this stuff is amazing-it got rust stains, coffee stains and worse out of my counter top grout with very little scrubbing.

 

[kdibattista]

Ok, it's weird, but I have found the magic eraser to work very well ! you do have to use a few of them though

I use the Mr. Clean magic eraser as well and it works very, very well.

I have also mopped with bleach/water and it does work but not as well.

 

[MsDisney23]

KaBoom!!! Spray it on the grout , let it sit for about 15 to 20 minutes, and it lifts right out! I love this stuff.

 

[legs22]

THE BEST grout cleaner......Finazzle . Since your grout is not white I would only use the Finazzle for colored grout. It brings the grout back to its original color.