How to clean tile grout effectively?

Hi B.,
My husband bought a steam cleaner and it works great!
You'll invest some money in the beginning but its worth it. It also works fantastic on showers, bathtubs, microwaves and whatever else you may need cleaned.
L. M

I found the greatest product (which I bought at Lowes)

http://www.aqua-mix.com

Aqua Mix Grout Colorant

It both seals and colors the grout (covers the dirty grout) lasts 15 years and makes it beautiful like new - its an epoxy sealer. I used an artist paintbrush and wipe the excess from the tiles as I went.
The results are beautiful. I have used this on several houses we remodeled and sold, I lived in one house for 2 years after painting the grout and it still looked like new grout when I moved out.

Oxy Clean! I mix it to be a thick paste and then use a grout brush... it works wonders!!

Good Evening B.,

This is going to sound strange, but I have used Kaboom. I let it sit for about 3 minutes then used a broom to brush over the grout.

Jen W

Hi B..

I work for a tile & marble company. There are a few factors to consider with your grout. With tile flooring, grout is your only upkeep needed, and its a pain in the butt. If you have plain white grout, you could use bleach on it. However, if there is the slightest bit of color to the grout, bleach cannot be used.

Try using plain white vinegar with a toothbrush. You may also try steam cleaning it if you have access to a small steam cleaning machine. If the job is a large one, you may want to consider calling a tile/grout cleaning business. I am not sure of pricing, as the company I work for does not offer this service.

You could also always check your local home improvement store and see what cleaning agents they use. When we do a cleaning prior to the end of our warranty period, we use a heavy detergent cleanser. Ours is called sparks wash, which is basically acid. I am not sure if this is available as retail or not.

Good luck, I hope I offered a little bit of insight.

I know a good one! You can buy it in Publix, it's hard to find but you can. I think it cost about $8.99. The name of the grout cleaner is; Finazzle Kitchen Grout Cleaner for white Grout. I love this stuff my friend use it too. Good luck with it I hope you will like it too.
Orsi

We use the Clorox gel. Very little scrubbing needed, just leave it sit.

Zep Grout and Tile cleaner from Home Depot works Great. www.DiscoveryToysLink.com/LisaRyan

you can go to home depot and ask some one there my mother inlaw has tyle and she did that

I do grout professionally. If you have a large house, here are some fast helpful steps for a full redo ( adding important tips I learned the hard way.)
**TIP **using floor fans, and turning down the AC in your home reduces dry times and speeds up this process. do not use them until AFTER the cleaning is done, too much fan will dry the cleaner before you get to it. YOU NEVER want your cleaner to dry in the grout.
1. DO NOT USE BLEACH. it destroys the chemical bond of grout adhesive over time. DO NOT SEAL OVER DIRTY GROUT. its like painting a dirty house, its just going to peel off in a year or 2 because it has nothing to bond to except dirt. grout is porus, and for epoxy based sealers to sticj and perform correctly, the MUST soak into those dirt filled pores, so the nasty has to go!
**Use Zep grout and tile cleaner and whitener from home depot. it is by far the best overall product and does an incredible job. I would however suggest using gloves **DANGER!!!** if you have marble or granite or stainless steel appliances, KEEP THEM AWAY or cover them, this product will ruin them.
2. squirt product in grout and allow to foam. give 2-5 min. when 1st learning, try to stick to small 6x6 foot sections.
3. scrub grout with a hard nylon brush. then sprinkle a little water and scrub the tile.
4. dilute floor with 1-2 cups of water and swish around with brush or broom on a stick. then suck up all dirty water, with a shop vac or wet vac and dry remaing water on floor with towel. repeat on remainder of flooring.
5. allow grout to dry for at least 2 hours, i prefer to clean 1 day then dye the next
6 If in expensive home, use painters tape on all baseboards right at grout line.
i use JAMO brand dye. they have the best selection of colors, and a superior product. it comes in 1 quart cans and can be purchased or ordered at most tile stores
7. Use 2 inch brushes to paint dye into grout. do not worry about what gets on tile. as before, do smaller sections at first. SPREAD EVENLY!
allow product to dry for about 15-25 min, until it sticks to tile, but can be easily peeled off by fingernail.
NOTE step 8 requires a floor buffer, or on small jobs a piece of abrasive hand size padding ( sold in same area of home depot buffers and pads are rented or sold)
8. after 15-25 min, lightly sprinkle water on the tile. Turn on floor buffer, slowly adding water until you see the dye start to disintegrate into the water turning it a milky color. do several passes in both directions, let the buffer do the work for you.
9. Again, use the shop vac/wet vac, to suck up your residue
10. touch up smaller areas you missed with a hand pad. wait for 1 day dry on any areas stain did not hold, the reapply and remove from tile.
**you will notice in larger tile homes you quickly learn to do larger sections at once.

What will be left is a floor you will love again, with a SUPERIOR stain resistance. most legitimate color sealers offer a warranty, and teach self repair for small "unforeseen" homeowner accidents.
make sure if you hire someone they leave the remainder of a can, you may need it in the future, even if just for the color information.

I have spent 10 years in norther brevard FL perfecting this skill and have repeated it in hundreds of homes, and charge and average of ###-###-####$ for this work- and I just gave the recipe to you for free, ENJOY!
yourteamcondo.com feel free to call my company anytime for free phone info if you get stuck or have questions.

If it is just tile mop with a little clorox or spray it on the grout before mopping

Good morning B.,

I have found oxyclean to work well on grout. I mix it with water but use a fairly high concentration of the oxyclean to make it almost pasty. Then I used a toothbrush to scrub it in and let it sit for a minute or two. It's worked very well (I had worcestershire sauce stains in my grout and it came out almost like new!) - Good luck!

Try bleach barely diluted with water. You should do it in sections and be sure that your windows are open so that you have proper ventilation. If you don't, it is dangerous to your health and it will discolor things in your home just by way of the air if it is too strong. It doesn't even have to touch anything for it to bleach it so be careful.

I have tile throughout my house (including in my shower) and I use the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, it works great!!!

I saw some stuff on T.V. That is like a pen and Im sure you can get it at Home Depot or Lowes. I just took an old toothbrush and some bleach and that worked too. Good Luck..

A.

Grout stains are a symptom of grout that has not been sealed properly or that the seal has been compromised over time and wear. Stay away from bleach as that will discolor your grout lines over time. Be very careful as cleaning your grout can cause harm to the surrounding natural stone tiles. If the tile is man made, you can use an acid based cleaner that will literally "peel" away a thin layer of grout (including the stain). Caution, acid will harm natural stone!!
Here is a link to more information bvsurfacerenewal.com

Yes! I'm with Lori -- Mr. Clean Magic Eraser! I just did my kitchen tiles and it worked amazing with very little effort! =)

There's also a Clorox Bleach pen that you can get just about anywhere including Publix.

YES, I BELIEVE IT'S called "Sparks". A friend of mine bought me a gallon-i'm going to ask her where she bought it, but you may go online and look up the name. It's really good.