Cleaning Grout

N

Nards

I want to clean the cream grout between our 40cm x 40cm floor tiles - it is filthy, and looks awful, but the whole house is tiled in them and I cant bring myself to get down on hands and knees to scrub every inch by hand - it would take days!! :). Does anyone know an easier way? I need a tiny scrubber (toothbrush??!!) on a long pole!! Also anyone know of a magic cleaning product that will make the job easier?:confused:

Cheers, Nadia
 
I don't use much in the way of harsh chemicals at home but the one thing that I do use in my bathroom to get the inevitable urine splashes out of the grout near the loo is spray bleach. It brings the grout back to its original grey.

You could spray half a room at a time, leave it an hour and then mop.

When the white group in our shower gets to the stage where Shower Power doesn't clean it, I also spray the bleach and it works really well.

I don't have to do this regularly, maybe once a month at most, but the loo is used by five people, four of the male species.

Wylie
 
my architect thought it would look lovely to do mosaics in the shower - what a nightmare. i have found bleach isn't strong enough, the best thing I have found is '20 second' - it's a sulphuric acid product used to bleach paving bricks etc. As soon as I can find some time and a tradie that will turn up I will rip out these cursed tiles and put in large pieces of stone or something. maybe even sheets of glass I don't know.
 
You could try sprinkling bi-carb soda over the floor and then spray and scrub with vinegar; the chemical reaction helps clean during the fizz and just get a small boot polish or nail brush to hold; won't hurt the tiles.

Don't slip though.

Shannon lush's book 'Spotless' has heaps of non chemical cleaning tips. She is a fine arts restorer and has different removal techniques for different types of stains/marks etc.
 
What about those steaming machines you can get from danoz direct. Has anyone used one of those?

It looks like one of those high pressured hose machines, but it shoots out hot steam instead of high powered water.
 
Thanks everyone for your ideas....

I used bleach on the grout in the kitchen today...the grout did come up clean but still required scrubbing, which took quite a while, and considering I have the whole house to go... :eek: . I also ended up using one of the kids small "pretend" brooms to scrub - had tough bristles and a handle, so no crawling around!!:)
I was hoping someone might have a no scrubbing miracle cure!!

I also thought of the steam-mop device - wonder if they can be hired and how effective they are - anyone used one before?? A high-pressure cleaner (Karcher) would work but could get messy in a furnished house..

Anymore ideas??
 
Nards said:
Thanks everyone for your ideas....

I used bleach on the grout in the kitchen today...the grout did come up clean but still required scrubbing, which took quite a while, and considering I have the whole house to go... :eek: . I also ended up using one of the kids small "pretend" brooms to scrub - had tough bristles and a handle, so no crawling around!!:)
I was hoping someone might have a no scrubbing miracle cure!!

I also thought of the steam-mop device - wonder if they can be hired and how effective they are - anyone used one before?? A high-pressure cleaner (Karcher) would work but could get messy in a furnished house..

Anymore ideas??
Click to expand...

The only way to 'remove' the dirt is to remove the grout. The bleach would probably only be bleaching the colour from the dirt trapped in the porous grout, not removing it altogether. I would clean it as best you can and then seal the grout with a sealer (get them from a tile supplier); painstaking may save you having to clean again. We have a guy in Mildura called Groutmaster and he whips around with his special little anglegrinder and grinds the top (or all) of the grout off and replaces it. If your tiles were really bad you could look into something like this and then seal the clean grout every couple of years to keep it new looking. If you do replace the grout at some stage maybe a darker grout may hide the discolouration for longer?

Good luck, I have an all white bathroom (with plenty of red loam outside) so I am feeling your pain!
 
Do it naturally.

I agree with using bicarb and vinegar. Though your bathroom will smell like salad, rest assured, it's just in the beginning.
 
Agreed with Brij, although don't be confused, there's not much "natural" about bicard & vinegar.

That said, it's worth a go as it's pretty cheap and often effective :)
 
True Blue hire have a machine called a roto washer, the smaller machine you get the better it is to get into corners. This machine is brilliant and easy to use.
You use a chemical in this machine that you also get at True Blue called Dr Clean floors tiile and grout cleaner.
You could just get this and mix it up in a spray bottle and then with a bit of a scrub and mop it works well too although l wouldn,t want to do too large an area this way.
A work mate used a toilet brush as her scrubber, it actually worked very well.
cheers
yadreamin
 
I tried cleaning the glass shower recess with wd 40 what a mess it made . The recess was greasy and smeared for month after. I just couldnt do a thing with it.
Wouldn,t dare try it again.
cheers
yadreamin
 
We have an IP with creamish colour tiles throughout the living areas and light coloured grout (wont make that mistake again). It got pretty grubby when a tenant had 2 dogs in there (can't complain as we were the tenant at the time :rolleyes:).

Anyhow tried all sorts of things. I finally got this stuff from the tile shop called "Heavy Duty Tile Cleaner" i think it has HDC on the front. I'll get the details off the pack when i get home.

In any case I think it has a combination of pretty hardcore cleaner and degreaser in it. You dilute it a little, put it on let it sit for 10 mins then give it a scrub. The dirt just came away without almost any effort.

I've since used it in our bathroom with similar results. It's pretty nasty and spending too long in the shower with it aint much fun. In living areas however you'll be right.. You still need to scrub a little, but much easier than everything else i tried.

Will post the details tonight.

Bruce
 
willy1111 said:
What about those steaming machines you can get from danoz direct. Has anyone used one of those?

It looks like one of those high pressured hose machines, but it shoots out hot steam instead of high powered water.
Click to expand...

This is a coincidence........

The other half purchased one online the other night supposedly, as it got delivered this afternoon.

We have got some 'outside' rugs to do, but she wants it for inside. I don't know anything about it, but will give it a burl on the weekend:)

Cheers,

F
 
ner neighbour did my place before Christmas.. scrubbed the grout with a brush similar to nards used and some chemical he supplied and then the machine did the rest.. fantastic idea
 
I have been wondering how to clean my bathroom white tiles where the grout had some paint stains from the previous owner. It also needed a good clean to get ready for leasing. I had already tried several things including using sugar soap.

So after reading the thread here I decided to try using some bleach. The bleach was sprayed onto the tiles & grout with a small spray bottle. I then left it to sit for an hour or two. I then came back and I could see it was going to work. I then used white vinegar and a hard brush to clean the tiles while the bleach was still working. I then scrubbed the grout with a hard bristle toothbrush & Jiff. I then washed them down with soapy water and rinsed. This seem to get them very clean and white with all the paint & mold gone from the grout.

Here are two pics of the tiles with the first taken before cleaning and the 2nd taken after cleaning:

tile grout before cleaning

tile grout after cleaning
 
Last edited:
monsoon said:
I have been wondering how to clean my bathroom white tiles where the grout had some paint stains from the previous owner. It also needed a good clean to get ready for leasing. I had already tried several things including using sugar soap.

So after reading the thread here I decided to try using some bleach. The bleach was sprayed onto the tiles & grout with a small spray bottle. I then left it to sit for an hour or two. I then came back and I could see it was going to work. I then used white vinegar and a hard brush to clean the tiles while the bleach was still working. I then scrubbed the grout with a hard bristle toothbrush. I then washed them down with soapy water and rinsed. This seem to get them very clean and white with all the paint & mold gone from the grout.

Here are two pics of the tiles with the first taken before cleaning and the 2nd taken after cleaning:

tile grout before cleaning

tile grout after cleaning
Click to expand...

I am glad it worked for you. My wife applied Domestos to the tile and the toilet seat but forgot about it. The grout was corroded and the toilet seat was plasticised and had to be replaced. :eek:
 
Francesco said:
I am glad it worked for you. My wife applied Domestos to the tile and the toilet seat but forgot about it. The grout was corroded and the toilet seat was plasticised and had to be replaced. :eek:
Click to expand...

Oh heck,too bad although I'm not sure what Domestos is, it sounds powerful.

I also correct this part I wote:

" I then scrubbed the grout with a hard bristle toothbrush."

to be:

"I then scrubbed the grout with a hard bristle toothbrush & Jiff. "

Jiff is a white scrubbing thick liquid that looks like toothpaste but thinner.
 
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