Our Best Tips on How to Clean Tile and Grout Like a Pro
You thought this day would never end, and nothing sounds better than a long, hot shower.
You adjust the water temperature until it’s just right, step in, and prepare to let the warmth melt away the cares of the day.
But as you’re closing the shower door, you see it.
The corners of your shower are peppered with black spots that look gross and grungy.
Ugh. Now all you can think about is the tiresome, disgusting task of cleaning your tile and grout — again.
Is there some trick? How do professionals clean grout?
Continue reading to learn the professional tips and tricks, including the best way to clean dirty grout.
How Does Grout Get So Dirty?
This is a great question!
Most of the grout in your home is a mix of:
Water
Sand; and
Cement
The grout’s rough, porous texture is a welcoming spot for unwanted contaminants, which create their homes in its numerous ridges and pores.
So things like …
Dirt
Mud
Soap scum
Debris
Water
… easily permeate the grout’s surface.
This creates the perfect breeding ground for the growth of …
Bacteria
Mildew
… which leave their telltale black and green stains.
It's also important to know that grout has a seal. And most people have no idea how to maintain the seal — or that their grout must be resealed every few years.
What’s more, depending on the products you use to clean, your grout may wear out even faster. If the protective seal wears off over time or becomes broken or damaged, mold and bacteria can easily make their entrance — and leave unsightly stains.
How Do Professionals Clean Grout?
There are a couple of approaches professionals may take to clean grout.
They may use a grout tool that looks like an electric toothbrush. This specialized cleaning tool does the scrubbing for you — and can actually make grout cleaning fun!
Or they may decide to use a regular scrubbing brush. This large hand-held model allows them to move in large strokes, making the job go faster.
Let’s take a look at ways the professionals might clean the grout in different areas of your home.
The Best Way to Clean Bathroom Grout
Bathroom grout, especially in the tub and shower, is a creature all its own. Your grout may look the grungiest here, where mold and mildew are common.
How do professionals clean tile and grout in the bathroom?
After giving it the initial once-over with soap and hot water, they may decide to use special cleaning products. The key here is to know the right products to use — and how to use them — to keep from damaging or wearing down the seal.
Professionals may use:
Specialized cleaning products
Vinegar
Hydrogen peroxide; or
Bleach
When doing a deep-clean on bathroom grout, a sanitizing solution (such as vinegar or hydrogen peroxide) may be chosen. Getting the initial layer of grime off is critical in ensuring it gets super-clean.
Be mindful of how often you are using products with a higher PH, such as vinegar. Using it one time for a deep clean won’t ruin the seal, but using it regularly will erode the seal over time. If you’re looking for a product that can be used for regular maintenance cleaning, hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol are better, as they have a more neutral PH and will not erode the seal.
When you invite the experts at Tidy Up Portland! to do a deep clean of your home, they thoroughly cleanse your bathroom grout.
Then, after the grout has already been deep-cleaned, it becomes a matter of maintenance, scrubbing small areas as needed. The amount of required maintenance depends on the bathroom. Bathrooms with less ventilation or a pre existing mold condition may need to have the grout scrubbed more frequently.
How to Get Bathroom Grout Professionally Clean the Green Way
There are a few things you can do to achieve an eco-friendly clean tile and grout.
The first thing to try is an all-purpose cleaner. Soap is a great option for removing the buildup without affecting the seal.
Then, if you want to sanitize the grout, you can spray it with:
Vinegar
Rubbing alcohol; or
An alternative sanitizer
Powdered cleansers are also a great medium to use for grout maintenance since they are abrasive, like an exfoliant. Many cleaning tools, like some scrub brushes and steel wool, will scratch the surrounding surfaces, but powdered grout cleaners are safe and green.
Powder is especially great for maintenance cleaning.
Just sprinkle some on the soft side of a sponge, give the grout a once-over, and you can have your shower cleaned in around 10 minutes. The trick is that you don’t need to do multiple passes, since the cleaning powder’s exfoliating quality removes minor build-up the first time around.
At Tidy Up Portland! we use only natural and green cleaning supplies. And we limit the use of disposable products as much as possible while maintaining the highest sanitation standards.
The Best Way to Clean Kitchen Grout
Most professionals do things a bit differently when it comes to the daunting task of cleaning kitchen grout.
They’ll probably begin by using a cloth, strong dish soap, and hot water to scrub the surface clean of grime and dirt.
Next, they may decide to apply a commercial, non abrasive cleanser. The cleaner may need time to sit to penetrate the grime. Or, the housekeeper may need to scrub (and possibly keep scrubbing!) to remove the residual dirt and grease and return your grout to a presentable appearance.
Finally, they’ll rinse the grout and surrounding area with water and wipe it clean.
At Tidy Up Portland!, our cleaning team is well-trained and equipped with the proper tool kits and eco-friendly tile and grout cleaning agents for the task. Plus, we can apply a sealant on your grout to keep it from getting easily stained.
The Best Way to Clean Floor Grout
Generally, the best way to clean dirty floor grout is the age-old hands and knees, elbow-grease method.
The first thing you'll need to do is sweep or vacuum to remove any loose dust and dirt.
Next, you'll apply a tile cleaning solution, get down on the floor, and scrub away.
For stubborn stains, you may need to use a steam cleaner.
If this doesn’t sound like an appealing way to restore the grout on your flooring, you’ll be relieved to hear there's another way.
Let the professionals at Tidy Up Portland! do it for you! Not only will you save your knees, but you’ll get your floor grout cleaned the right way — giving you a sparkling clean floor and saving you money in the long run.
Is Professional Grout Cleaning Worth It?
Absolutely!
Professional grout cleaning keeps your grout looking better and extends the life of your grout — and tile — by keeping them cleaner. Plus, since the experts know the best way to clean dirty grout, you’ll be freeing up the time you normally spend cleaning.
For example, many people who try to clean their own bathroom grout wind up getting “lost in the shower.” They just keep scrubbing and scrubbing because they don’t have the expertise to recognize the permanent stains that won’t come off. They may spend an hour and a half scrubbing a shower that a professional could deep clean in 40 minutes, at the most.
The other problem with cleaning the grout yourself is that excessive scrubbing may ruin the grout’s seal. Not only does a professional do the job much faster, but they know how to avoid permanent damage.
The team at Tidy Up Portland! will give your grout a thorough cleaning in the initial deep clean. Then they’ll see to it that it’s well maintained over time.
When you call the professionals at Tidy Up Portland!, you won’t have to worry about your grout (or any other cleaning chores) ever again!
Benefits of Keeping Your Tile and Grout Clean
There are both aesthetic and health benefits to keeping your tile and grout clean.
For starters, clean grout looks way better than moldy, disgusting grout — and clean grout is also far more sanitary.
Mold can develop on grout, particularly in the high-humidity areas of your home, such as bathrooms and basements
It can be harmful to your health, especially black mold, which has the potential to exacerbate or cause allergies and respiratory ailments — including some that are potentially life-threatening.
If you're thinking, ”I don't see any mold on my grout, so there's nothing to worry about,” we’ve got some bad news.
While some varieties of mold are easy to spot because of their black or green appearance, other types of mold are completely invisible to the naked eye. And in this case, what you can’t see can have drastic ramifications on your health.
Toxic mold exposure can lead to:
Coughing
Wheezing
Depression
Sleep disturbance
Brain fog
Circulation issues
Digestive complaints
Systemic inflammation
Fatigue
Vision changes
Anxiety
Muscular pain
Joint pain
Dizziness
Neurological complaints
And …
Infants
The elderly
Pregnant women
Individuals who suffer from asthma or other respiratory illness
… are particularly at risk.
Besides the obvious aesthetic benefits of keeping your grout clean, regular cleaning will prolong the grout’s lifespan. When you give contaminants the opportunity to accumulate on the grout, it increases the chance of it becoming cracked and damaged.
Have Your Tile and Grout Professionally Cleaned by Tidy Up Portland!
Dirty, black grout looks gross — and can be a breeding ground for mold, mildew, and bacteria. It can also be ridiculously difficult and time-consuming to clean.
That’s why you need Tidy Up Portland!
Our professional house cleaning team can ease your stress by keeping your grout — and home — looking clean and tidy.
Tidy Up Portland! offers …
Regular cleaning
One-off cleaning
Antiviral and disinfecting services
End-of-lease cleaning
Office cleaning
… and other specialized cleaning services. We offer affordable flat and hourly rates based on the size of your home and your specific cleaning priorities.
We can meet all your cleaning needs!
You can breathe easy knowing that, when possible, all our cleaning solutions are…
Non-toxic
Eco-friendly
Natural; and
Green
We're confident you won’t find a better cleaning service than Tidy Up Portland!
