How to Clean Tile Floor Grout

Tiling your floors, especially the kitchen and bathrooms, has become very popular. Flooring tiles come in many shapes, colors and designs. The choices are endless, turning your floor into a fashion statement. Grout is the mortar that joins and seals the tiles together. Before you buy expensive commercial grout cleaners, there are a lot of products in your kitchen and around the house that can clean your grout and keep your tile floor sparkling.

• Sweeping with an ordinary broom or mopping will not always keep your title floor clean. Due to the porous texture of the grout, stains and debris have a habit of becoming trapped.   

• Remove light stains with sandpaper. Gently run the sandpaper back and forth over the grout lines. Some stains will respond to simply using a pencil eraser to eraser about the dirt. A Mr. Clean Magic Eraser does wonders on light stains also. 

• Shop for over the counter products found in the cleaning aisle of your local store. There are many that do a good job when applied according to directions. Oxygen bleach is a powder product like Oxyi-Clean that, when mixed with water, uses oxygen ions to attack the dirt and stains. It soaks deep into the grout and goes to work instantly.  

• Steam clean your floor with machines especially designed for the home. Steam cleaners do a fantastic job of riding the grout of dirt and stains without the use of chemicals. 

• Take special care if you have colored grout between your tiles; don’t use bleach or any solutions containing bleach. Bleach will fade or remove the original color. 

• Make a solution of three cups baking soda and one cup water. Scrub the grout with the mixture and rinse. Baking soda can be applied to both white and colored grout. Vinegar and water is also a safe alternative to cleaning your floor. 

• Scrub your grout with a stiff brush when cleaning; a soft tooth brush just won’t do the work. Wear protective gloves and a mask. Be sure the room is well ventilated, open widows if possible. You don’t want to breathe in harmful chemicals. Never mix cleaners. Bleach and ammonia mixed together can be toxic. Rinse the floor with water to remove all traces of the cleaning solution you use. 

• Keep your tile floor clean; this is the best way to care for it. Once your grout is spotless, apply a sealer to your tile floor to protect all your hard work.