How to Clean Grout the Easy Way
Learn how to clean grout the easy way, and you’ll never have to crawl around the floor on your knees like a baby again!
When it comes to cleaning, I like to keep it basic. Toilets, kitchen sink, counters from time to time, the stove when it gets greasy and the occasional floor. You probably won’t catch me dusting unless I’ve been told to do so, and even then, I’ll be looking for a quick escape. But there are some things I don’t think I’d ever even think to clean.
Like baseboards.
Or the tops of fan blades.
Or grout.
When we moved into this house, I just assumed the tile was white and the grout was…well, kinda black, I guess. Yes, I saw that there were great variations in color, with the darkest grout found in the highest traffic areas and in front of the stove and the lightest grout found in the forgotten corners of closets. But my mind, perhaps sensing the truth of the matter and the implications held therein, decided to slide past what my eyes saw.
Those color variations were natural.
Those color variations were intentional.
What color variations?
I realized I was slipping into a sort of Orwellian doublethink on the matter whereby the grout color was both uniform and variegated, and its cause both natural and intentional.
Of course, this was madness. Deep down, somewhere within my messy and unkempt core, I must have known that the tiles that covered the vast majority of this house were interlaced with filthy, disgusting grout.
But as I said – admitting that would mean accepting the responsibility to clean them, and that was a dark door too frightening for my mind to open.
So it’s a good thing I have my babes, because she has no qualms whatsoever seeing the filth and understanding what must be done to combat it. And as I have her, so she has me. She sees the problem, identifies a solution, issues remedial orders, and I carry out the orders to her satisfaction.
Thus I found myself with a bottle of grout cleaner in one hand, a scrub brush in the other and a look on my face that could only be described as, how the hell did this just happen?
But here’s the thing. If my babes is going to send me off to die in some foreign war on some forgotten floor, she’s at least going to equip me with the best damn weapons money can buy. She may expect a lot from this rented mule, but she does want him home in one piece for dinner each night – especially since this rented mule is cooking the dinner! So when she asked that I clean the grout (gah! – it has such a nasty ring to it!), she didn’t expect me to go down there armed only with bare knuckles and bravado. My babes did the research. She found an easy way to clean grout so her 50-year-old babes didn’t have to shuffle around the tiles, huffing and grunting like some sort of flabby, over-pressurized, steam-powered choo-choo train.
Madam, allow me to introduce you to Grout-Eez, the miracle grout cleaner that makes cleaning fun1!
1cleaning only guaranteed to be fun if you make your husband clean for you.
Okay, so here’s how it works: you squirt the solution on the grout, you wait 5-10 minutes, you scrub with the included brush (which screws onto any broom handle for easy stand-up cleaning), and then you wipe it off. Bada bing, bada boom.
Let’s have a closer look, and then you can kick back and enjoy the video I made.
First, you squirt – just enough to fill the grout canal. Note that Grout-Eez is a pretty powerful acid, so gloves and eye protection should be worn. I know I’m not wearing gloves. Look, just do as I say, not as I do, okay?
Then you wait. The instructions say 5-10 minutes, but we found 10 is better. What’s another 5 minutes when you’re having this much fun?
After 10 minutes (give or take), lightly scrub the grout with the included brush (pole not included). Grout-Eez does most of the work, but the scrubbing does help loosen the dirt and grime and makes it easier to wipe or mop away.
You can see how dirty the solution is. All that nasty crap was in the grout!
After scrubbing, just wipe up the excess – a damp microfiber towel works well for small areas or use a sponge mop for a whole floor. You’ll probably need to repeat this step to get all of the solution off the floor.
At this point, the grout looked much better, but because the grout was wet, it wasn’t showing as good as it would when dry. After 30 minutes, the grout was back to its original gray. Check out these before and after pics.
As far as cleaning difficult areas goes, cleaning grout with Grout-Eez has to rank as one of the most enjoyable, and it’s even more so if you make your S.O. do it while you kick back with a glass of wine!
I’ve already gotten a couple of questions about using Grout-Eez on vertical surfaces. I checked the manufacturer’s website, and here’s what they have to say:
How to clean your shower with GROUT-EEZ
- Apply Grout-eez to grout lines
- Let sit for 5-10 minutes ( May have to move it around a little as it will run down the wall
- Scrub with grout brush
- Rinse with shower head or wet towel
- Wait 24 hours to see final results and to seal your grout
Important!
Grout-Eez should never be used on stone tiles without first taping them off to prevent the acid from touching them. Acid + stone = etched stone. If you have marble tiles, I’d seriously think twice about using this product. It may not be worth the risk.
Now check out the little video I made and dream about how easy it will be to clean your grout!
In case you have trouble watching the video above, I also added the YouTube version after the Pinterest pin below.
Share it on Pinterest & Facebook!
Looks great, you both have been doing a lot of projects over the years. Maybe one day you will get to a place that wont need all that renovating and can enjoy it. LOL If you have some down time I have some projects that could use some help, just putting it out there. LOL
I don’t understand the term “down time.” Please explain. 😀
Thanks for reading my mind. Must be radar love. We have a lot of tile in the living areas and it’s been bugging me. I tried vinegar and baking soda and it works, with repeated applications. Ugh, i need that brush and Grout-eez, for sure. And yes, light bulbs and shades need dusting too. Love.
So glad to hear we got this post out just in time, Cindy! 🙂
This must beat the steam cleaner route. I’ve been dreading it because I don’t want to crawl all over the house.
I will buy some of this, my kitchen and bathroom need it terribly.
Thank you.
Oh heck yeah it beats a steam cleaner! I think it’s safe to say we’ve all outgrown our crawling phase, lol!
Finally got around to buying this “miracle” cleaner. Tried it by the back door, where it’s especially bad. OMG!! Didn’t even have to scrub. It sort of melts away! Thanks so much! 😖😻😻😻
So happy to hear it, Cindy – thanks for sharing! 🙂
If you don’t think about cleaning baseboards (and window/door trim), I bet you also don’t wipe down light switches or clean light shades and dust off the bulbs. Guys never think these things need periodic cleaning. Grout though is something I hate cleaning and sealing it doesn’t stop it from getting dirty. It’s why I will never put small hexagonal or penny tile in any bathroom floor. Too much grout. I will have to try this. Anything is better than using an old toothbrush with cleaner while on my hands and knees.
Dust bulbs? Clean light shades? What sort of alien are you??? 😀
Is this stuff thick enough to use on tile grout on walls?
Hi Amy, I deleted my first response. I checked on Grout-EEZ’s website, and they say to squirt it down the grout lines and then proceed like you would with the floors. Just be sure to give it enough time to work its magic. Here’s a copy/paste from their website:
How to Clean Your Shower with Grout-EEZ
Apply Grout-eez to grout lines
Let sit for 5-10 minutes ( May have to move it around a little as it will run down the wall
Scrub with grout brush
Rinse with shower head or wet towel
Wait 24 hours to see final results and to seal your grout
Looks great for floors. Any idea how it works on vertical surfaces such as tiled shower walls? We’ve almost given up having clean grout in the shower and have begun considering having a fiberglass insert installed.
Hi Mark, it should work! Please see my response to Amy above.
After cleaning your grout, did you reseal it?
Yes! My question, exactly. After all that work to clean it, sealing will keep it clean for a much longer time, so you won’t be doing this apply/scrub/mop-up-the-mess business again a few months down the road. My mom swears by sealant on clean grout so it doesn’t have to be scrubbed constantly. Now, how about the Epic Saga of the Columns? Inquiring minds want to know!
Yep, grout sealer is a great idea after cleaning. I didn’t bother, as we’ll be remodeling the kitchen at some point in the…future.
No. We’re eventually going to get rid of the tile when we remodel the kitchen, so I didn’t bother with that step, but I would recommend it for those keeping their tile, lol!
Oh too funny! I was just looking at our floors this last weekend and telling the hubs we need to scrub the grout lines – and it is like you were picking up on our psycho wavelength 😜. This is waaaay better than the torture I had in mind.
We will be grabbing a bottle of this. Thanks for the tip!!
Hubs can thank me later, lol! 🙂
Wow you did an awesome job… when we moved into our Townhouse the kitchen hallway and breakfast nook were all beige tiles and charcoal grout. So I cleaned and painted it with off white grout paint, as our kitchen cabinets were off white too. Made a huge difference, but now we are having new white countertops and pretty tile 24×48” backsplash so no grout seen on that. I decided to repaint the grout white. Came out great took me three days as I am 80 but still love DIY just takes me a little longer.. I do enjoy your blog..have been following you for a few years now.. can’t wait to see your new beautiful home as you go along.
Hi Bunny, thank you so much! Wow, you painted your grout twice? That’s real dedication! Kudos to you, and we’re happy to have you along for the ride!
Can you use one of those brushes that connect to a drill to be able to really scrud it good?
I don’t see why not!
I ordered two bottles….sure hope it works on mine!! Thank you!
You’re going to love it, Sheila! 🙂
okay cleaning grout, but do you have any tips on what to use to clean up hard water build-up on the shower tiles. I think that’s what it is. Hard and cream colored, won’t rub off with brush looks like I need something to dissolve it. Any ideas, Thanks and welcome to Florida!!!
Hi Bridget,
To clean hard water build-up on and around the sink my mom used to use lemons/lemon juice. The acid in the lemons help removing the hard water stains. So this solution (Grout-Eez) should also help with hard water stains in the grout since this is also acidic.
That said, I wouldn’t use this solution if you have marble shower or floor tiles. Acid and marble don’t play well, and marble gets etched and becomes dull when interacted with acidic contents.
I hope this info helps! -Handan
Here in Indiana we have very hard water due to so much limestone. I use CLR in my tub, sinks, faucets and even the coffee pot. It works so well. I have to buy it in the gallon jug!
You could use vinegar and let it soak then do a whole lot of scrubbing.
Thats great to know, I have to do mine also and ive not heard of that product. I will get it and go to town….glad the brush comes with!! Thats a bonus!
I really like good cleaning tips, I am kinda OCD about the cleaning of everything so any tip and tricks that WORK I will watch for sure.
Thanks for sharing this…you guys are off to a great start there…
Shelley
You’re going to love it, Shelley – good luck with your floor and have fun! 🙂
The house we built in Arizona has tile floors. When we were choosing tile and grout colors, our builder suggested we choose something the same color as the dirt on our property (it’s in southern Arizona, high desert grasslands with red-ish brown sand). We put in terra cotta tile and used a similar color grout. While the grout is very likely disgustingly dirty, at least we don’t see it 🙂 This product does look good though; I’m making note of it for future reference!
Your builder is a rare breed of genius. That’s my kind of guy!
I was all excited about this grout product till you said it’s not for stone/marble floors. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted lol.
Oh I also heard good reviews about the grout pen which kinda paints over the old grout! Available on Amazon of course if anyone is interested
I actually used the grout pen right before we put our house up for sale. It worked wonderfully.
Yeah, best not to risk it, lol!
Are you able to use of the scrub brushes that attaches to a drill for extra scrubing power.