How To Clean Tile Grout Without Using Bleach

Nobody likes dirty grout, but breaking out the bleach may seem like too harsh of a solution – can your floors handle the chemical without suffering permanent damage or discoloration? Luckily, there are other options you can mix together after a quick trip to your local store.

Whatever cleaning option you choose, your first step should be to do a preliminary clean of the area. We recommend vacuuming first, then mopping up whatever dirt and grime remains.

Ammonia, Baking Soda, and Vinnegar

• Mix Your Chemicals: Fill either a large bowl or bucket with 7 cups of warm water, and mix in 1/4 cup of white vinegar, 1/3 cup of ammonia, and 1/2 cup of baking soda. Make sure that the baking soda is completely dissolved in the water before mixing in the other ingredients unless you want to reenact your favorite grade school science experiment.
• Fill Your Spray Bottle: A spray bottle will allow you to spritz the most troublesome areas without using an unnecessary amount of cleaner and drenching the area. Even though you aren’t using bleach, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be careful in protecting your floors from damage. Make sure to shake it every so often to make sure your solution is completely mixed.
• Time To Spritz: Keep your focus on a small area, at most two square feet. Spray your chosen area enough to get it damp, and wait for three to five minutes to allow it to work its way into the grout.
• Start Scrubbing: Your choice of scrubbing brush really depends on your personal preference. A magic eraser, a toothbrush, and a hard-bristled cleaning brush are all perfectly viable options. Just be sure to use some elbow grease to attack and scrub out the dirt ground deep in between the tiles.
• Wipe, Rinse, Repeat: Use a damp rag to wipe up any pools of grimy liquid that gathered while you were scrubbing and wring it out into a separate bowl or bucket before moving on to the next patch of grout.
• Mop It All Up: Once you’ve finished cleaning up the last of the grout, break out the mop one last time to clean up any residual dirty cleaner from your floor. You may want to grab a towel and wipe it dry just to make sure your floor is as clean as possible.

Baking Soda and Hydrogen Peroxide

• Make Your Paste: Unlike the previous mixture, these two will combine to make a thick paste. Start by filling up your bowl with as much baking soda as you expect to need – don’t worry, you can always make more, so it’s better to err on the side of not quite enough rather than way too much – before slowly pouring in the hydrogen peroxide. Keep stirring as you pour in the liquid, and don’t stop until your concoction reaches a good consistency.
• Spread Your Pate: You can either use a toothbrush or your finger to spread your mixture in between your tiles. Same as with the previous mixture, try to keep your focus to an area no larger than two square feet. Make sure to spread the paste on thick in order to completely cover the grout, and let it sit for anywhere from five to ten minutes before proceeding to the next step.
• Start Scrubbing: Either a toothbrush, as long as it isn’t the same one you spread the paste with, or a small brush will work just fine. While scrubbing, make sure to apply enough pressure to lift the stains and dirt from between the tiles. If the first coating of paste didn’t get your grout as clean as you’d like, simply add another layer to the troublesome areas, let it sit, and repeat.
• Mop It All Up: Once you’ve repeated the previous two steps enough times to completely clean between your tiles, take your mop and do one final clean to make sure your floors are spotless. Again, to make sure you’ve cleaned up any remaining cleaner, you may want to consider using a towel to wipe up after you mop.

Now that your floors are back to being spotless, your focus should turn to keeping them clean so you don’t need to take the time to do a deep clean again in the near future. As soon as something spills on your floor, grab a damp paper towel or rag and wipe away any trace. If the spill happened while you were away, you may still be able to save yourself the extra hassle by pouring some hydrogen peroxide on the stain and let it sit for at least a minute before wiping it away with a damp rag or paper towel.

Cleaning your home can be a time-consuming task, and it may be incredibly stressful to carve out the time you need to keep your house looking as great as it should. That’s where we come in. At The Maids Dallas, our crew of professional home cleaning experts are ready to set a cleaning schedule that fits your needs, and guarantee your satisfaction every time we come to your home. Give us a call at (972) 471-9509 for a free price estimate, or fill out our online form to get started today.

Related Posts:

• Tips To Help You Mop Your Floors
• 5 Tips To Help You Vacuum
• Tips to Keep Your Home Free From Dust