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When it comes to tile floor cleaning, it has always been a bit of a challenge to clean the grout. The grout is the tiny ditch between tiles that is usually uneven and easy to attract dirt such as hair, fur or dust.
Due to the difficulty of cleaning, it is natural and intuitive for people to scrub the grout repeatedly with the hope of making it nice and clean. Unfortunately, the effect of scrubbing might be limited due to the rough surface of the grout.
What’s worse, after several times of scrubbing, the grout would be worn out and discolored. Despite the presence of such a challenge, the good news is, there are several ways to clean the grout with less effort and better results.
In this article, Sparkling and Beyond is going to share some cleaning tips to help you better clean these tiny strips of grout in order to polish your beautiful floor.
What is grout and why is it hard to clean?
Grout is the adhesives that is used to stick the tiles together. After it adheres to your floor tiles and dries off, the surface of the grout is uneven. Because of this, tiny, unpleasant substances like dust or pet fur are likely to get stuck in the grout.
To be specific, the dirt in the mop water tends to be trapped in the grout whenever the tile floor is mopped up.
While it seems like a rational way to scrub off the grime, this method is not ideal as excessive scrubbing may in turn damage the surface and cause discoloration to the grout.
The good news is, with proper cleaning products that are actually accessible and some are even eco-friendly, these problems can be solved with great success.
Cleaning grout with Baking Soda
With its well-known super-effective abrasive power, baking soda is always useful to clean the stains that are harder to remove. As a result, it can be used to clean stubborn spaghetti sauce from a plastic lunch box or get rid of grease on the microwave or the kitchen sink.
Baking soda can also eliminate unpleasant odor in, say, the refrigerator or the sponge that is used for washing dishes. With its marvelous efficiency, it can also be applied to cleaning the stubborn strips of grout.
By mixing and dissolving baking soda in water, the mixture obtained can help wash away stains in the grout without much effort.
Natural ingredient for grout polishing: vinegar and lemon
Have you ever thought that common things in your kitchen can become handy sometime when dealing with tough cleaning jobs? White vinegar is known as an effective material to deal with the grout.
It is natural and, most importantly, affordable and accessible. Compared with other cleaning materials like bleach and other commercial cleaning products, it is relatively gentle. It should be noted that vinegar should not be applied on natural stone tiles and ceramic tiles as it could damage the tile.
Apart from vinegar, lemons are also natural products that can be used for cleaning the grout effectively. Simply drench the grout with lemon juice and wait for ten minutes before wiping the grout with a piece of wet cloth. Maybe expired lemons are not entirely a waste after all.
Other cleaning products for the grout
Do not want to make the cleaner yourself? Let’s have a look at other options. Cleaning products that are specialized in polishing the grout are readily available such as IT JUST WORKS! Grout-Eez, Ultimate Grout Cleaner and Goo Gone Grout & Tile Cleaner.
If you are looking for a stronger effect, using bleach is also an excellent alternative to make the grout spotless. However, it is important that you consider safety precautions before using bleach. The bleach not only makes the grout extra clean but also whitening the surface.
Despite its benefit as a powerful cleaning solution, which is super effective on cleaning the floor surface, bleach can also damage your health. It is suggested that you wear gloves while using it and keep the space in good ventilation by opening windows or turning on the fan.
Moreover, using bleach to remove dirty substances in your grout over time may cause erosion and even make the grout dirtier as its left-behind substance can attract the grime.
Conclusion
Simple cleaning tips can always make your life easier when cleaning tricky parts of your house such as the grout. Using day-to-day simple cleaning products like baking soda or natural ones like vinegar and lemon can easily get rid of dirt in the grout.
Bleach is also an excellent option with much stronger effect, yet it is necessary to keep in mind safety precautions prior to using this chemical. We hope that this article has been found useful by all of those who are struggling with cleaning the grout.
If you are still unsure about how to clean your grout, Sparkling and Beyond is a professional cleaning service dedicated to making your house nice and tidy. Visit us at sparklingandbeyond.com or dial 415-966-1101 for a free quote and book our services!
References:
- How to Clean Floor Grout Without Scrubbing – Top 4 Easiest Tips 2022
- How to Clean Grout with DIY Grout Cleaners
- 22 Cleaning Problems You Can Solve With Baking Soda
- How to Clean Floor Grout without Scrubbing
Arno Tseng. I love reading and watching TV shows. I also love a cosy, tidy house to relax and enjoy my hobby.
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