Clean Kitchen and Bathroom Awaits: Get Rid of Mold and Mildew
Even though they can work well, I, for one, try to stay away from toxic store-bought cleansers. These often radical chemicals can make your grout white as snow, but they can cause burns and rashes on your skin in the process. Not to mention the dangers of storing these poisonous products in your house around children and pets.
In place of store-bought cleansers, I choose to use safer, homemade solutions for cleaning my grout instead. Many of the ingredients can be found right in your kitchen cupboard. The ingredients are inexpensive to buy. Plus, they won’t harm your skin, your children, or, your pets.
1. It’s Not Just For Pickles
You can clean mildly-soiled bathroom or kitchen grout with plain old White vinegar and a sponge or rag. Vinegar works especially well for cutting through cooking grease that tends to accumulate on kitchen tile and grout. It safely removes soap scum too. All you need to do is fill a clean spray bottle with white vinegar. Then, spray and wipe the grout clean. Vinegar won’t leave a dulling residue, so there’s no need to rinse the grout with water. Use the white vinegar full strength for the best results.
2. Baking Soda to the Rescue
If the grout isn’t too dirty, you can sprinkle baking soda on a damp sponge or rag to scour it clean. The soda not only whitens the area, but it sanitizes it too. Rinse the grout well with tap water afterwards, and wipe it dry.
For stained or moldy grout, make up a thick paste of baking soda and tap water. Use a damp sponge to dab the paste onto the grout.
Let the cleaner stand undisturbed for fifteen to twenty minutes. Then, wet the grout with warm tap water and rub it clean. Finish the job by rinsing the area thoroughly with water.
3. Homemade Super Triple Cleanser
If your grout has a heavy-duty build-up of mold and mildew, you might need to use a homemade super cleanser to whiten it up. Mix together one part baking soda and one part table salt. Then, add just enough white vinegar to turn the dry ingredients into a paste. Cover the grout completely with the paste. Let the cleanser stand for twenty to thirty minutes. Then, use an old toothbrush to scrub the grout until it’s clean. Rinse the area thoroughly with tap water.
4. It Whitens Your Teeth, It Can Whiten Your Grout
You probably have a bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide right in your medicine cabinet! It works great as a disinfectant for minor cuts and scrapes. And, it whitens dull, discolored teeth. Hydrogen Peroxide will also turn moldy grout white again!
Mix up one part of Hydrogen Peroxide with one part tap water. Then, pour the mixture into a spray bottle. Spray the tile and grout in your bathroom or kitchen. Wipe the areas clean with a rag. If necessary, repeat the process to clean stubborn stains.
Note: Mix up only as much cleanser as you’re going to use at one time. Do not store mixtures because they will lose their potency over time.
Mold and mildew can cause a host of health problems for you and your family. Therefore, you should clean the grout at the first sign of these problems.
To help further reduce mold and mildew problems, especially in the bathroom areas, shower walls should be wiped down after each bath or shower is taken.
