How to Clean Your Tile Grout

So you’re looking at your dirt free, shiny ceramic tile and you notice that outlining your tile is some pitch black tile grout. You now have two choices: you can either clean the grout or you can re-grout the cermaic tile. If you want to grout it over again you will need to buy new grout. You can choose whatever color you want to grout it with. White is not the best choice because it gets very dirty and every spec of dirt you can see. I would suggest going with an off-white color or use a dark color if possible. Make sure to buy enough grout to do the entire area just in case the kind runs out and you can’t match the color.

If you want to clean the grout you will have to use grout cleaner or bleach. Dilute the bleach in water and use a spray bottle to spray each line. Let it sit on the grout for at least 5 minutes and start cleaning it with a tough brush or toothbrush. You can use whichever type of brush you want just make sure that if you are using bleach you do not get it on the carpet or lay any rugs on top of the floor. Your best bet is to clean a small section of the floor and mop over that area so that the bleach doesn’t end up on your carpet.

If you are cleaning the grout in your socks you will need to remove your socks before walking on the carpet to be safe. Make sure you have a bucket of water and mop next to you so you aren’t running all over the house. Also make sure that you have the brush you’re using, bleach or grout cleaner. You will definately want to open up windows and doors and use a face mask. The more ventilation you can get into the house, the better. I would do a small area of grout before you do the entire house. Otherwise you may not get the results that you want because the bleach could be too diluted.

Make sure you mop the entire floor afterwards. Once you are done cleaning the grout you can buy a sealer so that the grout doesn’t get dirty. That way you wont have to clean the grout as often or re-grout the entire floor. You will be very happy with the results as long as you do it right and use the right brush and ceramic tile cleaner. Never do the entire area all at one time before you test out a small section.