You should first start with water or steam. Yu can try just using a brush and some warn water first. This will get rid of any surface dust and maybe a little bit of dirt that has gotten into the grout. If wiping and scrubbing with water does not work you can try steam. With the help of a steam cleaner you can spray steam onto the grout. The steam at high pressure will dislodge the dirt in the grout and then the steam cleaner’s suction can take it away with the excess water.

The next tier of cleaner to try is normal homemade household cleaners. A one to one mixture of vinegar and water is a miracle cleaning solution you can use on almost anything. Add a tablespoon of dish detergent and you have a very potent and effective grout cleaner. You can also try a baking soda paste. Just add a little bit of water to baking soda and you can make a paste that is easy to apply to your grout lines. After the homemade varieties, you should try normal household cleaners like Comet, Mr. Clean, or Lysol. With these and every type of grout cleaner, you want to let the cleaning chemicals sit on the grout for anywhere from two to ten minutes to work on the dirt before you start scrubbing. In general, you want to let the chemicals to sit for longer the dirtier your grout is.

If the cleaners you can make yourself or you can buy in the grocery store do not get the job done then you want to move onto professional grout cleaning agents. There are two tiers of professional grout cleaners. The first is the ones you can buy in home improvement warehouses like Lowes or Home Depot. The typically say something like “professional strength” on the label. The second tier is cleaners that are usually only sold to professional cleaning services. The consumer can get them though, if you shop online. These professional grade cleaners need to be diluted, so be sure to read the instructions carefully.

Usually the last type of cleaner you want to try is bleach based cleaners. Grout can be cleaned very well by bleach cleaners, but they often can cause damage to the grout. There are two categories of bleach grout cleaning products to choose from. Chlorine bleach is usually harsher and might not work as well as oxygen bleach products. Both varieties of grout cleaners need to be diluted in water. With harsh chemicals like this, make sure that you test the results on a small and inconspicuous area tmake sure that your grout will not be adversely affected. Chlorine bleach will actually whiten your grout, but should not be used with colored grout. Oxygen bleach will not eliminate color under normal circumstances, and it is non toxic.

There are many options when it comes to the cleaner that you can use on your grout. If this is one of the first times you are cleaning your grout, then I would suggest a commercial or professional strength grout cleaner. Generally, you mix one cup of the professional cleaner with two gallons of hot water, but be sure to carefully follow the manufacturer’s directions. Your best bet is to find a supplier online that sells to the public. The grout cleaners you find at local hardware superstores often say professional strength but are not of the same caliber. If you have already done a cleaning or two with the real professional strength cleaner then these lower strength products will suffice. Other options include one cup of an oxygen bleach like Oxiclean in two gallons of hot water or a mixture of one cup of chlorine bleach with two gallons of hot water and one tablespoon of liquid dish soap. Once you have cleaned your grout with these potent chemicals, you can do subsequent cleanings with lighter options like baking soda or vinegar. Whatever solution you chose, you want to let it sit on the grout for one to two minutes for minor staining or as much as five to ten minutes for heavy staining.

Once you have chosen your cleaning product you will need to choose a brush to do the actual scrubbing. The most important characteristic of that brush should be the bristles. Soft bristle brushes will not be able to get the dirt out from deep in the grout and an extremely hard metal bristle brush will actually tear the grout to pieces. The best bet is a strong polyethylene bristle brush. If you can find one with a v-shaped contour that would be even better because then you can really get into the cracks of grout and not just clean the surface. One other attribute to your grout cleaning brush that would be nice is a long handle so that you can brush standing up and do not have to be down on your hands and knees with a hand held brush.

Once you have scrubbed the grout to your satisfaction you will need to clean up the residual mess. Some people use a damp cloth or paper towel to clean up the excess cleaning solution and dirt that came out of the grout as they go. Others will clean a larger area around ten by twelve feet and then use a wet/dry vacuum to clean up the mess. Whichever you choose, be sure to finish the job with a good mopping of the entire tiled floor.