Even if you clean your tile floors often, you might notice that they do not look as good as they did when you first had them installed. This is likely because the grout in between your tiles has gotten dirty. Grout often stays dirty even if you clean the tile because the dirt, mold, and mildew get down in the grout, not just on the surface. When this happens, you will need to clean the grout thoroughly. The tools needed for this project are not complicated or expensive. First, I would recommend that your wear latex or nitrile gloves and possibly a nonwoven mask over your face so that you don’t have to breath any harsh chemical smells. After you have outfitted yourself, you will need three basic things to begin cleaning your grout: a cleaner, a brush, and a damp cloth or wet/dry vac.

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.