TL;DR: Combine baking soda & white vinegar to create the perfect cleaning solution for tile grout. Scrub with a toothbrush and voila! For floor tiles, combine baking soda and hydrogen peroxide, apply paste, let sit, then scrub away and rinse off with warm water. Grout gets dirty and unsightly – quick!
Let it sit for 5-10 minutes. Rinse with warm water.
Baking soda is a safe deodorizer, whitener, and household cleaner—and it's an effective natural grout cleaner. Because baking soda is also a mild abrasive, using it for cleaning grout lines gives you extra firepower without the risk of scratching your tile.
Baking soda is efficient enough to clean the bathroom tiles on its own. Its ingredients are powerful enough to eradicate dirt and stains on the tiles. Apply baking soda on the tiles and leave it alone for a few minutes. After that, all you need to do is clean the tiles.
Over time, vinegar will deteriorate the condition of the grout by etching or wearing it away. If, however, you have sealed your grout on a regular basis, the vinegar won't be an issue. Check your grout yearly to see if it is time to seal the tile again, and use a recommended tile cleaner.
You can safely use vinegar to clean ceramic or porcelain tiles, whether they are glazed or unglazed. For other types, however, like terracotta, marble or grante, we recommend you look for ph neutral cleaner that will not harm the material.
Avoid Vinegar and Baking Soda
Alkaline cleaners are a better choice than vinegar or baking soda because grout contains cementitious mortar that can be dissolved by acidic cleaners, including vinegar. Vinegar and other acids are also a bad idea for stone tile because the acid can etch the stone.
In a bowl, combine 2 cups water, 1.5 cups baking soda, 1/3 cup vinegar, and 1/3 cup Dawn. Using a spoon, gently stir, making sure there are no lumps. Add the mixture to a clean spray bottle. Spray the floor with the mixture.
Vinegar is one of the best multi-purpose cleaners available at every house. It is safe to use on laminate, vinyl, porcelain, and ceramic tiles. A few drops of vinegar can help you restore the original look of your tile floors.
Baking soda, which is a bit abrasive in nature, can effectively loosen up the dirt particles without causing any damage to the tile surface or the indoor air quality.
Dawn and Vinegar Grout Cleaner
Heat a cup of 1-to-1 vinegar and water in the microwave for about a minute. Pour it into a spray bottle and add a cup of Dawn dish soap. Carefully spray the mixture on your grout lines. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes longer if you have really dirty grout.
But common pantry essentials that are often used for cleaning — like baking soda and vinegar — shouldn't be mixed either. Unlike the bleach-ammonia mixture, combining soda and vinegar won't hurt anyone — but don't expect the mixture to do a good job cleaning, either.
Pour 1/2 cup of baking soda into the bottle, then mix in 1/4 cup of hydrogen peroxide. The baking soda will help remove tough stains and hard water buildup, while the hydrogen peroxide will clean and brighten, cutting through residue on the grout to remove discolorations.
For stained or discolored grout, mix two parts baking soda with one part vinegar. And if you have coarse or fragile tiles, mix two parts baking soda with one part hydrogen peroxide. If desired, you can also use a commercial grout cleaner. Use a grout brush or old toothbrush to apply the paste to the grout lines.
The mixture quickly foams up with carbon dioxide gas. If enough vinegar is used, all of the baking soda can be made to react and disappear into the vinegar solution. The reaction is: Sodium bicarbonate and acetic acid reacts to carbon dioxide, water and sodium acetate.
Generally, ceramic tile cleaning is straightforward. You can use most cleaning sprays to clean the surface. Mix a few drops of dish soap in warm soapy water in a bucket, then mop up the grime. Make sure to change the water frequently as to prevent dirty water re-soiling the clean tile.
The harsh acidic action of vinegar can be harmful for the grout and glazing on your porcelain tiles. Vinegar can be detrimental for the glaze or any other surface treatment on your tiles. The acid will eat away at this protective barrier and expose your tiles to all sorts of potential problems.
Vinegar + Water is the safest combo for cleaning. If you're facing a tough spot while you mop, sprinkle a little bit of dry baking soda onto the area and scrub at it by hand. Undiluted vinegar will have some reactions to the baking soda, though not enough to cause an issue. Never add vinegar to your steam mop.
You can also use the vinegar and water solution in a spray mop. Air dry. There's no need to rinse your vinegar-mopping solution from your floors.
For ceramic tile floors, porcelain and other similar tile surfaces, the best way to clean is to use bleach, ammonia and other acidic cleaners like calcium lime rust. For natural alternatives, sodium bicarbonate powder and hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, and citric acids are your best choices.
TL;DR: Combine baking soda & white vinegar to create the perfect cleaning solution for tile grout. Scrub with a toothbrush and voila! For floor tiles, combine baking soda and hydrogen peroxide, apply paste, let sit, then scrub away and rinse off with warm water. Grout gets dirty and unsightly – quick!
Time. Make a baking soda paste with water and spread over tile and grout. Leave on overnight and spray with vinegar in the morning.