A 50/50 mix of white vinegar and warm water can combat tough stains. Make your own grout cleaner with pantry products. Fill a spray bottle with a 50/50 solution of white vinegar and warm water and stir it until it's fully integrated. Then spray the solution liberally onto the grout.
Hydrogen peroxide is a natural cleaning agent with anti-fungal properties. Using this is a much better choice than bleach in that it leaves no firm order afterward. Pour a little bit into a spray bottle and spray it onto the contaminated area. Let it soak in for 10 minutes, then scrub.
What do professionals use to clean grout? Whether you believe it or not, most professionals use a solution of white vinegar and water with a 1:1 ratio.
So the answer to the titular question is vinegar. Vinegar is better for cleaning. But that's because bleach isn't intended for cleaning, but for disinfecting. And, by the way, if you want to use bleach for disinfecting, make sure the area you want to treat is clean (and rinsed clean, if you used vinegar!)
To remove everyday dirt and debris, mix two parts baking soda with one part water. 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.
Spray grout with equal parts vinegar and warm water.
Fill a spray bottle with a half-and-half solution of vinegar and warm water. Spray the mixture on the grout, let it stand for 5 minutes, then scrub the surface with a stiff brush.
It's a great short-term fix, but it's not actually going to make your walls, floors, or backsplash any cleaner. Magic erasers are a fantastic way to get grout very clean, very quickly.
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.
To clean your grout, combine one-part 3% hydrogen peroxide and one-part water into a spray bottle. Spray your grout generously and let the solution sit for about 1 hour, to allow time to work. Rinse the area with water and wipe clean with a microfibre cloth.
Saturate the grout with lemon juice, a mild disinfectant that gets rid of grout stains naturally. You can also use white vinegar for chemical-free grout cleaning. Simply pour vinegar from the bottle into the cap and pour it over the dirty grout lines. Allow the lemon juice or vinegar to sit for 10 to 15 minutes.
We highly advise against using ammonia or bleach to clean any grout. Cleaning solutions that contain bleach or ammonia will not only work to erode your grout over time, they will cause your grout to become even dirtier by leaving a film behind, which attracts dirt.
Hydrogen Peroxide
As with other methods you can add about a cup to your laundry to use it as a bleach alternative. If you usually use bleach to disinfect surfaces, grab a cloth and apply a 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide to kill many types of bacteria including salmonella.
While strong bleaches may seem effective, they can actually weaken and destroy grout more quickly, causing grout to crack or crumble away.
Grout that hasn't been sealed, needs to be resealed, or is in poor shape should not be cleaned with vinegar. The vinegar penetrates into the pores of the grout, further weakening the material. Over time, vinegar will deteriorate the condition of the grout by etching or wearing it away.
Tile cleaner
Windex can also be used to clean tiles and grout, without causing any damage.
Quickly remove tough surface mold and mildew stains on a wide variety of surfaces throughout the home, including ceramic tile, baseboards, fabrics, glass, brick, concrete, natural stone, laminated countertops, fully cured and oil-based painted surfaces, hard plastics, automobile tires, wood, grout and fiberglass.
One way to clean grout without scrubbing is by mixing hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. Add 1/2 cup of baking soda to 1/4 cup hydrogen peroxide and mix into a paste. Follow with a teaspoon of dish soap. Apply the mixture to your floor grout and let it sit for 5–10 minutes.
The association warns against acid-based cleaners, which can eat into grout, and cleaners with oil or wax, such as Murphy Oil Soap and Pine-Sol, because they can leave a sticky residue on grout. If the alkaline cleaners don't work, the association recommends trying an enzyme cleaner labeled for use on tile.
There's an assortment of options in getting the grime out of your grout. Homemade solutions include baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and even shaving cream! Any common household grout cleaner should do the trick as well. But if you have small children or pets, we recommend using oxygen bleach.
Cleaning Grout with Baking Soda
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.