The most common and effective homemade grout cleaner is a mixture of baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and dish soap. Cream or tartar and lemon juice is the best all-natural solution for whitening. Avoid using highly-acidic solutions like vinegar because they can corrode grout.
What's the best homemade grout and tile cleaner? Mix together 1/2 cup of baking soda, 1/4 cup of hydrogen peroxide, and 1 tsp dish soap. Apply cleaning mixture onto the grout, wait 5-10 minutes, scrub, sweep up the excess baking soda, and rinse.
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.
Pour or spray undiluted vinegar onto your grout and let it sit for 10 minutes before using a toothbrush, scrubbing in a circular motion. Next, rinse away the dirt and mildew. You can also use white vinegar to clean soap residue, mildew, and grime on non-porous tile surfaces.
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.
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.
To mix homemade grout cleaner all you will need is blue dawn and warm to hot water. You will start by pouring a dime-sized squirt of blue dawn into a trigger bottle (preferably a 32-ounce bottle). Make sure the spray can be adjusted to stream and not spray. Then fill with water and lightly shake.
The easiest way to clean grout without scrubbing involves hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. Mix the two into a paste with some dish soap and apply to the grout lines. Alternatively, you can use a cleaning solution of water, vinegar, lemon juice, and baking soda.
Try Hydrogen Peroxide. If you've got visible stains, mold, or mildewed grout, hydrogen peroxide is a game changer. Spray it on the stain and let it sit for a few minutes, then go to work on it with your scrub brush of choice. You might have to repeat this step a few times if you've got a tough stain.
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.
Hydrogen peroxide won't damage normal tiles or colored grout. However, you shouldn't use it on polished marble. Cleaning with hydrogen peroxide and baking soda is a great way to remove stubborn stains from your grout.
Avoid Vinegar and Baking Soda
Vinegar and other acids are also a bad idea for stone tile because the acid can etch the stone. Another widely praised household cleaner, baking soda, is alkaline (not acid), but it is not very effective as a grout cleaner.
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!)
Cleaning Tile Grout
Start with water and a stiff brush, and if that doesn't do the trick, try an oxygen cleaner or a mix of baking soda and vinegar followed by brushing. Deep stains may call for replacing the grout altogether.
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.
Shower Walls
Dawn dish soap and vinegar – Mix equal parts of vinegar and blue Dawn dish soap into a spray bottle. Run the shower for a few minutes on hot to heat up the shower space. Spray to coat the surface of the shower walls evenly with the mixture. Let sit for 5 minutes then use a damp cleaning rag to wipe away.
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. Then, scrub with a small brush or old toothbrush.
Discolorations in your tile and grout aren't just unsightly—sometimes they are downright dangerous. The dark spots on grout are most likely the result of mold, mildew or plain old dirt buildup. It is important to determine what you're dealing with first, so you can wipe it out with the appropriate treatment plan.
Moisture and direct water contact contribute to grout deterioration over time, and eventually, the tiles will crack. This is why you should consider regrouting shower tiles every six months.