Similarly, vinegar, baking soda, oxygen bleach and other homemade or DIY solutions will not only ruin your grout, they may even damage your tile. Don't take that chance.
Absolutely, I would recommend a grout cleaning product that's made specifically for it. Vinegar is ok to use but dilute it with warm water. Vinegar has acidic properties that can damage grout. A 50/50 mix will work fine. Lauren V. StoneTooling Now shipping internationally!
There are a variety of solutions to clean your tile such as baking soda or vinegar with water, OxiClean, or many other spray cleaners designed to be safe for your grout. If the grout lines are a light color, bleach or hydrogen peroxide solutions can be a good product to clean and sanitize the tile grout.
Using a peroxide soak may help remove some stubborn stains, but it will also de-color a colored grout, leaving it differently-colored than the remainder of the surfaces.
Sprinkle your grout with baking soda, then spray the powder with hydrogen peroxide. The combination will bubble. Allow the mixture to sit on the grout for several minutes. Scrub, then wipe away with a damp rag.
Cleaners that contain bleach or ammonia can even fade the color of your grout, leaving you with an uneven appearance.
Professionals often use steam to loosen the dirt and other particles trapped in the grout without needing to scrub manually. While every steam cleaning machine is different, you'll follow this basic process to clean grout lines: Use a steam cleaner with a small nylon brush attachment.
Getting in between the tiles is hard but OxiClean™ can make keeping your grout sparkling white easy. Always refer to packaging for directions. MIX Fill to line 4 per gallon of water. For some surfaces, like grout, a more concentrated solution/paste may be needed.
Mix equal parts white vinegar and warm water in a spray bottle. Saturate the grout completely with the vinegar solution, then let it sit for 5–10 minutes. Use a stiff brush (such as a nylon scrub brush) and a bit of elbow grease to start scrubbing the grout's surface.
If you're a die-hard DIYer, using Dawn dish soap alone can be a safer option for mild cleaning. Dilute a small amount of Dawn in warm water, scrub the grout with a soft brush, and rinse thoroughly. However, this method is less effective for tackling stubborn stains or deep-seated grime.
It is best to try mild solutions first, since they are least likely to damage your colored grout. Start by trying vinegar or baking soda. If that doesn't do the job, you can move on to hydrogen peroxide, which will work with moderate levels of grime.
Apply liberally, let sit for 10 minutes, scrub with a sponge, and rinse with a damp cloth. Spray directly on soap scum, wait 10 minutes, scrub with a brush, and rinse off. Soak a cloth in the solution, wrap around the fixture for 15 minutes, then rinse and dry.
Different ways to remove grout haze
If this does not work completely, use a mixture of 50% water and 50% vinegar. The acid dissolves the lime residues that make up a grout haze. Special grout haze removers, which you can buy in the tile shop or hardware store, work on the same principle.
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.
Vinegar and baking soda
Vinegar is great for cleaning the bathroom in general (besides the smell), but adding baking soda can activate the dye to start breaking down making it easier to wipe away. Use a clean cloth to rub the paste gently on the stain and then rinse with warm water.
Mix 3.5 cups hot water, 3 tbsp of lemon juice, 1/2 cup Baking Soda, and 1/6 cup white vinegar. Using a spray bottle, apply the mixture along the grout itself, making sure it's totally saturated. Let it soak in. After about one hour, spray the grout one more time and then mop it all away!
DIY Grout Cleaner
Make a spreadable paste with 3/4 cup baking soda with 1/4 cup hydrogen peroxide and 1 tablespoon of mild dish soap. Add more baking soda or peroxide if the mixture is too runny or thick.
It works on the tile and the grout, effectively cleaning everything from hard water stains to mold and mildew stains to soap scum.
Replacing grout is certainly one way to fix the problem. Instead, use UltraCare Grout Refresh, a water-based color seal, available in 40 standard grout colors. It's made for refreshing the look of old, discolored grout, or completely changing the color of the existing grout.
Grout pens will only temporarily cover your grout's discoloration. That's probably why they are the cheapest option available. We run into the infamous grout pen issue nearly every other week. The project usually goes awry when the homeowner applies the grout pen to the grout and some bleeds over onto the tile.
For discoloration, use some form of bleach until it's white again. If colored grout, use an appropriate cleaner.