First, how to clean floor grout without scrubbing?
Before you begin your grout cleaning efforts, be aware that the mildest, least damaging cleaning option on this list—the first one—is the best place to start. If that doesn’t work, you can progress to the list’s incrementally more demanding, offensive, and possibly time-consuming options. Test a grout cleaner in a hidden location first if you’re unsure if it will work on your surface, like behind the toilet in the bathroom or under an appliance in the kitchen.
Everyone is aware of how difficult grout cleaning is. Fortunately, you can streamline your cleaning process by choosing cleaning techniques that remove dirt with little effort. Before discussing stronger chemical options, we’ll walk you through DIY mixtures and grout cleaning tips. See these grout cleaning techniques that don’t require scrubbing.
Table of Contents
How To Clean Floor Grout Without Scrubbing?
Oxygen Bleach
Apply this technique to extremely difficult grout stains. Dilute 1 gallon (3.8 L) of warm water with 1.5 tablespoons (or 22 g) of powdered oxygen bleach. Pour just enough solution to “flood” the grout lines. Leave the solution alone for 15 to 20 minutes. After that, rinse the solution off and take pleasure in your freshly cleaned grout.
If you use oxygen bleach excessively, your grout lines may be harmed by the chemical’s potency.
In contrast to chlorine bleach, oxygen bleach is non-toxic to people, animals, and plants.
Grout Sealant And Colorant
Utilize grout sealant to maintain or restore the color of the grout. Grout sealing prevents bacteria and moisture from penetrating all of the pores in your grout lines. You can purchase grout sealant that will also change the color of your grout, essentially painting over it.
Baking Soda & Hydrogen Peroxide
A solution of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda may be the best way to clean your floor grout. The good news is that most people already have these two items in their homes.
When the two are combined, a chemical reaction occurs that results in the formation of baking soda paste. Simply combine one cup of baking soda and one cup of hydrogen peroxide. You can also add a tablespoon of dishwashing liquid if you want to give it a little scent.
Give the paste about 10 minutes to work on your stained grout after applying it. The dirt, grime, and possibly even tough stains should then be simple to remove from there. Depending on the severity of the problem, you might need to do some light scrubbing, but most of the time you can use it to wipe the paste and grime away. Repeat the procedure as often as necessary if the stains continue.
Steam Cleaner
Use this approach to avoid using chemicals. Steam cleaners break up dirt by using a combination of hot water and high pressure. For the grout to be clean, make sure your steam cleaner can reach a temperature of 200°F (93°C).[16] To remove dirt, repeatedly back and forth the steam wand while holding it up to the grout lines. As the steam may not come out consistently, move slowly to ensure you get a good burst of steam on the grout.
- If your steam cleaner has a bristle attachment, let the steam handle the bulk of the cleaning. Your brush will become damaged if you apply too much pressure.
Vinegar
A reliable household cleaner is a white vinegar. Additionally, most households already have this ingredient. It shouldn’t be a surprise that vinegar is also effective at cleaning tile grout.
Three and a half cups of water, 1/6 cup of white vinegar, 1/3 cup of lemon juice, and 1/2 cup of baking soda must be combined. Those tough stains can be removed thanks to the acidity of the vinegar and lemon juice.
Spend about an hour letting this mixture sit.Similar to the previous step, you might need to lightly scrub the dirt and grime away. Like the previous step, you can also repeat as often as necessary. The good news is that vinegar is among the most economically sound cleaners you can use.
Chlorine Bleach
For severe stains and rust, use this method with caution. Given that chlorine bleach can damage grout, it’s best to use this method in discrete areas rather than all over your tiled surface. In only a few minutes, apply undiluted bleach to the grout lines. Use a fresh, dry cloth to dry them.
Chlorine bleach can stain your grout, and it can also stain nearby rugs, curtains, and towels if you accidently spill it on them.
Clorox Bleach
You can’t go wrong with oxygenated bleach if you need to stick with a tried-and-true cleaning solution in a pinch. One of the most popular cleaning agents, especially when it comes to whitening really grimy ground.
Just make sure you have enough ventilation before using bleach. You should wear respiratory protection because breathing it in can be extremely dangerous.
Furthermore, you must avoid leaving the bleach on for an extended period of time. Too much bleach exposure can harm the grout. Before wiping the grout, leave it on for no more than a few minutes. To avoid harming the grout, try a different technique if it doesn’t work after one or two applications.
Alkaline Cleaners
Alkaline cleaning products have been specially developed and formulated to clean and brighten floor grout that has mold and mildew. An alkaline cleaner is useful for bathrooms. In bathrooms, moisture tends to accumulate more quickly, increasing the risk of mold and mildew.
You must adhere to the directions when using alkaline cleaners, keep in mind. Don’t stray because each one might be unique from the next. You should follow safety instructions because, like bleach, they may be harmful to your health.
Sealing The Grout
The grout can be sealed, which is the most efficient way to avoid scrubbing.In order to accomplish this, sealers were created specifically. There are many grout cleaners available, but none are 100% guaranteed to work.
By sealing the grout, you add an extra layer of defense against grime, mold, mildew, and anything else that might detract from the grout’s aesthetic appeal. Consider sealing the grout if you don’t want to fiddle with one of the cleaners mentioned above.
Ways To Maintain Clean Grout
You undoubtedly want to know how to properly maintain your grout now that you have cleaned it and restored its white appearance. Finding ways to avoid having to clean grout again is important because it is not enjoyable. Here are some of the best techniques for maintaining grout and preventing further mucking up.
Sealing It Once A Year
Make sure to seal your grout once a year if you choose to. This is the best way to keep your grout clean and guard against future discolorations. The ideal sealant acts as a barrier that shields your ground from all other outside impurities.
Remember to re-seal your grout, though. A seal that has been allowed to run its course for too long will become too frail to perform its function. That kind of defeats the point, don’t you think?
Regularly Vacuum
Additionally, a quick vacuum of the grout and flooring can make a big difference. Most of the dirt and grime that can accumulate on your tiles and grout can be removed by vacuuming frequently, and you can stop enough dirt and grime from ever-amassing on the grout in the first place.
The grout and tile in your bathroom should only need to be cleaned once a week at the very most. Even though anything longer is not ideal, it is still preferable to nothing at all.
Regularly Mop
Vacuuming is a good idea, but you should also do regular mopping in addition to that.However, not all of that loose dirt and debris should be removed by vacuuming. Give your flooring a thorough mop using a mild detergent and a lot of water.
There are a few advantages to mopping. One benefit is that it makes your tile look shiny, which enhances the interior design of the space. Any dirt and grime that may not have been picked up during vacuuming is removed by mopping.
Remember that while these are preventative measures, you will eventually need to clean your grout. The good news is that you can stretch out those cleaning days much longer with proper maintenance than you would be able to do without it.
Know Flooring
What your flooring requires is arguably the most crucial factor to take into account when it comes to keeping your grout clean. Wooden floors don’t require grouting because they adhere to the subfloor with an invisible adhesive.
However, tile needs proper grouting and frequent inspection. You might observe grout degradation if you don’t perform a fairly routine inspection, at least once a year. Your flooring’s aesthetic appeal may suffer when that occurs, which typically takes the form of cracking and chipping.
Read about: How To Clean Polyester Couch
Why Do You Want To Avoid Scrubbing?
Scrubbing is challenging work, that is a simple fact. You might need to put a lot of elbow grease into the removal depending on how bad the grime and dirt buildup is. If it didn’t require getting down on hands and knees to do it, this would be strenuous enough.
Not only that, but a competent cleaner can complete the task with a fraction of the effort. Just like the proverb says: work smarter, not harder. By locating the ideal cleaning equipment for the grout, we are achieving that.
Why Even Bother Cleaning Grout?
Why do I need to clean grout, you might be wondering if you just happened to come across this article by chance and have never actually thought about thoroughly cleaning the grout on your floors or in your bathroom. Is it even a big deal?” Yes, it is a big deal, that is the answer.
It’s not a life-or-death situation, but cleaning the substance that holds your tiles together will help them last longer. Large amounts of grime and dirt in the grout can damage the seal and begin to seep through the tiles. Tile repairs take a long time, so it’s best to avoid having to do them altogether.
The second, and most crucial, reason you should bother cleaning grout is for hygienic reasons. That tiny space between the floor tiles, not to mention the multitude of bacteria that live on the shower tiles, is the one area of your home that collects bacteria like crazy. This environment is warm and moist, and if it isn’t cleaned frequently, mold and, in the worst cases, dangerous black mold, can grow there. However, the real issue arises if you inhale black mold spores after they have been in the air for a while because prolonged exposure to black mold can lead to respiratory problems. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
And last but not least, cleaning your home’s grout will improve the appearance of your house as a whole. Some homeowners don’t even know that their grout should be white, so when they successfully clean it for the first time, they’re pleasantly surprised to see that everything looks 20 times cleaner! Observed that while there.
What Causes Grout To Become So Soiled?
It’s nearly impossible to keep the grout clean, no matter how much you scrub, between the toddlers stumbling around with their tiny “no-spill” cups spilling whatever they’re drinking all over the floor, the dog or cat rolling around in the yard making sure to leave a trail of dirt all over the kitchen, and your significant other walking inside the house with their shoes on. But why?
Because grout is such a porous material and everything adheres to it so readily, especially in moist areas like your bathroom and kitchen, it is essentially a magnet for dirt, mold, and mildew. The grout loses its distinctive milky white color as a result of liquids and dust combining inside it and penetrating deeply into it.
It’s also very common for dirty mop water to ruin the grout by combining more dust with liquids, which doesn’t get the floor completely clean but only makes it worse by spreading and settling the water into the grout since it’s the lowest area of the floor. But don’t let your annoyance overcome you; here are some efficient (and environmentally friendly!) ways to get rid of that mess once and for all.
Conclusion
Therefore, do you know how to clean floor grout without scrubbing? Let’s try. If you have any problems, please leave in a comment. Thank you for reading!
