How to Clean Bathroom Grout?

Bathroom cleanliness is an important factor in any house. Our bathroom should only smell and feel clean, it should also look clean. Floor grout should also be clean. It is a porous material that can be discoloured by dirty mop, contaminants and moisture. The growth of midew, mold and bacteria could also cause staining. There are things we should do when cleaning grout:

  • Use a cleaner that contains detergents with the ability to remove oil and dirt
  • Avoid using high pH or alkaline cleaner, because it can make grout fragile and more porous
  • Avoid using sealers that could trap oils and dirt in the grout
  • Avoid using sticky cleaners that may catch residue in the grout

Before cleaning grout and tile, we should analyze the type of contaminants and dirt. In this case, we should choose a cleaner that’s designed for the type of grouting material. Using the right type of cleaner and the right cleaning method can help keeping grout cleaner. Daily cleaners should be salt free if we want to avoid soap scum. When performing deep cleaning, the cleaner shouldn’t contain high levels of sodium and potassium salts. Some cleaners tend to make the floor feels sticky and they will actually trap mode dust. If the it seems difficult to remove the discoloration, we could occasionally use germicide to remove bacteria, mold and mildew.

In any case, grout cleaning can be a labor intensive task, especially if we need to scrub by hand. This won’t be practical in larger bathroom. To speed up the task, we could use specific cleaning solutions. However, they may need to be diluted, because sealants could break down much faster when we use excessive chemicals. The bathroom should also be properly ventilated to speed up drying and prevent odor build up. Mop water should be changed frequently and we could make sure that contaminants will be effectively picked up, instead of being pushed deeper. Microfiber mops are known for their ability to more effectively remove contaminants from the grouts.

When cleaning, we should apply the diluted chemicals liberally. Before scrubbing, we should make sure that the floor is still damp. Proper dwell time should be allocated, which is about ten minutes. When scrubbing grouts, we should use the right tools. Depending on the severity of the problem and type of grouting material, we may need to use soft, medium or rough brushes. In this case, we may need to experiment. After the scrubbing task is completed, we should remove excess liquid. Wet vacuum could actually be helpful to clean chemicals and remove residue, dirt and excess water.

We may also need to use high-pressure water sprays (about 1200psi) to effectively loosen and remove it. Some of the spraying models also heat the water and it helps in the cleaning process. We could also use powered brush with rotating brushing method to speed up the work. In this case, brushes should be able to loosen and penetrate the grout. In general, we should use proper procedures when we clean grout. There could be written checklists and procedures that we need to follow.

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