Clean Grout Lines Between Tiles
The Internet is filled with suggestions for cleaning grout but how many of these ideas actually work? We put a few to the test.
03/03/2019
The Internet is filled with ideas for cleaning the grout lines between tiles, some reasonably interesting to others that are downright stupid. Who on earth would want to use toothpaste to clean grout lines! Wanting to debunk some of the ideas out there to clean grout lines, I decided to try a few of these myself to see the results.
You can see the Before (below) and After (above) of the grout lines between the tiles, so one method definitely worked for me, and it is a common household product most of us already have in our grocery cupboard or pantry. To be honest, a couple of methods actually worked but I leave it up to you, the reader, to decide which one you prefer to use to clean grout.
Household Bleach
Everyone has a bottle of some or other brand of household bleach and we use it to disinfect various surfaces in the home. Since this is a product that everyone already has, it was first on my list.
Using an old toothbrush (with stiff bristles), household bleach was applied along the grout lines and left for about 10 minutes. After that, I lightly scrubbed the grout lines and wipe clean. If you look at the image below, you can actually see where the household bleach nicely cleaned up the grout lines.
It wasn't a lot of work, it didn't take much effort, and since I already had household bleach - it didn't cost me anything to do this. However, research shows that while household bleach cleans mould off the surface, it doesn't kill off mould spores that are deep in the grout.
Vinegar or Lemon Juice and Bicarbonate of Soda
Another method for cleaning grout is to use white spirit vinegar or lemon juice and bicarb. Again, these are ingredients you probably already have - so it won't cost anything extra to give it a try.
For this next method, I used two different ingredients in combination with bicarb. I sprinkled bicarb along the grout lines and then tried both lemon juice and vinegar to see which one worked best. To be honest, they both worked but lemon juice seemed to lift the dirt easier than vinegar.
Again, if you look at the tiles below, you can immediately see the clean grout lines from using either vinegar and bicarb or lemon juice and bicarb. If I had to choose between the two; at least lemon juice leaves a bathroom smelling fresh but it does not kill off any mould spores in the grout while white spirit vinegar does!
I'm not going to waste money by even trying to clean the grout lines with toothpaste, which isn't cheap and why should I use it if there are more effective and affordable options. Yes, the lemon juice worked great, so if you are looking for an eco-friendly way to clean grout lines - go for it!
