The Organic Approach to Grout Cleaning- the organic approach to cleaning grout and tile is a little bit different. What you want to do is you want to use a paste of borax and lemon juice. Use it in the same way that you use the paste of baking soda and bleach. Make sure that you let it dry before scrubbing it off. Not only will this do a pretty decent job with most stains, but it will also smell good when you are done clean.

An Oven Cleaner Works in Extreme Circumstance- in the most extreme circumstances, this type of cleaner will work for cleaning tile grout. You can use oven cleaner to clean your tile and grout off. The key to using this oven cleaner is that you do not want it to sit on your grout for more than a few seconds before you rinse it off with water. Most of oven cleaners are extremely strong so you should handle them with care. Make sure that you wear gloves, and that you ventilate your shower properly. This method is very effective in removing some of the toughest stains.

If you want to get rid of caulking stains, you can roll up a paper towel soaked with vinegar, and allow it to sit on top of the caulking. You should let it sit there for 3 to 4 hours. After that, the caulking should be a lot cleaner. You can also re-caulk your bathroom. Even if you have to take out the old caulking and put down the new caulking it doesn’t take that long to do.

Here is another tip that is pretty invaluable to helping you clean shower tile grout. If you want to loosen up all of that grime that is on your tiles, the easiest way to do this is to turn on a steamy shower for a few minutes and the steamy shower will help to loosen up the grout in walls. Follow-up by using one of the grout cleaning methods listed above, or just do simple maintenance cleaning by spraying your grout with vinegar and wiping it down with a brush.

Sources- Hailey’s Cleaning Hints. Published by the new American Library in 2000 published by the new American Library in 2000 your tile grout.

Grout cleaners come in variations from very mild to very harsh. There are homemade and organic cleaners as well as chemical cleaners that need gloves, goggles, and a well-ventilated area to be used properly. There are cleaners that are sprays, sprays that turn bubbly, and pastes. Each of them have their place, so we will go over each one so you can determine what the best grout cleaner is for your job.

Mild grout cleaners can range from general household cleaners to homemade cleaners made specifically for tile and grout. Each of these are to be used for general use, to be used often, as well as for simple jobs. If your job doesn’t have a lot of soiling, try a general cleaner, to see if it does the trick.

Tough grout cleaners are just that. They are very tough and proper precautions should be taken when using these products. These are only to be used on occasion because if they’re used too often, they can erode the grout causing more problems than you started with. And so only use them on very heavily soiled grout. A good rule of thumb to follow is to use the weakest solution that will get the job done. So generally I recommend starting with a water mist, let it sit, and then try as mild a cleaner as you can find and gradually go tougher and tougher until you find the one that will work. Do all this on a small area (one or two squares) and then move on to the rest of the area to be cleaned with the cleaner that does the job.

There are several cleaners you can make from common household items that are organic and fairly effective. Vinegar water solutions can work as well as any general household cleaner and it is naturally a disinfectant. You can make a great baking soda paste to use on dirtier grout. Use 1/3 baking soda, 1/3 salt, and 1/3 vinegar. And you can use lemon juice instead of bleach on discolored areas and stains. (Just be careful because it will bleach colored grout.) Another cleaner you can make that is not organic, is a bleach solution. Just don’t use a solution any stronger than three parts water to one part bleach. Or it may cause problem with eroding the grout like with the tough chemical cleaners.

Sprays are very nice, but a paste may be just the ticket to cleaning the soiled grout that you have. Pastes are very nice because they have dissolving granules that can get down into the pores of the grout and pull the dirt out with it. Usually the granules are some sort of salt solution with a little glycerin to attract the dirt and then be able to dissolve in order to clean it up.

As you can see, there is no one right answer to the question: what is the best grout cleaner. But now you have the information you need to pick what the best cleaner is for your needs.

This product, Wagner 915 1,500-Watt On-Demand Power Steamer and Cleaner is in the best value category for steam cleaners. It has received some of the highest customer reviews. It is an all purpose steamer that can be used for cleaning grout, carpets, and floors. It is the best steam cleaner you can get for the price. The tank is large enough it can clean for a long time. The downside is this is only an entry- level steam cleaner. You can buy a better cleaner by spending more money.

Learn more tips for how to clean grout.

I have heard of probably dozens of different ways of cleaning tile and grout. Any thing from Soft Scrub to dish-washing detergent, to toilet bowl cleaner or commercial floor cleaner. Although I haven’t tried all 100 types of cleaners that I have heard of, I would imagine to one degree or another, if you worked at it long enough using any of these methods, (or even just water) your grout would become cleaner.


Recently, I read a blog written by a third generation tile cleaner and installer. I thought his opinion was really interesting so I am including it here.

Third Generation ‘Tile Man’ Cleaning Recipe

He suggested that you just use clear vinegar mixed with water and baking soda. He says this makes the best grout cleaner. The recipe is as follows: In a small stainless steel bucket or basin, fill it up 1/2 way with water. Them mix into it about 1/4 cup of vinegar and two tablespoons of water. This solution should start to react and foam up. Next, you should spray it on the tile and grout and let it sit for a few minutes. Then using a medium brush, clean the heavily solid or stain grout (http://tile-repair.net/). Not only does this method clean and disinfect, but it also helps to lighten the tile grout. This method is very cost effective and one of the simplest ways to clean grout. If you haw tough grout stains, this method may not get rid of the stain on your first cleaning. This leaves you with two options. One, repeated cleaning until the stains start to lighten and disappear, or two, upgrade to a stronger grout cleaner.

Anyway, I though this method was interesting and definitely worth a shot. I can’t wait to try it out. Please feel free to leave a comment on how well this system of grout cleaning worked for you.

To make the job as easy as possible, you also need to have the right kind of brush. For floor grouts, I recommend a pole grout brush. For large tile and grout, as well as wall cleaning, I recommend a triangle bristled brush. For small grouts, I suggest you use small professional grout cleaning brushes. They are designed to work well and last a long time.

More essential readings you may be interested:

Learn 8 Essential Tips for Grouting Tile
How do I clean grout?