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From kitchen floors to shower stalls, grout is often doing its duty to bind tile in some of the highest-traffic, potentially grimiest places in your home. Add a porous makeup to the mix, and it’s no wonder grout is susceptible to staining. And that stained grout can feel like a lost cause. Sometimes it seems like you could scrub until your arm went numb, and it wouldn’t make a difference. The grout grime would remain. But it doesn’t have to be that way. We’re here to guide you through methods that will help you return your grout to its heyday. Let’s start with the simplest approach, for the simplest stains, and go from there.
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Use the Right Brush
If you’re bringing an old toothbrush or something with similarly weak bristles to your grout fight, you’re unlikely to win. You need a stiff-bristled brush that’s designed for grout. Once you’re armed with the right brush, use it with the most basic of all cleaning products: warm water. Simply apply warm water to the grout in question and give it a whirl. You may be surprised when those stains buckle under the right bristle.
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Try Mild Cleaners
For a little more cleaning oomph, it’s time to bring on some products that you probably already have in your home: vinegar, baking soda, and hydrogen peroxide. An equal parts water and vinegar mix may be enough to get the job done. Simply apply the mixture, wait a handful of minutes, then have at it again with your stiff-bristled scrub brush.
If that doesn’t quite get the job done, you may want to apply a little homemade baking soda paste to the grout. Simply mix three parts baking soda and one part water. Use this mix in tandem with your vinegar and water spray. And, if your stain is still holding on, add some hydrogen peroxide to the mix. You can apply it directly or pair it with baking soda for another paste. Always remember to give your products ample time to settle into your stain before you start scrubbing.
More Aggressive Cleaners
Before we get into more heavy-duty cleaning options, a word of caution: Remember not to mix different types of cleaning products, especially when bleach is involved. The wrong blend can produce toxic fumes. It’s easy to forget the dangerous potential. So be mindful. If you’re switching up cleaning products, do your best to rinse the area with water before you do so. And keep your area ventilated.
If your stain is hanging on, it’s time to get a little more aggressive. Start with oxygen bleach, a more mild option than chlorine bleach. Again, give the oxygen bleach time to settle into the stain, and then scrub. And if the stain persists, try a product designed for the task. Our Aqua Mix Grout Deep Clean is a heavy-duty cleaner for your truly stubborn grout stains. You want to test this product on a small portion of your soiled grout before applying it to the entirety of the stain.
Call on the Machines
If you’ve tried all of the above and the stain remains, you may need to bring on the big guns like our Raimondi Berta grout cleaning machine. It’s a fast and effective tool for cleaning large areas. Hopefully, these tactics will have your grout looking good again. And, keep in mind, one of the best ways to maintain your grout is to never let it get that bad in the first place. At the first sign of grime setting in, use the mild options outlined in this article. With the right upkeep, you shouldn’t have to proceed with the more aggressive measures.
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