How to Clean Grout Naturally with DIY Grout Cleaner

This post may contain affiliate links.

How to Clean Grout DIY Homemade Cleaner

Learn how to clean grout naturally with a DIY recipe! After many tries, this homemade grout cleaner is the best way to clean between tiles.

I Needed The Best Way To Clean Grout

When we moved into our house, I really liked the floor in our main bathroom. It had small blue tiles and white grout, and it’s in an interesting geometric pattern. It’s not exactly contemporary, but I decided that it was just dated enough that I could call it vintage. Sure, the grout was dingy and kind of stained, but that didn’t seem like a big deal.

Turns out it was a big deal. Have you ever tried to clean a floor that’s at least a quarter white grout? It’s difficult. Mopping doesn’t do a thing to grout, not even if you’re mopping with a rag down on your hands and knees. No, if you want to get the grout spick-and-span, you’re going to have to full-on Cinderella. Brush, solutions, blood, sweat, and tears. (Singing mice optional, but of course encouraged.)

If you have a room with a lot of light-colored grout on the floor, don’t despair. You can clean it with some hard work and all the right tools, and then you’ll feel all happy and accomplished for having done so.

How to Clean Grout DIY Homemade Cleaner

How to Clean Grout: DIY Grout Cleaner

Learn how to clean grout naturally with a DIY recipe! After many tries, this homemade grout cleaner is the best way to clean between tiles.

Prep Time
20 minutes
Sit & Scrub Time
1 hour
Total Time
1 hour 20 minutes
Servings
1 floor
Estimated Cost
$2

Ingredients

Instructions

Step 1: Mop Your Floor

  1. Mop your floor. I use a solution of 1 part vinegar to three parts water. You might not get the grout totally clean, but you need to start with a clean floor. Getting the surface grime off allows you to get the deeper stains off when you're really ready to scrub.

Step 2: Homemade Grout Cleaner

  1. Make a paste with the lemon juice and baking soda. Lemon juice and baking soda are excellent natural cleaners for most everything in your home.[1] I'm not giving exact measurements because this depends greatly on the size of your tile floor, but you want your mixture to be thick and paste-like. Start out with a certain amount of baking soda (maybe a quarter cup and add tablespoonfuls of lemon juice until you have reached the desired consistency.

Step 3: Let DIY Grout Cleaner Sit Then Scrub

  1. Spread the solution out on the grout lines. Let it sit for a few minutes, and then scrub it with the tile brush. A grout brush is a great tool for this because they have extra stiff bristles, but if you don't have a grout brush, an old toothbrush is a great substitute.

    It's kind of funny that this is only one step because it's going to take you way longer than the rest of the process. You're going to have to really, truly scrub. If you're working on an entire room, expect your arms to be sore. Also, be sure to start at the back of the room and work your way to an exit; no scrubbing yourself into a corner, okay?

Step 4: Mop Again

  1. You're going to have to mop again. Sorry. But you just scrubbed sticky lemon juice all over the floor, and it's not like you can just leave it there. I use the vinegar/water solution as in Step 1, and make sure you get all of the residue up.

instagram
Made this recipe?

Mention @diynatural or tag it #diynatural!

You’re Floor is Clean!

By the time you’re finished, your DIY grout cleaner will have delivered a sparkling floor and grout that is much lighter. If you have any stubborn stains that didn’t come off with the homemade grout cleaner, try soaking and scrubbing them with hydrogen peroxide.

Tip: now that your floor is clean try our homemade shower cleaner!

Do you have any other tricks for how to clean grout? Let us know in the comments!

*******

Sources

  1. Carolyn Washburn. Home Cleaning Chemistry. March 2009.
Avatar photo

About Emry Trantham

Emry is a writer, teacher, photographer and mother. She is interested in all things DIY and is willing to try any project at least once. She loves spending time with her kids and loves gardening, projects, and chickens.

PAID ENDORSEMENT DISCLOSURE: In order for us to support our website activities, we may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for our endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this website.

DISCLAIMER: Information on DIY Natural™ is not reviewed or endorsed by the FDA and is NOT intended to be substituted for the advice of your health care professional. If you rely solely upon this advice you do so at your own risk. Read full Disclaimer & Disclosure statements here.

Comments

  1. Avatar photoInger C. says

    I scrubbed my daughter’s bathroom walls above the tub with white toothpaste and an old toothbrush. It greatly improved the look of the grout. With toothpaste, you don’t have to worry about it running off the walls.

  2. Avatar photoGail says

    I tried everything I could think of! Then it hit me! Want whiter teeth? Use a whitening toothpaste. Want whiter grout? Use a whitening toothpaste! I use a toothbrush but I will look into the grout brushes. It’s a lot of work. But I’m happy with the results. I think I should try to reseal the floor now that I have ‘ brushed’ all the grub away!

  3. Avatar photoMoonstone Mary says

    I have been using a paste made from baking soda and hydrogen peroxide for cleaning grout for years. I used it on grout dirtied by 7 years of renters in an out of town home we turned over to a property management firm. BTW, do not use Rich Realty in Tucson for property management. Anyway, Target has a spinning battery powered grout scrubber, worth every penny. Get rechargeable batteries though. And extra scrubbing heads if you have more than one room to do. We had 1300 square feet of tiled floor to clean up.

  4. Avatar photoGenna says

    I can verify that vinegar will destroy your grout. We use vinegar in our washing machine. We developed a leak in the hose that delivers the vinegar to the wash tub. After several months we discovered the leak. When we pulled the washer out for repair, the grout under the washer was in a powder form. After cleaning up that mess, those grout lines were half the depth of the rest of the room. :-/

  5. Avatar photoLeslie says

    I have read that the citric acid in vinegar and lemon juice breaks down grout and should never be used on grout. This is why McD’s floors are always in bad shape, because they purposely use citric acid cleaners thinking that they are doing a better job of cleaning their floors.

  6. Avatar photoSandy forslund says

    I too clean houses for a living,I have a house that is all marble tiles and acres of grout!!!! I use peroxide. Spray it out of a bottle and let it sit, then I use my steam mop,works very well, and it’s not too harsh,and I’m not on my hands and knees!!!

  7. Avatar photoLeigh Jewell says

    I found that mixing a little dishwashing liquid with hydrogen peroxide works wonders. Put it in a spray bottle and spray it on the grout. Let sit about 10 minutes then scrub. If it dries just get your toothbrush wet – if it isn’t already.

  8. Avatar photoJames says

    I am a professional cleaner with 16 years of experience. Your advice is ok for people who have ceramic tile but if they have natural stone like marble your advice will ruin their floors. You can not use any acidic products on most natural stones without it etching the floor. The best way to solve the grout problem is to colorseal your grout.

  9. Avatar photoRobert says

    Any hints for cleaning wall tile grout? It is difficult to keep the mixture on the grout for any length of time. Thanks!!