Day 9. Clean Tile Grout and/or Clean Corners of Floors/Counters

Day 9 of “A 30 Day Guide to Spring Cleaning“.

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If you have tile, you are probably fully aware of how dirty your grout can get over time, especially on tile floors! There are many different ways to clean grout, but I wanted to talk about a couple that I have found to be most effective.

Cleaning grout is definitely a dirty job, so make sure you wear clothes that you plan to change out of, and let’s get down on ground level!

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Supplies needed:

• Vacuum with hose attachments
• Toothbrush / Grout brush ‘paid link’
• Cloth and bucket
• Bucket and mop
• Grout cleaner
• Recommended:
  • Baking Soda, Vinegar/Hydrogen Peroxide, Lemon Juice, Dish Soap, bowl
• Alternative:
  • Zep grout cleaner (or any grout cleaner but this has given the best results)

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Recommended grout cleaner:

• 1/2 Cup Baking Soda
• 1/4 Cup Vinegar/Hydrogen Peroxide (I used vinegar, but use of vinegar too often can wear down your sealant)
• 2 TBSP Lemon Juice
• 1 Tsp Dish Soap
• Mix all ingredients together in a bowl (make sure it’s a large bowl to allow for the reaction between the baking soda and vinegar to rise and settle)

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Cleaning Grout

How to clean your grout:

Step 1: Start by picking everything up off your floor. Get anything sitting on your floor up off the floor and/or out of the room. You want to start with a blank slate (or tile… haha)!

Step 2: Vacuum your floor. Make sure to get into all the nooks and cranny’s. I recommend vacuuming over sweeping because vacuuming will get dirt and debris out of more of the cracks and dips in your floor. If there are areas you can’t get into with your vacuum, use the hose attachments for a better reach.

Step 3: Mop your floors. This will get off all the spots, and make sure that you are starting with a very clean surface.

**NOTE: if you are cleaning grout on vertical surfaces, make sure to clean the surface well with soap and water.

Step 4: Mix together your ingredients for cleaning your grout according to the instructions above.

Step 5: Coat your grout lines with the mixture you have made. You can use a spoon to place the mixture onto the grout lines, or you can use the toothbrush to coat the grout lines. Either way you will want the entire grout surface to be coated. Allow this to sit for 5 to 10 minutes.

Step 6: Once your cleaning mixture has had time to rest and soak into the grout lines, it’s time to start scrubbing! Use your toothbrush or grout brush to brush the mixture into the grout. You want to do this by putting the brush longways on your grout line and scrubbing back and forth until it appears that the area is sufficiently cleaned. I scrubbed over the same areas probably 3 times back and forth before moving further down the line. This part is super satisfying, as you can see the dirt and grime lifting off!

Step 7: Use a damp cloth to start wiping up your mixture. Baking soda will be left in the grout lines after this cleaning! There’s nothing you can do, you can’t stop it, it will be there. My grout lines are grey, so you could really see the baking soda standing out! I recommend using a bucket for this step so you can rinse off the cloth quickly and return to wiping up the mixture from the floor.

Step 8: Mop your floor with only water. This will help to clean up any residual cleaning mixture that was left over after wiping your floor down.

Step 9: Allow your floors to dry, and the grout lines to dry. They won’t look entirely as clean as you’d hoped until they are completely dry!

Step 10: Once your floor and grout lines have dried completely, you will be able to see if there is any baking soda left over. You can use a vacuum with the skinny hose attachment to vacuum the grout lines to get rid of any residual baking soda.

Step 11: Admire your beautifully clean tile and grout!

If you are using Zep, or some type of purchased grout cleaner, follow the directions on the bottle.

Always test any new cleaning product or mixture in an inconspicuous spot before using on the whole area.

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This is the best point to seal your grout and tile while everything is clean, and I will be reviewing how to do this tomorrow. Additionally, tomorrow we will be reviewing how to condition your floors that aren’t tile. To be prepared, you can get Tile and Grout Sealer ‘paid link’ (be sure to get a solution that lists your specific type of flooring, whether it’s tile, marble, quartz, slate, etc. The sealer in the link is good for many different surfaces. Also, you can get Wood Floor Conditioner for your hardwood floors, or a Universal Floor Restorer for many different floor types.

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Cleaning Corners and Counter Corners

While working on cleaning your grout, or if you don’t have grout today is rather easy, since the last step is to clean the corners of your floors, and the corners of your counters/cabinets to your floors.

A lot of dirt can build up in the corners between walls, and especially where the floor meets the counter. One of the dirtiest spots on my flooring is in my kitchen, in the corner where my cabinets make a 90 degree angle at the floor. My mop does not get into this corner well, and being my kitchen, so close to my stove, a lot of grime builds up here.

In order to clean these stubborn corners, you can use the mixture we had already created, or you can just use soap and water. Use a thin cloth that you can get really far into the corner with and start scrubbing. If you are having issues getting buildup out, dampen it down slightly and let it sit for 10 minutes. Come back and start scrubbing again until the corner is clean.

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If you have any questions, feel free to post them in the comments and I would be happy to get back with you.

Check out Day 8. Touch Up Paint here.

Check out Day 10. Reseal Grout Lines or Condition Treat Floors here.

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