DIY Grout Cleaner Recipes

Well, around here we have been cleaning grout. We bought some and well.....it didn't work very well. So, here I went searching for a DIY recipe and this is what I found:

Recipe's for Homemade Grout Cleaners

Recipe #1

This first homemade grout cleaner is the mildest of all the recipes I've outlined here and can be used on all tile surfaces. It can also be used as a poultice to remove stains from grout and natural stone.

3 cups of baking soda
1 cup of water

Or 3 parts baking soda to 1 part water, amount depends area to be cleaned

Mix the baking soda into a paste and apply to the dirty grout. Let it dwell for 10 minutes and rinse clean.

Recipe #2

This recipe uses vinegar, which is acidic, and should not be used on marble, limestone or travertine tile.

1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup vinegar

Mix the ingredients together in a small container and apply for cleaning floor grout. Let the solution dwell for 20 minutes. Make sure not to let the solution dry out. The solution can be scrubbed it's dwelled.

Rinse thoroughly with warm water.

Recipe #3

Recipe #3 also uses acidic vinegar and akaline ammonia, which should balence the pH, but I wouldn't count on it. Don't use on marble, limestone or travertine tile.

1/2 cup baking soda
1/3 cup ammonia
1/4 cup white vinegar

Mix the ingredients and apply the solution to your dirty grout. Let it dwell up to 20 minutes and then scrub. This solution is a bit stronger and should clean tough grout stains.

Recipe #4

Recipe #4 is for light colored or white grout lines only because it has bleach in the ingredients.

1/4 cup bleach
3/4 cup baking soda

Mix the ingredients and apply the solution to the dirty grout lines. Add water if you want do dilute the bleach.

Also, the longer you let the solution dwell, the more it will bleach the grout lines. If used on colored grout, the grout lines will start to have a faded appearance.

This is one tile and grout cleaning method (dwell) I've seen a million times when cleaning grout profesionally that really works.

Recipe #5

When brewing up homemade grout cleaners why not go with truly natural products like recipe #5. It's acidic so don't use on marble limestone or travertine tile.

lemons
baking soda

Mixing lemon juice and baking soda into a paste and appling to the dirty grout will also work. Let dwell, scrub and rinse with warm water.

Recipe #6

For cleaning mildew off grout use recipe #6. Not for colored grouts. Careful with marble, limestone and travertine and test first in an inconspicuous area.

1/4 cup bleach
1/4 cup alcohol
1 cup water

Mix solution and apply to grout with mildew. Keep area saturated and let dwell 20-30 minutes. The bleach will kill the mildew and the alcohol will disenfect the area. Scrub and rinse with soap and water.

Re-apply when mildew returns. In under-ventilated areas, this may need to be done a few times a month.

Recipe #7

This recipe uses the cleaning power of hydrogen peroxide. This can bleach, so don't use on colored grout. Test first on marble surfaces.

3 parts baking soda
1 part Hydrogen Peroxide

Mix hydrogen peroxide and baking soda into a paste and apply to dirty grout lines.

Let dwell, scrub and rinse with warm water. This mixture works great. Can also be used a poultice for natural stone.
http://www.integrity-tile-and-grout-cleaning.com/homemade-grout-cleaners.html