You’ve been noticing the dirty, discolored grout between your tiles for months, wondering how on earth you’ll ever get it clean – and when you might bother to attempt such a task. If you dream of grout that glows with a brilliant clean, there are two options: you can go with professional grout cleaning and sealing or you can try to get the same results on your own.
There Are as Many DIY Solutions as Tiles in Your Bathroom
Okay, maybe not that many, but there are several different iterations involving a few key elements. The most popular ingredients for a homemade tile grout cleaner are vinegar, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, dish detergent, optimism, and – most importantly – elbow grease.
Using a homemade grout cleaner can be a challenge because it requires a lot of effort to get good results. There is one combination of household substances that, when applied with patience, optimism, and plenty of elbow grease, can make your grout cleaner.
The Best DIY Grout Cleaner
Combine two parts baking soda to one part hydrogen peroxide. If you like, you can squirt in a small amount of dishwashing liquid to add some bubbles, but it’s the scrubbing step that will determine the results. Apply to grout, let sit for approximately one and a half rounds of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” then scrub it with a toothbrush.
There are many drawbacks to this method.
It’s messy. You get clumps of this white mixture all over the place, and its gloopiness makes it tricky to get it applied evenly to all the grout.
This is particularly difficult to do when the tiled surface is a wall or other vertical surface, because the mixture will run down the wall, making even more of a mess.
The scrubbing step can be downright grueling. As you scrub and scrub and scrub, it feels like you make no progress. Maybe it looks a little lighter in one spot, but overall, the color is uneven. It’s hard to know while you are in the process of cleaning your own grout whether or not you are getting an entire section clean.
After scrubbing the hydrogen peroxide and baking soda gloop until your arms start to ache, wipe it off with a damp cloth. You’ll probably see a difference several minutes after walking away from the project. Don’t expect even results; this method is tough to master on your own.
You will probably have to give your surface several passes, applying, waiting, scrubbing, and wiping. This can be time-consuming, not to mention tiring.
The Benefits of Hiring a Professional
When you turn to professionals for tile and grout cleaning, you get better results than when you attempt the job on your own. The friendly humans at Peace Frog Specialty Cleaning can get the job done well, sparing you the time and effort involved in scrubbing and cursing your grout as your old toothbrush threatens to snap in two.
We clean grout all the time, so we know how to do it effectively, the first time. We understand the different types of tile and grout and can clean any surface without the gloopy mess. While we’re at it, we can seal your grout to protect your porcelain or ceramic tiles so moisture cannot damage the materials underneath.
When cleaning your own grout starts to feel like a failed exercise in masochism, give Peace Frog Specialty Cleaning a call. We’ll bring the tools to safely and effectively brighten your grout with no fuss and no mess, leaving your tiled surface – and the surrounding surfaces – gleaming and bright.