Amazing Grout Cleaning

Amazing Grout Cleaner

  I used to be on this everlasting quest to find a good grout cleaner. As you'll see in some of the pics, I had given up on that quest long ago and decided to let the grout just become a constant dark brown instead of the light tan it was originally. I had tried every product and concoction out there. In fact I had tried everything I could think of, short of paying a professional.
So one day I saw a pic on Pinterest of a floor with half clean grout and half really dirty grout. I wasn't sure it would work on my grout because it's not sealed but I gave it a try.

Here's the formula:

7 cups warm water
1/2 cup baking soda
1/3 cup ammonia
1/4 cup vinegar

Now this much liquid didn't even close to fit into my tiny little spray bottle and it probably won't fit in yours either, so here is the recipe halved and quartered

 

Halved
3 1/2 cups water 1/4 cup baking soda
2 Tbsp + 2 tsp ammonia
2 Tbsp vinegar

Quartered
1 3/4 cup water
2 Tbsp baking soda
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp ammonia
1 Tbsp vinegar

I used the quartered version for the pics below. I also wrote the formula on a piece of paper and taped it to the bottle. Make sure never to mix bleach with ammonia, you will die or something...

 

Friday, June 15, 2012

Amazing Grout Cleaner

I used to be on this everlasting quest to find a good grout cleaner. As you'll see in some of the pics, I had given up on that quest long ago and decided to let the grout just become a constant dark brown instead of the light tan it was originally. I had tried every product and concoction out there. In fact I had tried everything I could think of, short of paying a professional.
So one day I saw a pic on Pinterest of a floor with half clean grout and half really dirty grout. I wasn't sure it would work on my grout because it's not sealed but I gave it a try.

Here's the formula:

7 cups warm water
1/2 cup baking soda
1/3 cup ammonia
1/4 cup vinegar

Now this much liquid didn't even close to fit into my tiny little spray bottle and it probably won't fit in yours either, so here is the recipe halved and quartered.

Halved
3 1/2 cups water 1/4 cup baking soda
2 Tbsp + 2 tsp ammonia
2 Tbsp vinegar

Quartered
1 3/4 cup water
2 Tbsp baking soda
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp ammonia
1 Tbsp vinegar

I used the quartered version for the pics below. I also wrote the formula on a piece of paper and taped it to the bottle. Make sure never to mix bleach with ammonia, you will die or something...

Here is the method:

First mix the ingredients and give the bottle a good shake.
Spray the grout (I started with 2 tiles at a time) and let the spray sit and absorb a little into the grout. Be generous.
Grab a grout brush, scrub brush, or tile brush with a handle and scrub the grout vigorously where the spray has been sitting. Don't get it in your eyes, trust me.
Use a clean damp rag to wipe each line of grout right after you scrub it to pick up all that dirty liquid, might be handy to keep a bowl or bucket of warm water nearby because you'll want to continuously clean the rag.
Depending on the color of your tile, you may want to mop the whole thing when you're done because the baking soda may or may not leave some white residue. Personally, I mopped and towel dried the floor.