Easy Floor Tile Grout Cleaner

ByJo-Anna Rooney Published Updated

Don’t you just hate some parts of cleaning?  What’s your least favourite chore?
Mine is cleaning tubs and showers.  And cleaning grout.

Cleaning grout has got to be the worst job ever.  Down on your knobby knees, staring at a dirty floor all by yourself.  It’s a lonely job keeping a house clean!  😉

But it’s got to be done whether we like it or not.  So let’s try to make things a little easier on us hardworking gals (and guys), mkay?!

By now, if you have ever spent any time on Pinterest, I’m sure you all have seen the ever-popular-shower cleaning solution of Dawn & white vinegar?  If you haven’t it’s a miracle really…it’s there every time I peruse…BUT I do have to say that it is AHMAZING.  Ah. Maze. Ing.  Honestly, we have never used a better shower cleaner.  Ever.  Ever.  It works and it’s cheap.  Love it.

So on to the tile grout…

Over the holidays while I was getting ready for all of our guests to come over, I had a look at my tile floors and they gave me the chills.  Ugly.  Dirty grout.  Dirty dirty grout.  How on earth are you supposed to clean grout?  I don’t clean ours regularly.  I mean, I wash the floors, but that’s the extent of cleaning the grout gets most days!  But this time was different, my grout was gross.

And honestly there is no easy way to clean grout that doesn’t require some good old fashioned scrubbing!  But I have discovered that the same solution that we use to clean our showers, also cleans grout.  Really, really well!

Here’s how it all looked (and this grout in our mud room had not been properly cleaned for at least 2 years.  I kid you not):

What You Need:

  • 1 cup Dawn Dish Soap
  • 1 cup white vinegar
  • 1 empty spray bottle

Here’s How To:

  • Put the vinegar in the microwave for 1 minute.
  • Add the Dawn soap to the spray bottle.
  • Add the hot vinegar to the spray bottle too.
  • Close the lid tightly, and lightly shake it to get it all mixed together.
Cleaning Your Grout:
  • Note:  Don’t use too much of the solution, or you will be wiping it off of your floors for days!  Remember, a little goes a looooong way here!
  • Lightly spray the solution onto your grout (you don’t need to cover the tiles, just get it in the grout).
  • Let it sit for a few minutes.
  • Using a brush of some kind (I use an old toothbrush), give it a scrub.  You won’t have to scrub too hard or for very long, because this cleaning solution just lifts up all the dirt – it’s amazing!
  • Wipe off the cleaning solution with a wet cloth, then wash your floors well with plain hot water to get rid of any soap residue.
Things to Note:
  • Like I mentioned before, don’t use too much of this solution!!  Or your floors will have a soapy residue left on them!  Use the solution sparingly.
  • I realize that this method likely isn’t practical for large tiled areas!  I use it in my bathroom and mud room, so the size of the rooms are manageable.
  • You can use this solution in your shower or tub too!  Just spray it on, let it sit for a few minutes, then scrub off.  It’s the best.  I always have a bottle made up and ready to go.
Also, please note:  you DO NOT need to heat the mixture every time you use it.  Just when you are making your original batch – this is just to make sure that the soap and the vinegar mix together thoroughly!

 

So who knows, maybe I inspired you to clean your grout?  haha  Ok, maybe not, but keep this little tip in the back of your mind the next time you realize you have some dirty, dirty grout on your hands.  😉

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I hope you found this grout cleaning tip useful!  

If you are interested in more kitchen tips and organizing here are some previous posts that I have written!  Just click on the titles… 

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Have a great day!

 

Hi I'm Jo-Anna Rooney, the creator, director, baker, maker and home decorator here at A Pretty Life in the Suburbs! I'm sharing a simple home life through fresh and easy recipes and uncomplicated home tips and home decor.

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63 Comments

  1. Great mixture. Worked for me!!!

  2. Does it have to be Dawn or would any liquid dish detergent work?

    1. Hi Pat!
      I’m not sure if it would work with any other dish soap…I’ve only ever seen Dawn being used, so it’s the only one I’ve tried.

  4. Hi all,
    Since our son has asthma and I have eczema, I use “green” products . Jo-Anna (or anyone else) – do you know if this would work with any dish soap or just Dawn?
    Before I make up a bottle, I thought I’d ask.
    Thanks!

    1. I’ve only ever done this with Dawn, but I see in the next comment a reader used Palmolive Oxy and it worked for her!
      Good luck!

  5. I tried this with Palmolive Oxy [since it was all I had on hand…] and it worked! I was skeptical at first since I didn’t see much results, and only did a few grout lines [it took a bit of scrubbing with a tooth brush!] but once it was all washed off and dried…I walked into my kitchen and you could actually pick out which ones were cleaned! Now I really have to do the rest of it all to match the areas I tried since they stand out so much.

  6. I had this grout cleaning problem too, so I got to try it and guess what.. it really works! Thanks Jo-anna!

  9. You have shared such an informative post which would be very useful about cleaning and sealing grout . It is very helpful for every one who want to clean tiles and grout. Thanks for sharing such information and keep posting.

  10. Richard Black says:

    My wife wanted our kitchen counters and floor to be re-grouted, so I was going to do just that. I learnt about NuGrout from a buddy of mine who agreed to help me with the re-grouting. Boy am I glad I asked him to help me out. The NuGrout cleaner and Pre-treat products worked wonders! It appears as if we have a brand new kitchen. We even used the products to clean our bathrooms. Don’t hesitate to check them out at http://www.nugrout.com/

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