How do I clean grout between tiles on floor?

Rita Gesmundo
by Rita Gesmundo
Floor is old and I try to clean it every day but the grout is black and I thought that if I can clean it maybe the floor would look nicer until I can get up enough money to redo the floor. It runs from my kitchen to my dining room. In my dining room I have an area rug which the tiles still look new.
  4 answers
  • There has been many posts on HT on how to do this successfully. But one method if the grout is really in poor shape is to use Muriatic acid. This is what the pros would use. Apply this on the floor using a rag wetted with the stuff. Be sure to ventilate well, wear long sleeve shirt, gloves and eye protection. Pour or place it on a rag and wet the grout. This combined using a stiff brass brush will remove any soils embedded in the grout. This method should be used after any other suggested methods are attempted as it can burn your skin if you get it on yourself. But it will work. Do a search on the top of the page for Grout cleaning.
  • Sherrie Sherrie on Sep 18, 2014
    I usually use a steamer you can rent. I used a vapor-lux is the brand name to clean grout it melts it off. Now saying this I have a dog/laundry room that the dogs have made into the dreaded room with the dirty floors. I used muratic acid just as Woodbridge has suggested to clean the grout several months ago. I wore two masks and bandana around my mouth and nose, I opened all the windows, and the door to make sure it was well ventilated. I used old crappy chip brushes. It will ruin them and when they went bad I threw them away and grabbed another one, have plenty. I kept a bucket of water with vinegar to neutralize it after I washed it off. And dried it. Here are the mistakes I made. I splashed the clean water on the walls. Everywhere I splashed it I had to repaint. Don't get it near metal! It will rust it out. Move everything out of the room. My grout came out very clean. I sealed it twice and used a good sealer. Good luck! And the room no longer smells like dogs. It is still the dogs/ laundry room. But a cleaner verison I still find sticks, trash or grass clumps since the dog door is in that room and they sneak it in.
  • Shari Shari on Sep 18, 2014
    I've been known to spend the afternoon sitting on the floor with a toothbrush and bleach scrubbing grout. Not fun. I also bought a steam mop about 8 months ago and although it probably doesn't do the job that a professional steamer would (like Sherrie mentioned) I am absolutely head over heels in love with it for cleaning all my floors. It has improved (but not totally cleaned) some nasty old grout in one of my bathrooms that the bleach and toothbrush method didn't work on. This is the steam mop I bought based on all the great reviews and I am 200% pleased with it: http://www.amazon.com/BISSELL-Powerfresh-Steam-White-1940/dp/B0091YYUAM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1393908490&sr=8-2&keywords=bissell+powerfresh If the grout is very, very old, it might be next to impossible for you to get completely clean.so you may want to just "paint" over it. There are two products I am familiar with that allow you to refresh your grout, or even completely change the color if you want: Grout Refresh and Grout Renew. I've used the Grout Refresh with good results. I also have a bottle of the Grout Refresh but haven't tried it yet. I got one brand at Lowe's and the other at Home Depot in the tile department and each bottle cost about $11 or $12. I have some question about how long it will actually hold up but I did the floor in one bathroom a year ago and it still looks fantastic. It can be reapplied, however, so although this may not be the greatest long-term solution, it would certainly be easier than dealing with muriatic acid, and it would definitely buy you some time (maybe years!) until you could replace the floor. If you want to see "before" and "after" photos of how well those products work, you can put "grout refresh" into search bar at the top of the page and find posts by other HomeTalk members who have used this method for improving the look of their grout. If you want to read more about the products, here are the company websites: Grout Refresh http://www.mapei.com/US-EN/product-detail.asp?IDProdotto=1005815&IDTipo=162&IDLinea=102 Grout Renew http://www.custombuildingproducts.com/products/grout-materials/grout-colorant/polyblend-grout-renew.aspx
  • Marion Nesbitt Marion Nesbitt on Sep 18, 2014
    Clean it as best you can. Apply a stain and reseal. If it's black stained, use black stain so it looks like it is supposed to be black.