How to clean bathroom grout, gentlest method first

To clean bathroom grout, start with the gentlest method and only step up if you need to. Scrub with warm water and a stiff grout brush first. If that's not enough, use a paste of baking soda and water, then an oxygen bleach mixed as the label directs. Rinse well, dry the area with the fan running, and seal cement grout once it's clean and dry.

Grout is porous. Gentle and regular keeps it in good shape longer than harsh and rare.

What do you need?

• A stiff grout brush, or an old toothbrush for small areas
• Warm water
• Baking soda
• Oxygen bleach powder, or a bathroom mildew cleaner
• Rubber gloves
• A kneeling pad for floor grout
• Microfiber cloths and a bucket of clean rinse water

Work with the fan on or a window open.

How do you clean grout, step by step?

Try each step in order. Stop when the grout is clean.

1. Warm water and a brush. Spray the grout lines with warm water and scrub along them, back and forth, with the brush. A lot of surface grime comes off with just this. Rinse.

2. Baking soda paste. Mix baking soda with a little water into a paste. Spread it along the lines, let it sit ten minutes, and scrub. Rinse well, because leftover paste dries white.

3. Oxygen bleach. Mix the powder with warm water as the label directs. Apply it to the lines, let it sit for the time on the label, scrub and rinse. It's made for mildew and organic stains.

4. Chlorine bleach, sparingly. A diluted bleach solution, mixed as the label directs, on white grout only, with the room ventilated. Never mix it with vinegar, ammonia or other cleaners. Colored grout can fade.

5. Steam. A steam cleaner with a small nozzle loosens grime with heat. Check that your tile and grout can take the heat first.

Rinse, then dry the area with a towel and leave the fan running.

What about vinegar?

Vinegar is an acid. Used over and over, it can wear down unsealed cement grout, and it etches natural stone like marble and travertine. On sealed grout with ceramic or porcelain tile, an occasional diluted spray is fine if you rinse it off. On stone, skip it.

What if the grout stays dark?

Some stains sit deep in the grout and don't come out with cleaning. If grout is crumbling, cracked, or stays dark after the methods above, a grout refresh or regrouting is a repair job for a tile contractor. Grout pens and stain products change the color without cleaning it.

What about old tile floors?

Work in small sections on a kneeling pad, keep the brush and the rinse water moving, and don't flood the floor. Old grout can be fragile, so stay with the gentle methods.

Should you seal grout?

Sealing clean, dry cement grout helps it resist water and stains. Use a penetrating grout sealer, apply it with a small brush along the lines, wipe the excess off the tile, and follow the label for drying time and how often to reapply. Epoxy grout doesn't need sealing.

How do you keep grout clean?

• Squeegee the shower walls after every shower.
• Run the fan during the shower and for about 20 minutes after.
• Scrub the grout lines with a brush once a month.
• Wipe up puddles on the floor around the tub.

Our shower guide and tile guide cover the rest of the surface.

Want the bathroom deep cleaned?

Book Deep Cleaning online. If grout is a priority, ask about it when you book and put it in your booking notes.

FAQ

What is the easiest way to clean grout? Scrub it with warm water and a stiff grout brush first; that lifts surface grime on its own. If it needs more, spread a paste of baking soda and water on the lines, let it sit ten minutes, scrub, and rinse.

How do you get mildew out of shower grout? Use an oxygen bleach mixed as the label directs, or a mildew cleaner made for bathrooms. Let it sit for the time on the label, scrub with a grout brush, rinse well, and keep the fan running so the grout dries.

Can you use vinegar on grout? Use it with care. Vinegar is an acid, and repeated use can wear down unsealed cement grout, and it etches natural stone tile. On sealed grout with ceramic or porcelain tile, a diluted spray now and then is fine, followed by a good rinse.

Should you seal grout after cleaning it? Sealing cement grout once it's clean and fully dry helps it resist water and stains. Use a penetrating grout sealer and follow the label for drying time and how often to reapply.

Book a cleaning

Our service area: every Philadelphia neighborhood, plus the Pennsylvania suburbs within about 30 miles of Center City, in Montgomery, Delaware, Bucks and Chester counties. Book online at phillyscleanteam.com/book-now, or call or text (215) 798-7576, 9 AM to 9 PM, every day.