Dirty grout can seem so hard to restore to its original colour that many of us reach for strong cleaning products.
That includes the strongest of them all – bleach, because of its powerful and almost instant ability to change the colour of anything.
But it’s one of two products Bryony Conlan, Business Development Manager at The Grout Guy gets frustrated seeing people use.
“Bleach is a really heavy product, and while some people love the smell of it, it does deteriorate your grout,” she tells nine.com.au.
The other product she can’t stand people using is white vinegar, which many say works wonders for shower glass but it isn’t recommended for grout.
“Vinegar is the bane of my existence when it comes to cleaning. People love it because it’s acidic, but what it’s just doing is just eating away at your grout and compromising the waterproofing of your shower,” she says.
Instead of harsh cleaners like bleach and vinegar, Conlan recommends looking at information on products to find something “pH neutral” and using a “softer cloth rather than a harsh bristle”.
The advice to use a cloth instead of a brush will be a surprise to many who swear by scrubbing with specially-designed grout brushes and even the old hack of using a toothbrush.
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But even toothbrushes can be too harsh for grout.
“The soft toothbrushes can be OK, but I wouldn’t be scrubbing too hard, because again, you’re just going to be taking off layers of grout,” she explains.
“We’re actually better off using a gentler cleaner and just letting it sit and do its job before we give it a wipe, rather than scrubbing at it.”
If your grout is mouldy Conlan’s cleaning product preference is one made by The Grout Guys.
She is also a fan of 30 Seconds Mould Off, a product you can find at Bunnings for $15.99, if the mould has been on the grout for a while.
“You spray it on, literally let it sit for about 30 seconds and wipe and then rinse it off because you you don’t want that harsher product sitting there for a long period of time,” she says.
“Or another little hack that I learned recently is methylated spirits can help kill off mould. So dilute it, spray it on, let it sit for a minute or so, wipe it off and then use your general mould cleaner to just maintain the shower.”
Once you’ve cleaned your grout consider whether it needs an extra step to prolong the condition it’s in, which is sealing and should be done every one to three years.
“If you’re using harsher chemicals on your grout to clean your grout, you’d want to seal it more frequently. If you’re using gentler cleaners and maintaining the grout relatively well, you can probably push that out to three to five years,” Conlan says.
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Due to the porous nature of grout, Conlan says sealing it makes it easier to clean.
“It basically adds another layer of protection,” she says before warning it won’t restore damaged grout.
“It’s only going to do so much in regards to if the grout is deteriorated because the grout itself is compromised. But if you’ve got new grout, fresher grout or grout that’s been well maintained, it just gives it an extra bit of care and longer life.”
However, if your grout is no longer level with the tile and has gaps, cleaning and sealing won’t do much for it and it’s time to call in the professionals to redo the grout.
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