Cleaning tile grout

[micsul]

Hi guys

Was reading up and trying to find a good product for cleaning grout in bathrooms and kitchen floor tiles.

The only thing l was able to come up with was Oxygen Bleach. Did a search and found that Bunnings dont sell that. Anyone have any good suggestions?

Looking forward to hearing from someone. Thank you.

Michael

[Jason]

Hi Michael (@micsul)

Welcome to Workshop. I trust that you will receive plenty of great advice and inspiration from our community members for your projects. We've got a lot of helpful and knowledgeable members happy to share.

Cleaning grout is never a fun job! To kick off the discussion, you might be interested in this post from member @PJA - https://www.workshop.com.au/t5/Interiors/Remove-Mould-in-30-Seconds-It-ll-never-happen-Or-Will-it/m-...

Jason

[PJA]

G'day Michael, 

hope you read and enjoyed the article I wrote quite a while back about using 30 Second Mould Remover.

I must say that I have been away from the workshop for a while now. Far too busy turning my life upside down, first selling an apartment in Sutherland and then finding buying, and moving into a Townhouse in Albion Park.

To sell, it it has to look like something you would like to buy. The tiles, not just bathroom, but kitchen and laundry too, needed to look like new. So I had to start with the 30 Sedcond Mould Remover. But then there were tiles that were cracked and spots where the grout had come away altogether.

Davco have a product called Rejuvenation Grout. Come in a few colours.

Now ordinarily Grout needs 5mm to grab and set. Any less and the grout you have plonked ontop of your original grout will wait til you're not looking and fall right off. Depending on luck, it can last one day or even one year, but it is going to drop off.

NOT REJUVENATION GROUT. this stuff grabs and sets with as little as 1mm!!

Oh happy days! So for the bits that just stay black, even after 30 Second Mould Remover, and bleach, and grout paint, and for all those little holes that have come from nowhere; you just plonk on the Rejuvenation Grout, strainght over the existing stuff.

Looks great. Easy to apply; and is permanent. 

Just like brillcream, A little dab'll do ya.

Now the cracks in the tiles themselves varied from hairline, to insect highway. Because the tiles were light, even the hairline ones were dark and could be seen from the moon. 

So to mitigate the the crime I used Earl's (White) Multifill. Now Earl also comes in lots of colours but i found i could smear this putty over the cracks enough to change the appearance from black to almost nothing. Just gave the whole picture a much cleaner look.

Tried it on the cornices too. but by the time the new owners moved in all the cracks in the cornices had returned.

So only use it as a quick fix on the cornices if you plan on being 80ks away before anyone gets a second look.

Have fun.

 and yes all the above I bought from Bunnings.

[micsul]

Hi PJA

Thanks for responding.

What I am doing is buying a new house that will have a lot of tiles throughout, mostly main thoroughfares, kitchen, bathrooms and laundry.

My concern was that should a spill of some sort occur on to the tiles and grout, one could always wipe up the mess from the tiles but not the mess on the grout as this would probably stain being porous.

There must be an ideal colour for grout that would hide away most future stains, and for those that will not wipe up I guess the Rejuvenation Grout sounds an ideal way to go. Sounds like I will have to have a look at the Davco range of colours and find a grout colour that will match up with the tiles.

Thanks for that.

Regards

micsul

[kel]

@micsul

i am not sure if this idea is pausible,but if you put a sealer on your tiled areas,then that would protect your grout.i'm thinking along the lines of concrete sealer,anyone have any thoughts on this method?

cheers kel

[micsul]

Hi Kel

I am aware of sealant on bathroom tiles to prevent mould residue but not of concrete sealant.

I have seen some tiled floors where the grout actually appears to have a thickish type of clear gloss on it. Would this be the concrete sealant you are referring to?

Cheers

[kel]

@micsul

yeah,but i am only guessing.best to go to a tile shop and ask them what the best option is for your needs .

cheers kel

[Brad]

Looks like there is a fair few options to choose from.

Grout Sealer

[PJA · Accepted solution]

you want to seal concrete get a concrete sealer, you want to seal paint work, get a paint sealer, you want to seal tiles, well grout, you get Shower Plug.

A little bit goes a long way and it water proofs your grout as well as seals it against stains etc.

read the destructions on the tin. Easy as. get a brush and spread it over the grout. 

[micsul]

Thank you all for your contributing comments.