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Cleaning tile grout

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

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PJA

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.

Shower Plug 220ml Sealant

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.

All comments

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-p/9144

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

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.

Shower Plug 220ml Sealant

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. 😉

Dee-Cluttered

This is great, tilers should apply this when laying tiles is complete. If the grout has mould and stains and its not cleaned properly when you apply the shower plug, I assume you Seal the dirty grout? Is it coloured? Thanks Dee

Dee-Cluttered

Wow that's good to know! I'm a new business focused on home maintenance and cleaning etc. I Style homes for sale and phot shoots as well, this seems perfect. Just also would like to know is the 30 sec mould remover full on smelling bleach like exit mould?

Jason

Hi @Dee-Cluttered,

Just a quick tip for using the site. If you would like to ask another user a question, in your reply make sure you use the @ symbol to mention someone. A pop-up will come on the screen to give you some member names who have already been involved in the discussion, or you can start typing any member's name. If you use the @ mention feature, the member will receive an email notification alert about your question.

Thanks again for joining us on Workshop.

Jason

Orby

Use Domestos. Fill an old tomato sauce squeeze bottle with it then run the tip of the bottle along your grout. Leave for about 10mins and use a grout brush/stiff brisle brush. I found one at bunnings, it is perfect. Has an adjustable handle so it’s not back breaking work. Don’t have a clear pic of it other than the one I’ve posted. It’s so easy my 9yr old wanted to help. We did this for a house my friend moved into.

Scrub along the grout and then rinse as normal with mop.

Need I say more ?

Jason

Thanks for joining in the discussion and sharing your experience @Orby. And a big welcome to the Workshop community. We're really pleased you could join us and look forward to reading more about your projects and plans.

Feel free to post anytime you need a hand or have something to share.

Thanks again,

Jason

Snowflakes

there are so many good options thanx

Jason

Thanks for joining in the discussion on Workshop @Snowflakes. It's great to have you join the community. We look forward to reading about your projects and plans. Please post whenever you need a hand or have something to share.

Welcome,

Jason

Tara86

Our house is half tiles and the best thing I found are Magic Erasers ( With 3 kids this is the best invention) They disintegrate quickly but I buy mine online for cheap so always have plenty. It’s so worth It and has cut my cleaning time from 5-6 hrs with a scrubber to 1-2 hours with the magic eraser. Hot water and domestos is what I prefer to use.

stevo1

Oxygen bleach is just nappy San, if it is black on the grout the mould has got inside the grout and it Whenbeedz replacing and then sealing.

The Davco premix stuff in the tile aisle is great. Orange slime is the mould on top and 50/50 white vinegar with water with a microfibre cloth regularly gets it easily.

I am the Ezicleen Surface restoration and Protection man, have a look at our website. Bleach and Exit Mould type products are staining and corroding your tiles and shower glass. Once you get the grout all sorted the tiles and grout need to be sealed for low maintenance and we can restore your shower screen and protect with life time warranty.

Bleach is a bad thing on vitreous silica products.

To clean glass, Sunlight or morning fresh ( neutral pH) in cold water is best, rinse, squeegee and towel dry is what pro window cleaners use. Windex is bad on glass. Metho in a spray bottle with microfibre cloth gives the last polish.

IJAS

Hi Folks, I know of using bond crete as a sealer on a tiled bench top as but should work on tile floors as well for bonding and waterproofing. cheers

Jason

Many thanks for joining in the discussion and sharing your experience @IJAS.

Feel free to post whenever you need a hand or have something to share.

Welcome to the Workshop community,

Jason

bect73

This is a cheap and quick way of cleaning tile grout.
get a toilet cleaner gel with bleach and squirt along the grout lines. Leave for 30 mins or longer. Then get a hard bristle scrubbing brush and scrub away. Rinse. Your grout should look as good as new. Hope this helps.

MitchellMc

Thanks for the tip, @bect73!

I must admit I hate scrubbing grout, especially if it's aged and the stains have impregnated themselves. My go-to solution at the moment is spraying with 30 Seconds 1L Shower Cleaner and leaving it for 20mins. It strips soap scum and mould and whitens dulled grout. It only needs to be flushed off with water. No scrubbing is required, but it can help in stubborn areas.

Once every couple of years, I go over all my grout with Dunlop 250ml Grout Paint - Ultrawhite, which restores it to a brilliant white, just like new.

A wise man once said, "I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.".

Mitchell

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