Grout cleaner

[CPA]

H&G tell me what you use for cleaning grout, particularly if you have travertine or natural stone. Many of the non-acidic stuff just isn't very good and I need to clean some dirty grout. Tried using baking powder and vinegar yesterday but wasn't particularly happy with the results. That said, I used regular vinegar and not the cleaning vinegar.

 

[drnickriviera]

baking soda and peroxide. We use a stiff bristle brush and found it to be very effective

 

[boomerang]

The pros use steam I believe. Not sure if they mix anything into the water or not.

 

[smackababy]

Some kind of acid wash and a toothbrush type tool. It is a PITA, tbh.

And then, I just go with a tile that look good with a darker grout, because ain't nobody got time for that.

 

[CPA]

Some kind of acid wash and a toothbrush type tool. It is a PITA, tbh.

And then, I just go with a tile that look good with a darker grout, because ain't nobody got time for that.

Wish I could, but acid will destroy the travertine, and I have a ton of it. So, replacing is out of the question right now, as well.

 

[zardthebuilder]

Wish I could, but acid will destroy the travertine, and I have a ton of it. So, replacing is out of the question right now, as well.

if you eventually can't find a way to satisfactorily clean it, maybe replace the grout?

 

[smackababy]

Wish I could, but acid will destroy the travertine, and I have a ton of it. So, replacing is out of the question right now, as well.

You could always stain the grout a darker shade to "hide" the dirtiness.

 

[edro]

Handheld steamer

I have the purple steam shark. I haven't used it for a long time and am about to use it on our new house. The previous owners didn't clean anything and the guest bath needs all the grout cleaned.
I have used it in the past, but forget how well it works.

I will let you know.

 

[CPA]

Handheld steamer

I have the purple steam shark. I haven't used it for a long time and am about to use it on our new house. The previous owners didn't clean anything and the guest bath needs all the grout cleaned.
I have used it in the past, but forget how well it works.

I will let you know.

Decided to try an Oreck steamer. Should have it today. Will use distilled water and see how it goes.

 

[TheSlamma]

How did it turn out?

TBH I've never had any luck with cleaning grout, I ended up getting small blade on a dremel attachment on a job I did once, I took it out and then just replaced the grout with the original color but I used Grout Boost. Careful with that product though, it's a little advanced for DIY as it can leave a permanent haze if you don't know how to prevent it.

 

[CPA]

How did it turn out?

TBH I've never had any luck with cleaning grout, I ended up getting small blade on a dremel attachment on a job I did once, I took it out and then just replaced the grout with the original color but I used Grout Boost. Careful with that product though, it's a little advanced for DIY as it can leave a permanent haze if you don't know how to prevent it.

Not bad. I made a baking soda paste and laid it on the grout lines. Then I sprayed cleaning vinegar on it (20% vinegar). Then I combined 8 parts water and 2 parts cleaning vinegar into the Oreck. The Oreck contains a grout scrubber attachment. So, using that and a medium heat setting, I got the grout relatively clean. This is grout that hasn't been cleaned in about 10 years. The lines still have some patches of light discoloration from grime/dirt, but they are much better than they were before.

Only problem I had is that the scrubber attachment bristles apparently can't handle the heat, as they will deform after using them for a small period of time. This was without putting any more weight than the unit itself on them as I scrubbed. They become unusable quickly. Bad design by Oreck.