Around the House: Keep Your Bathroom Grout Sparkling White

By Yehudit Garmaise

While grimy grout between shower or floor tiles can make the entire bathroom look and feel dirty, a few simple strategies can help keep bathroom grout sparkling white and clean.

By combining a few natural products found in most kitchens, plus using elbow grease on a weekly or monthly basis, bathroom grout can look as good as new.

While even diluted bleach can ruin clothing, towels, and anything else it touches, the strong-smelling cleaning fluid releases fumes that can be dangerous to breathe.

Magic Erasers are great cleaning tools for quick wipe-downs.

To make a gentler cleaning paste, combine a half cup of baking soda with one-fourth cup of hydrogen peroxide and one teaspoon of dish soap. 

After gently stirring the cleaning mixture, apply the paste to the discolored grout.

Leave it on for five to ten minutes, and then grab a stiff scrub brush, an old toothbrush, or even better: an electric toothbrush with an old head, turn on some music and scrub your grout clean. 

To make a disinfecting solution, fill an empty spray bottle with half water and half distilled white vinegar.

Spray the vinegar onto the grout coated with cleaning paste so the thick mixture bubbles up.

Let the vinegar spray sit on the paste for a few more minutes, and then thoroughly rinse the bathroom tiles and grout with water. 

To banish more serious mold that is more than just dirt, use a mold and mildew cleaner to remove mold and prevent its regrowth.

After splashing water to remove all cleaning products, use a towel to wipe down the tiles.

Moisture degrades grout and can bring mold, so, every day, air out the room, which can get quite humid.