The most effective homemade grout cleaners to help make tiles look new again
- The most common and effective homemade grout cleaner is a mixture of baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and dish soap.
- Cream or tartar and lemon juice is the best all-natural solution for whitening.
- Avoid using highly-acidic solutions like vinegar because they can corrode grout.
When cleaning your home, it's important to keep both your health and the environment in mind. If you're exploring alternatives to chemicals, one location that's easy to clean using natural solutions is grout. Natural cleaning expert Becky Rapinchuk of Clean Mama says natural methods work on grout better than conventional ones since chemicals can leave you with soap scum.
"Some conventional grout and tile cleaners are really caustic and full of chemicals and harmful things that we don't need to be breathing in," says Rapinchuk. "It's also not good to wash it down the drain either in terms of the ecosystem because you don't need that going back into wastewater."
There are a number of homemade solutions to consider, which we outline below. The one you choose depends on the space you're working in and also the type of cleaning - removing mildew, whitening, degreasing - that needs to be done.
Quick tip: For the best results, ditch the toothbrush and invest in a scrubbing brush. For grout and other hard-to-reach places, Insider Reviews recommends OXO's Good Grips brushes.
For most stains: Baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and dish soap
Arguably the most common homemade grout cleaner, a mixture of baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and dish soap works best for kitchen and shower tile since the paste is easy to rinse out.
"The baking soda is going to give you a little bit more scrubbing power," Rapinchuk says. If your grout is in need of whitening, you can even just spray hydrogen peroxide alone on the area and let it sit for 15 minutes before scrubbing.
To yield the cleanest results, form a paste out of the the baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and dish soap. This will serve as a cleaner, degreaser, and whitener all in one. Measurements vary depending on how much cleaning the room needs, but it's best to use two parts baking soda to one part hydrogen peroxide and a teaspoon of dish soap or more as needed.
For milder stains: Castile soap
According to Rapinchuk, if your shower grout is only moderately dirty, Castile soap is a simple solution to scrub and rinse. "It's plant-based so it's not going to give you any soap scum," she says.
For targeted whitening: Cream of tartar and lemon juice
Lemon juice is a natural whitener and when paired with cream of tartar it reacts "really well for whitening," Rapinchuk says.
To try on a small spot, she recommends mixing a tablespoon of cream of tartar with just a "squirt of lemon juice." If you decide to use it on your entire floor, she says to go tablespoon by tablespoon. The consistency you're looking for should be like a runny toothpaste.
For heavier dirt: A dedicated steam cleaner
For large, high-traffic rooms like the kitchen, Rapinchuk suggests using a steam cleaner. This can work in concentrated areas and help you avoid excessive scrubbing. She uses a multi-purpose Dupray steam cleaner, which boasts a floor cleaning pad and spray nozzle meant for harder-to-reach areas.
Steer clear of harsh cleaners
The one false grout hack people mistakenly use is toilet bowl cleaner. According to Rapinchuk, the chemicals are way too harsh and can permanently damage your tile.
When cleaning grout, avoid using vinegar. The substance can corrode your grout and eventually damage it as a result of its porous nature. If you're looking for something acidic, Rapinchuk recommends using the lemon juice mixture.
How to maximize the effect of homemade grout cleaners
- Let the solution sit if needed. Rapinchuk's general rule of thumb is not to let any paste mixture sit and harden or discolor the tile. Instead, spread on the paste, scrub immediately, then rinse with hot water. The exception is if you're using hydrogen peroxide (or a thin solution) to lighten grout - or if you're treating mildew - let the mixture sit for 15 minutes, then scrub and rinse.
- Use hot water. When you rinse your solutions after scrubbing, the water should be steaming hot. Rapinchuk recommends as "hot as you could stand."
- Tailor the mixture to the room. Your bathroom, shower, and kitchen may require different grout treatments."If I'm using a paste, it's going to be in a shower where I can easily rinse that down," she says. "If I'm cleaning the kitchen floor, that's a larger area that's harder to effectively rinse away a paste, so I'm going to probably do a steam method for that - or soap and water with a floor mop." And if you're going for a deep clean instead of a light one, using a paste mixture will remove the most dirt.
- Seasonal upkeep goes a long way. While Rapinchuk advises mopping floors every week to sustain the grout cleaning, you only need to scrub your grout two to four times a year, depending on how dirty it gets.
Insider's takeaway
Homemade cleaning solutions are the most effective grout cleansers. Not only is it affordable and eco-friendly, but this natural option is also healthier since you'll be breathing things in as you scrub on your hands and knees.
While these DIY remedies can be used in any space, it's important to weigh your options so you don't extend the process if you're only looking for a light clean. "You're probably going to work in small areas and scrub and rinse as you go," Rapinchuk says. "But it's definitely easier to do a paste in an area that you can completely rinse."