Grouts are one of the areas that are often overlooked when cleaning your home. I clean my kitchen and bathroom floors weekly, but never think about the grout itself. (In my defense, I moved into this house exactly a year ago.) I thought the dark gray grout was intentional, but then I came across this viral video and decided to scrub it. I want to start.
The video shows the creator mixing together a few simple ingredients and rubbing the mixture onto the grout, revealing a much lighter version of the same grout that was shown earlier. I decided to try out some cleaning hacks to see if grout should be that light too. Here are my thoughts on this cleaning method and what to keep in mind if you try it at home.
What is a DIY grout cleaner?
This popular video posted on Instagram by a professional organizer and cleaner has almost 22,000 likes. In the video’s caption, the creator shares the DIY grout cleaner recipe he uses. You only need 3 ingredients.
In this video, the creator mixes all three ingredients together and adds them to a squeeze bottle. The video shows the creator applying the mixture to the grout using a squeeze bottle. She instructs people to let the mixture sit on the grout for 15 minutes before wiping it clean.
My experience using virus grout cleaner
I made the grout cleaner mixture myself by following the instructions carefully. I also had an empty squeeze bottle on hand that looked exactly like the one in the video. I started at the kitchen tile grout and painted just one vertical line. I immediately liked the idea of a squeeze bottle. This allows for easier application with minimal product mess and waste. I followed the same steps with the bathroom tile grout and waited the recommended 15 minutes. So far this hack seemed pretty easy. Making the cleaning sauce was easy and the technique was quick to implement.
result
After 15 minutes, I wiped off the solution with a wet cloth. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the grout in the areas where I used the cleaning solution was indeed several shades lighter. Although I didn’t see the results as obvious as the video showed, I was still impressed to see that the grout was visibly lighter. It turns out the grout was dirtier than I expected. This DIY cleaner was so easy and inexpensive that I immediately got to work on the rest of the grout.
What not to do if you try it yourself
While it may be tempting to scrub the grout as hard as possible, you could actually damage the floor. It’s best to clean gently with a soft-bristled brush, as scrubbing too hard can cause the grout to deteriorate or even come off.
Also, many cleaning sites recommend sealing the grout after cleaning it. This is because scrubbing the grout removes the previous sealer and can expose it to mold growth, making future cleaning difficult. Once the grout is clean and dry, apply a clear liquid sealer and allow to dry completely.
