I need help with cleaning tile grout!

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don’t use wax on the floor of the shower or the tub, slippery and a hazard. check with mfg before putting anything on travertine or other tile that is not ceramic. use what they recommend. travertine does have a special sealer it needs and not recommended for areas with hard water or rust in the water. (you can learn so much watching DIY TV)

I cleaned the kitchen grout with a child’s electric toothbrush, a dollar at the supermarket checkout, takes 2 AA batteries, hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. it sparkles, and lowes has a sealer in a tube that goes on like white-out. we had to re-grout some places where it was crumbling, and along the backsplash, but they had grout in a tube as well, so I am good to go

my next countertop, when we redo this kitchen, will be recycled glass, they say it just cleans up with windex.
 
newf said:
I have a new bathroom being installed as we speak…and the tiles in the shower are travertine…do you think I could TurtleWax those, too? This is such a neat idea!!
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Yes you can use it on Travetine also.
 
Whatevergirl… I have used germx on grout before with great success… it was easy… just squeezed it on and walked away… came back later and took a sponge to get it off… it worked like bleach.

my mom swears by Palmolive dish WASHER soap…
 
Ohhhhh!! One thing I just remembered!! I have never tried it, although I do remember someone telling me that polydent (or any denture cleaner) works on grout also.

Can’t remember if anyone metioned this, the Palmolive post reminded me of it.
 
puzzleannie said:
don’t use wax on the floor of the shower or the tub, slippery and a hazard. check with mfg before putting anything on travertine or other tile that is not ceramic. use what they recommend. travertine does have a special sealer it needs and not recommended for areas with hard water or rust in the water. (you can learn so much watching DIY TV)
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I use it on the floors of mine, although I do use a tub mat in my tub and shower. Although I have used it without the mats also and it does not make it any more slick than without it. At least in my experience. 🤷

I have used it on travertine for a couple years now. IMHO their “special sealer” is just a way to get you to buy their products or products of companies they work with.
 
puzzleannie said:
lowes has a sealer in a tube that goes on like white-out. we had to re-grout some places where it was crumbling, and along the backsplash, but they had grout in a tube as well, so I am good to go
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Tell me more about “sealer in a tube”. The grout in my bathroom is hopelessly dirty and beyond cleaning (it’s a rental house…). Can I apply another coat of sealer over the dirt and have everything look good (at least, until I move out?)
 
JustAnotherThou said:
I have used it on travertine for a couple years now. IMHO their “special sealer” is just a way to get you to buy their products or products of companies they work with.
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Oh, thanks so much for the info. I will give it a try.
 
mercygate said:
Yes! Especially Travertine because it’s so full of pits (nasty dirt/germ catchers!). Has your marble been “filled”?
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Actually, I’m on the guy’s case to do this…it WILL be filled before my last payment. Thanks for the reminder.
 
Consecrated said:
I use comet bathroom cleaner (in a spray bottle, NOT the powder) and a scrub brush. Just spray it on, let it sit a minute, and then scrub. Don’t be overzealous, though, b/c you can wear down the grout itself. Then you have to wash off the cleaner. Comes out sparkly white!

HTH!
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I bought this tonight, and 409…oh, and those Mr Clean eraser/whitening type sponges…I’m hoping they will do the trick. Or at least make it look less brownish.😊 The tile is fine, it’s the in between grout areas. Thankfully, the new place we’re going to, has tannish brown italian tiles…yay! We just didn’t want to buy this home now, and really, largely, it was due to this white tile everywhere, so we’re renting for another year or so, and then I think we’re going to build. No white tiles though anywhere!🙂
 
surf(name removed by moderator)ure said:
Just read an article on this, actually.

For disinfecting the grout, use whatever you like. But if what you want is to turn the grout back to its natural color, you can purchase grout stain and simply dye it. Apparently it’s much easier and takes less time than bleaching, and also won’t harm the grout.

naturalhandyman.com/iip/infxtra/infgroutcolorant.html
super-tek.com/groutstain.htm
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:bowdown: you are my hero tonight. lol
I was just in Target, and couldn’t find A THING like this…just cleansers, and nothing speficially for grout. I suppose I could have asked someone for help.

Get this, my husband just called from work, and he is thinking of hiring someone to come in next week to clean after we’re gone. I am shocked. Pleasantly so. He said let’s just concentrate on finishing packing, and then see where we are. I said…are you drinking at work?😃

I am still going to check out the grout dye though…why not. I think it might be short notice to bring someone in now. The house is pretty clean…other than the tile flooring, and the carpets need a good steaming.
 
whatevergirl said:
:bowdown: you are my hero tonight. lol
I was just in Target, and couldn’t find A THING like this…just cleansers, and nothing speficially for grout. I suppose I could have asked someone for help.

Get this, my husband just called from work, and he is thinking of hiring someone to come in next week to clean after we’re gone. I am shocked. Pleasantly so. He said let’s just concentrate on finishing packing, and then see where we are. I said…are you drinking at work?😃

I am still going to check out the grout dye though…why not. I think it might be short notice to bring someone in now. The house is pretty clean…other than the tile flooring, and the carpets need a good steaming.
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I hope you can find it locally. I checked out the Home Depot site but couldn’t find it there. Maybe a flooring outlet or paint store would carry it.
 
I kid you not…toothpaste, toothbrush. My mom heard it on a home improvement type of radio program, she tried it and wow did it ever work. I’ve seen the results…big difference.

If you are skeptical, do a small bit in an out of the way area to see the results.
 
my next countertop, when we redo this kitchen, will be recycled glass, they say it just cleans up with windex.
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I just moved into my newly renovated house (after waiting one LONG year) and I have these counters you speak of made by Ice Stone. They do indeed clean up with windex, but you need not even bother with that. I just use hot water and a microfiber cloth, and in desperate cases diluted white vinegar in a spray bottle.

Oh, vinegar might work OK on the tile grout too.
 
whatevergirl said:
:bowdown: you are my hero tonight. lol
I was just in Target, and couldn’t find A THING like this…just cleansers, and nothing speficially for grout. I suppose I could have asked someone for help.

Get this, my husband just called from work, and he is thinking of hiring someone to come in next week to clean after we’re gone. I am shocked. Pleasantly so. He said let’s just concentrate on finishing packing, and then see where we are. I said…are you drinking at work?😃

I am still going to check out the grout dye though…why not. I think it might be short notice to bring someone in now. The house is pretty clean…other than the tile flooring, and the carpets need a good steaming.
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Hiring cleaners was common practice when I was in the military because of the inspections when you move out… A few things I learned from them… painting is easier than washing walls, goo gone removes soap residue from bathroom tiles, and best product for cleaning concrete garage floors is Amways concrete cleaner… you wet the floor… sprinkle a little cleaner, use a broom to spread it out and mix it in… wait…hose floor down and it is perfectly clean… and the stuff only cost $10 at the time and was enough to do at least 10 garages.
 
Welp…the front door’s doorknob just broke off this morning…ugh! This is a relatively brand new house, not more than 3 years old…and it has had plumbing problems, etc…and now this? Days before we need to move out? Please say a prayer for my hubby that he can fix this…he’s talking to the doorknob hole right now…yes, talking to it.😊
 
whatevergirl said:
Welp…the front door’s doorknob just broke off this morning…ugh! This is a relatively brand new house, not more than 3 years old…and it has had plumbing problems, etc…and now this? Days before we need to move out? Please say a prayer for my hubby that he can fix this…he’s talking to the doorknob hole right now…yes, talking to it.😊
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Ohhh dear… can you remind him conversations with inanimate objects usually lands one in the funny house??? Door knobs are pretty easy to replace…
 
BlestOne said:
Ohhh dear… can you remind him conversations with inanimate objects usually lands one in the funny house??? Door knobs are pretty easy to replace…
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lol–yes, maybe that is what he’s hoping for…lol

If the doorknob was ‘normal,’ it would probably be easy, but these are those newer lever type doorknobs, with a handle underneath the locking mechanism…in looking at the socket, it looks like the home builder just did a poor job installing it. I should have said something when I noticed how loose it was when we moved in.🤷
 
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