When planning spring cleaning around the home, it’s often a time when homeowners finally tackle those jobs they’ve been putting off. One of the areas of a bathroom or kitchen which can start to look unsightly is the grouting between tiles, whether they’re part of the flooring or wall surface.
Grout is the material used to fill the spaces between tiles, bonding and sealing them to the desired surface. However, these sparkling white lines can soon become discoloured as they pick up dirt, grime and spillages. Light coloured and porous in nature, grouting is a hotspot for staining.
If you want to restore the look of your tiles and grouting, follow these top tips.
Assess Your Grouting First
When planning any specialist bathroom or kitchen cleaning task, always start by assessing the area. In older properties, the grout may have come away between the tiles or need replacing in some sections, so it may be worth asking a professional cleaner whether using chemicals could damage it further. In these cases, you should consider applying new grouting in these areas first.
Pick the Right Cleaning Products
Cleaning dirty grout is one of the easiest ways to uplift any room with floor tiles or wall tiles, but you must use the right type of cleaning product for this task. Most tile cleaning products for bathrooms and kitchens will be safe to use for grouting too but check the bottle carefully first. You can even buy special grout cleaners which remove grime quickly and easily.
Always assess the grout to see what’s causing the discolouration. It’s usually just a build-up of dirt, but if there’s mildew present, you may want to consider a mould spray, but again, this needs to be compatible with the surface.
Use the Best Cleaning Techniques
Even with regular floor mopping, you may have noticed dirt building up between the tiles. Therefore, you may want to consider giving the grouting an extra scrub, using an old toothbrush or a sponge with an abrasive surface. We would recommend starting with a softer material (e.g. a soft-bristled brush) to see if that works well. This ensures you won’t damage the grouting as you apply some elbow grease to it.
If you use a good grout cleaner, you won’t have to scrub as hard, saving you effort in the process. However, you could also try using some warm soapy water first if you don’t want to buy a specialist product containing chemicals.
Get Expert Advice & Help
The best way to ensure your tiles and grouting are left clean and sparkling is to ask a professional cleaner for help. At Efficient Cleaning London, we provide domestic cleaning services for every need, including detailed spring cleaning for top to bottom results. We work across SW London and Surrey areas, including New Malden, Putney and Raynes Park. Contact us now for more information.
