What is the best method to clean grout?

Grout is found in so many areas of our homes, but it is also one of the hardest areas to clean and maintain. Making it a mundane and time-intensive cleaning chore. These areas are often high-usage areas such as showers, bathrooms or floors. Grout lines in your home are prone to getting stained, dirty, mouldy and discoloured.

So what is the best method to clean your grout? we examine the top 3 most popular methods for keeping grout clean. This is based on what our customers have told us, prior to having their grout lines re-coloured and protected by us here at Grout Gleam.

1. Scrubbing with a toothbrush and bleach

Most of our customers say they have been scrubbing their grout lines with a toothbrush and bleach. Which makes us recoil in horror. This method is very ineffective at removing staining and mould. Bleach can leave a residue behind which can actually make your grout lines look even dirtier than before. It also erodes your grout lines and can make the original colour of your grout fade. It can also damage other surrounding materials such as tile finishes. It is also very labour instensive. Not ideal! and we would not recommend this method as it can clearly damage your grout and the surrounding area.

2. Applying a grout pen to the grout lines

Grout pens have their advantages. They are cheap, easy to use and you get quick results. However, they have more disadvantages than advantages. The grout pen liquid simply sits on top of the existing grout, meaning it can chip and water can get behind the grout pen line, allowing moisture in and creating mould behind the line. It is only as good as the person who is applying it. No experience of re-colouring grout will normally give you poor application results. It is very hard to just get the grout pen on the grout lines without any bleed onto the tiles. We have experienced a lot of situations where the customer has applied a grout pen over the top of their existing grout lines and there is always a lot of bleed on the tiles, it doesn't give a good finish and it has only ever been a short-term fix.

3. The Pink Stuff

The Pink Stuff is often referred to as the miracle cleaner, it can be used in a wide range of applications around the home and one of these is grout cleaning. The mixture is slightly abrasive and the most popular method to clean grout using this cleaner is via the following method.

• Apply the paste with a damp cloth

• Rub in circular motions

• Leave for 10 minutes

• Rinse with hot water

There is conflicting information as to whether or not Pink Stuff is safe for natural stone tiles. So be sure to check before using.

Pink Stuff may be touted as the best cleaner for grout, and it does seem quite effective, however, our customers have still had mould and yellow stains on their grout lines as staining can penetrate deep into your grout lines so it may not give you lasting or perfect results.

Out of the 3 methods, Pink Stuff seems to be the most effective way to clean grout, but all three methods do not give long-lasting results. Cleaning grout lines still has to be done regularly to maintain the colour and keep the grout mould free.

But as grout professionals which method would we choose?

So why do our customers opt to have their grout re-coloured and protected?

We find that our customers have already tried a whole variety of methods for keeping their grout clean but they are still struggling to get the results they want. They are often frustrated to see stained and mould-blackened grout lines every time they get into their shower. Then they find us!

The Grout Gleam coloured compounds work on a prevention basis. It is an effective way to recolour existing grout lines back to how they used to be and also maintain long-lasting colour by preventing staining and grime build up. So here are the benefits to investing in a Grout Gleam specialist to sort your grout out.

• Grout Gleam compound is professionally applied and does not bleed onto your tiles

• Grout Gleam does not sit on top of the grout line, it compound chemically bonds with your existing grout

• It creates a hydrophobic, dirt, mould and grime-repelling barrier

• It gets rid of the uneven grout colour from years of staining and gets the grout back to all one colour

• It is professionally applied

• There is much lower maintenance, saving you a whole heap of cleaning time

• You'll feel great about your shower or bath area again, putting in a good mood to start your day!

Is it time for you to explore the option of re-colouring and protecting your grout lines?