We did our home renovation project from 2006 until 2012. Yes, it took that long or maybe longer. We had contractors put in the shell for the house, and we completed the inside. It was a massive undertaking.
With the help of my brother, we installed the tile on the kitchen floor and grouted it. The biggest mistake we made was to put in a cream grout. We SHOULD HAVE chosen a dark color. Doggone it! Over the years, it’s gotten very dirty.
One day, my brother said a bottle of vinegar dressing was dropped on their floor and they saw that it cleaned the tile somewhat. So while Art was in Tanzania last summer, I started testing out vinegar on our floor. You needed to use a lot of “elbow grease."
I gave up, looked online and saw a recommendation to use Zep. It’s supposed to work wonders. However, when I bought the bottle and read the directions, it unnerved me so I haven’t used it.
A couple days ago I was using baking soda to clean mom's iron and had some paste left over.
That’s when I looked down at the yucky tile grout and wondered if I could try using the baking soda paste on the grout.
By golly! It did clean it… better than the vinegar.
I looked online and saw the information above. You have to be very careful if you're using vinegar on your grout. Baking soda was a good option. Another website said to make the paste using 2 parts baking soda to 1 part water. (I eventually added a couple globs of Dawn liquid dish soap which worked EVEN better.)
I'd texted my brother about it earlier since we've been talking about the grout yuckiness.
A few minutes later, he sent me this picture.
He also told me he'd now have to clean the rest of the floor grout in his kitchen because he's got this weird white area on his kitchen floor. 😳
I then thought I'd clean the entrance way to the kitchen to show Art.
He was quite impressed so we decided to spend a morning and part of the afternoon the following day cleaning the kitchen grout. He had knee pads. I chose a soft mat to protect my knees. It's wasn't what I'd call fun, buuut.... there was a lot of satisfaction when it was done.
Now we're wondering how long it will stay clean with all the dust and dirt blown in.
The other day, my brother mentioned a grout pen I could get to stain the grout a darker color.
Hmmm....
POSTSCRIPT 1:
I looked online about staining your grout and saw that’s a lot of trouble too so we decided we’ll just clean the grout in another 10 years… or more.
POSTSCRIPT 2:
Uh oh... I'm writing this a few weeks later. After I did the floors with Art I was staring at the bathroom floor which wasn't as big and decided to tackle it myself.
A few days later, I found my right arm and shoulder killing me. I could tell it was in danger of becoming a frozen shoulder which is a very painful condition I've had several decades ago. It is NOT fun and could require physical therapy. To avoid that, I'm taking Aleve and moving my arm as much as I can.
This is just a cautionary advice. Please be careful not to overdo.
Not that it is clean, you should apply a grout sealer to it. That works to keep it looking good for a lot longer and make it much easier to clean.
ReplyDeleteWhat a path of experimenting! My bathroom tiles are just like your's only grubbier in spots. I'll get my garden knee pads and try the Kay'n Art Way! Mahalo, Linda in Kansas, where we got some snow, again.
ReplyDeleteGreat tip
ReplyDeleteI am not sure if your knees will be up to it in 10 years. I know mine aren't now.
ReplyDeleteGrout is a pain; I love my tile in the bathroom but am supposed to condition it every six months. It's a real pain. That looks SO much better! (worth the effort and pain to the body)
ReplyDeleteWow! I am extremely impressed with you guys again. Accept it now. I'm looking at my grout and realize I have to get out the knee pads! Aloha, thanks for the information
ReplyDeleteKay of Musings: 😊 Actually, I was on my butt and just leaning over. I didn’t want to hurt my knees further.
DeleteI have used baking soda and lemon juice to clean the kitchen counter grout which is almost 50 years old. It works but what worked even better, when I could get it, is a "soft scrub" product that is a bleach in gel form. It has a tip that goes right into the grout. I can no longer find it anywhere.
ReplyDeletethe maintenance of our houses is a lot of work.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any grouted tile anywhere in my house. We have vinyl floors in the kitchen and bathrooms - much easier, and a softer landing if you drop something. Of course a new buyer would say, "So outdated. This needs a total gut job." :-)
ReplyDeleteVery impressive!
ReplyDeleteThank goodness our kitchen floor is vinyl now. At our last house the huge kitchen had tile floors that took forever to clean.
ReplyDeleteKay, I usually use Comet on my kitchen counter grout, but will try the baking soda ( and Dawn). I also wanted to tell you that I tried your Tylenol on my curling and flat irons. Both had a lot of gunk on them (from hair spray I suppose?). It worked great!
ReplyDeleteGood to know! I am going to try it in my shower. Mahalo for the tip!
ReplyDeleteWoW!!! amazing results! how in the world did we ever live without google and the internet. i think i use google every day, in fact i know i do!! bravo!!
ReplyDeleteThat's a lot of elbow grease, too.
ReplyDeleteThat's quite an amazing difference!!!! I don't have ceramic tile in my house but we do have it at the rentals. I'll have to keep your little tip in mind.
ReplyDeleteKay, that is amazing the difference! You just never know what natural products will do and they aren't harmful to you or the environment! Kuddos to you!
ReplyDeleteI did this, as well! December, it was. I just used Vim. I was SO sore!
ReplyDelete