Tile flooring is beautiful, but looking that good isn’t easy! If you don’t stay on top of cleaning your tile flooring, they may become discolored and look just a little bit less beautiful than they could. Most of that has to do with keeping the grout around the tiles squeaky clean. Because the best rule of thumb with tile is that clean grout equals beautiful tile.
We know the ins and outs of keeping tile flooring looking its best. So if all of this sounds like too much work, or you just need to take a break from it, give us a call to help with cleaning your tile flooring!
Cleaners that Won’t Break the Grout
Let’s start with what grout actually is because it’s one of the reasons why tile requires a bit more care than other flooring types. If you ask Google, it will tell you that grout is “a mortar or paste for filling crevices, especially the gaps between wall or floor tiles.” Basically, grout’s job is to hold your tile flooring together.
When you’re picking a grout cleaner, make sure you don’t pick something that will make your grout fall apart! A common line of thought is that vinegar or peroxide is a great way to get your grout looking fresh. And yes, those substances do whiten grout, but it also eats away at it, so over time, you will have less grout in between your tiles. Nobody wants that!
A safe household option is a paste made from baking soda and water. You may also use diluted bleach (but please don’t if you have kiddos or pets running around), a steam cleaner, or some store bought cleaners like Tilelab or Oxiclean versatile stain remover.
If you do have children or pets, check the EPA for a list of family-safe cleaning products, like Simple Green Naturals, an eco-safe and very effective grout cleaner option!
Doing the Work
First, use a microfiber cleaning cloth or Swiffer Dry pad to clean the floors. Then use hot water and some elbow grease (and an old toothbrush or scrub brush) to wipe away as much dirt as you can. Finally, apply the cleaner of your choice.
To make the baking soda and water paste, use 2 parts baking soda and 1 part water, apply the paste to your grout, and then let it sit overnight. Scrub with a nylon brush in the morning and rinse everything away with hot water when you’re done.
If you’re using a pre-packaged cleaner, simply follow the directions on the container.
End Product
Doing a spot clean of your grout is a great idea on a nearly weekly basis. Doing a deep clean like we’ve been talking about here is best left to be done on a monthly basis, mostly because it can be time-consuming and requires you to spend a healthy amount of time on your hands and knees, scrubbing.
If you have a large area of tiled flooring that needs to be cleaned, call in the experts. We’re happy to check “cleaning your floor tiles” off the to-do list for you!
