DIY Grout Cleaner: The Best Homemade Grout Cleaners

With a DIY grout cleaner, you can make grimy grout lines look brand new without spending a small fortune on cleaning supplies. Scrubbing between your tiles may not be anyone’s idea of a good time, but the cleaning tips in this post will help make the process as easy, affordable, and painless as possible. 

Below, you’ll learn everything you need to know about how to clean grout all over your home, whether in your bathroom or on your stone tile floors. With the help of some my favorite cleaning ingredients and a bit of elbow grease, you’ll have those grout lines looking like new in no time!

Be sure to check out the video at the bottom of this post!

Preparing to Clean Tile Grout

There are many types of grout that serve a variety of purposes, so there’s not a “one size fits all” method for cleaning it. From my experience with cleaning my grout, the best way to clean grout is to use a combination of approaches, so I’ll be highlighting two homemade cleaners for you here.

Keep in mind that we’re focusing on how to clean grout here, rather than the tile itself. If you’re looking for a cleaner for a tile shower enclosure, the best homemade shower cleaner (a mixture of dish soap and vinegar) is also an excellent tile cleaner!

Tools & Supplies

To clean your grout properly, you’re going to need a good, stiff scrub brush — ideally, a brush designed for cleaning grout. (I’m normally all for using an old toothbrush for cleaning, but toothbrush bristles aren’t stiff enough for this particular task.) You’ll also need:

• Spray bottle
• White vinegar
• Baking soda
• Hydrogen peroxide
• Grout sealer (optional)

The 2 Best DIY Grout Cleaners

1. Hot Water (With or Without Vinegar)

Decades of cleaning experience have taught me to never underestimate the cleaning power of hot water! If your grout isn’t terribly dirty, this method may be all you need — it’s a great way to remove surface dirt from your grout before turning your attention to stained or dirty grout.

You can use hot water alone in a spray bottle, or combine it with an equal amount of white vinegar. Spray the water or diluted vinegar to your grout, then let it sit for 5-10 minutes. After waiting, scrub the grout with a scrub brush or grout brush, then rinse with clean water.

(Need a bit more cleaning oomph? Here’s an extra cleaning tip: sprinkle baking soda over the grout before scrubbing. You may notice some fizzing due to the baking soda and vinegar reaction, but that’s normal!)

2. Baking Soda and Hydrogen Peroxide

I consider a combination of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda to be the best DIY grout cleaner for serious cases, but it can be pretty messy to work with. That’s why I recommend using it as a spot cleaner for the worst stains and grimiest areas — that will make it easier to clean up afterward, and the results will be well worth it!

Make the cleaning solution by combining one part baking soda and one part hydrogen peroxide in a small dish, then spread the paste onto tile grout and let it sit for about an hour. After waiting, scrub the grout to remove the dirt or grime, then wipe clean with a damp cloth.

Protect Your Clean Grout with Grout Sealer

Once your grout is sparkling clean, consider protecting it by applying a water-resistant grout sealer. Sealed grout will stay clean a lot longer, and it will resist mold and mildew growth too.

After cleaning your grout, allow it to air dry at least overnight, or up to 24 hours. (It needs to be bone-dry before you can seal it, so give it as much time as it needs!) When you’re sure it’s dry, seal the grout with a water-resistant grout sealer according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

More Tips for Grout and Tile

• If you have tile floors, my grease-cutting floor cleaner recipe will give you sparkling clean tile to match your clean grout. You may also want to have a professional deep clean your tile floors once a year or so to help keep your tile and grout clean over time.
• Cleaning white grout around white ceramic tiles? Try a homemade bleach gel pen for quick touch-ups. For colored grout and tiles, my DIY “Soft Scrub” style cleanser is a great option — it features tea tree oil that can help fight mold and mildew.
• Looking for a store-bought grout cleaner? Zep is a great commercial grout cleaner, as you’ll see in my review!
• Finally, I recommend avoiding chlorine bleach for cleaning grout. Chlorine bleach can permanently discolor grout, and even the surrounding tiles too! The options I’ve highlighted throughout this post are much less risky!

So there you have it! I hope these tips and methods prove as useful to you as they have been to me, and pat yourself on the back for all your hard work too! :-)

How do you keep your grout clean?

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