30 Minute Grout Cleaner

Earlier today my friend Anna over at Lasso The Moon posted about cleaning scuffs off of her floor with baking soda. I started wondering if it would work on grout. So, I tried it. It was fairly easy and did an OK job on the grout as you can see below.

You should check out her post and her blog, she's one of the most creative people I know and she has the voice of an angel (seriously, she sang in my wedding, her voice is amazing!). She also sells vintage fabric, etc. in her etsy shop. Go check her out!

http://lassothemoon.typepad.com/lasso_the_moon/2012/04/scuff-marks-a-quick-home-keeping-tip-.html

Here's my attempt with baking soda, you can see it was just so-so for the grout.

 

I had a second thought, Clorox with Bleach toilet cleaner, and as you can see it worked marvelously! The stuff is magic in a bottle.

Before and after.

Before you start, open your windows. Don't wait until you start getting nauseated like I did. 

Update: Also, before you start, I suppose there's a possibility that this could change the original color of your grout. I don't think it did a whole lot mine BUT, I haven't seen that color in years so it's hard to say. If you're worried about it, test an inconspicuous area first. Either way, I'm ok with the outcome of mine.

Use the nozzle to create a thin line of toilet cleaner over all your grout. There's no need to scrub it in, I tried, it actually worked better just to squirt it and leave it.

Take pictures as you go if you're mentally writing a blog while cleaning like me. Don't bother to move the toy puppy or the leashes that your 3yo tied to the cabinets earlier today. (As I'm sitting here writing my husband yells from the other room "Are you already blogging about that?" LOL)

Go sit on your couch for 10-15 minutes and think about how your kitchen is cleaning itself. When you come back, use a damp(ish) cloth to wipe up the bleach. Give the whole thing a good bath when you're finished, especially if you're paranoid about your kids crawling over your floor tomorrow morning. I just used a clean micro fiber and water. Then wiped it all down with dry paper towels.

Let your dog in to eat dinner since he's been locked up a while. Take a picture of the finished product and do the rest tomorrow night!

This entire process took me about 30 minutes and half a bottle of cleaner. I did half my floor for tonight. I'm pleased with how easy and effective it was. It's not a natural solution, if you know of one that works this well let me know!