My kitchen grout was white when I moved in and now after 3 months,it's turning darker, I am sure it's not mildew, it's just getting dirty. I cleaned it with every available cleaner, but nothing has worked. Does anyone have some ideas on how to make it white again? I am thinking about grout paint, is it a good idea?
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Clorox and a toothbrush always works for me.
if it doesn't clean up for you it may need redone or scraped off to the white clean it with clorox plus seems to work better than just bleach and then spray it with grout sealer to keep the water out and it will never get dark. did it in my shower years ago. hint from a tile grouter.
Clorox Clean-Up works great, as does Fantastik on mine. You may try regrouting with new grout over the old- some are better than others. Then after its the color you like or you regrouted, seal the grout. Follow the directions and do it more than once.
use baking soda and kitchen dish detergent mix together. It should clean up and make them whiter.
I was given this hint a number of years ago from the Construction Supervisor when I moved into a new house.
He told me to forget about the tile grout and instead fill over it with white silicone bathroom caulk and to replace & touch up as needed. It fared very well in repelling dirt and stains.
Basically it just sort of wears down and when it loses it's pristine sparkle, just grab another tube and apply and wipe off once with your finger & then with a light touch with a moist paper towel.
No one really answered your question. Sounds like there is a thing called "grout paint" - I'd be interested too. I used off-white and should have used white grout....if paint would work I'd use it!!
Never, never, never clean grout with clorox. #1 dries the grout out & makes it brittle. #2 creates effervescence (hope I spelled that right). Very tough to remove. #3 Call an IICRC tech to take care of it, because when it comes to tile/grout you need to know your acids & alkalines otherwise you can really mess up your tile/grout. Etch the tile call your local tile man to repair or replace for a sizable expense to your wallet.
I am one of those techs that goes into peoples houses only to be horrified to what people did to there tile & grout with bleach. In fact I had one today. Question I get is can you fix or clean my grout. Most times yes. If you really want to know how to clean your tile & grout right ,visit my website www.accutechcarpet.com/
They make grout cleaners. You can pick them up at your local DIY store. Kelvin is right in that you should avoid the acids. There is a brand made in an orange bottle, and it works excellent, spray on, wait 2 minutes, srub off.
After that dries you should then seal the grout with a grout sealant to prevent the problem from happening again.
There are two different things you can do to get your grout new again. If you want the grout a true white you can always get a grout paint and go after it making sure you seal after you paint the grout. Downside: it doesn't look as natural if you paint grout white that is next to a darker tile. If the tile is white or lighter colors it will be fine. Be careful if the tile is not ceramic though. If it is ceramic you will be able to wipe it clean, natural stone you won't.
The other option is to acid etch the grout. For a non-pro I would suggest getting non-etching acid cleaner, let is sit for 5 minutes, scrub with a grout brush, and then flush with water. The grout will be new again. Downside: Acid is not suggested on Natural Stones because the acid will react with the lime and cause staining or etching. Also be careful with it on ceramic because you can dull the finish. This is why you want to get a non-etching acid cleaner.
I used a better quality slightly off-white wall paint with an artist's thin paintbrush. It is still looking ok after 6 months. On the first bathroom it took a lot of time to get the feel for how much to apply and how best to wipe off the excess.
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