How Can I Get Grout White Again
Updated 2019
The discolored and dirt-stained grout in the tile floor of our vestibule looked super sometime and gross, but afterwards trying nearly a dozen cleaners and cleaning tricks we near gave upward. And then nosotros finally discover THE SOLUTION to making the grout look white and clean again!
At present that we're washed, you tin see how the view merely got a heckova lot better around here. The crisp white grout lines play off the white trim and make the whole space feel newer and cleaner.
The funny thing is, it wasn't really cleaning that did the fob. So if you've got a similar issue with discolored or stain grout, here'south our official intervention: cease scrubbing! Well, maybe give scrubbing a fair shot, but don't be discouraged if it gets yous nowhere. In that location's another way!
Cleaning Tricks That DIDN'T Work
As y'all might recall, for the past six months that we've lived here, information technology has looked like this.
I gave nearly every method under the sun a shot to brand that grout expect clean. After repeatedly scrubbing the heck out of it, I knew that it was actually very (very, very) clean… it just was so discolored and stained in certain areas, that no amount of blood, sweat, tears, or elbow grease could make information technology look that way.
Some of my attempts to clean grout included (simply weren't limited to):
- various blistering soda paste mixtures
- various white vinegar solutions
- copious magic erasers
- specialty grout cleaning floor sprays/potions/scrubs
- bleach pens
- oxygenating cleaners like Oxiclean
- Mrs. Meyers powdered cleanser + a wire brush
- Barkeeper'southward Friend + a wire castor
- a borrowed steam mop
- scrubbing with a potent bristle brush
- lots and lots of muttered cursing
The Solution To Getting White Grout Again
Past this indicate I did what most people would do. I gave up and ignored it for some other few days (what's a few days later six months of no-dice results?). And then I finally faced facts. The grout either needed to exist scraped out and regrouted entirely (which makes for a pretty messy job, particularly in the master hallway of our house which connects the entire upstairs to each room downstairs) or it needed to be refinished.
Thankfully a few of y'all tipped me off to a product you lot've used with success chosen Polyblend Grout Renew. Let me just skip to the punchline: it worked, and I wish I had tried it before spending six months scrubbing my heed out.
The cost? A cool $12 from Home Depot. (Update: it's closer to $15 now, but you also become it more places – even Amazon!) Can I go a what what? Note: this might audio like an advertizing for the stuff, simply Grout Renew doesn't know us from Adam – I'm just beyond grateful that it worked.
Cull Your Grout Pigment Color
GroutRenew comes in several colors now – over three dozen, in fact, including several shades of white and fair. And so y'all may be tempted to go for the brightest white to get the cleanest, freshest expect (that'south "Artic White" pictured beneath). All the same, merely like paint colors, the brightest, whitest version may not be best for yous.
Exist sure to have some time to look at your room, your tile, and your lighting to make sure y'all're choosing something that blends well with your space. You tin always test out a few colors too before committing to ane. John and I actually considered two colors – Natural Gray and Oyster Gray, which both look pretty dark compared to the brighter whites. We had seen a neighbor with darker grout in her slate floor, and so we thought it was worth because.
In the terminate nosotros chose Oyster Gray (shown beneath) which is notwithstanding a mid-tone Ivory color – definitely not a bright white. But it looked the virtually natural and still seemed very bright in contrast to the dark slate tile, without looking artificiall white. Whatever brighter and we worried it would look similar someone in a Crest Whitstrips advertizing! Yous know, nigh too blinding.
Oh and the Grout Renew was low odor and low-VOC, and then this pregnant lady could get downward with information technology. I did wearable a respirator, along with opening windows, just because I'chiliad into added ventilation and bad Blight impersonations.
GroutRenew Alternatives
This is the only product nosotros've used, merely there are some others on the market if this particular one is not available. Lowe's sells a similar product by MAPEI that comes in a squeeze bottle. Amazon also has a well-reviewed Grout Pen product that comes in a white or beige pick. Once again, we haven't personally tried those, just they may be some alternatives to consider if the PolyBlend is not available to you.
How To Apply Grout Paint
The downside to this solution is that it tin exist time intensive (and patience testing) depending on the size of your surface. For this floor, it took nearly 8 hours to apply. But since I had hands spent 25 hours trying various stain lifting methods before resorting to this, well, eight hours with a bottle of Grout Renew was a small price to pay for VICTORY.
Step i: Clean Your Tile & Grout
I know I said scrubbing wasn't the solution, but information technology part of the procedure. I'll pause while y'all express joy since I had already washed that 10 Meg TIMES. But like any surface you lot'll be painting, you want to brand sure it'southward clean of dust and debris. So at least we're non talking a heavy-duty scrubbing, just your regular washing to remove surface dirt should do.
Step 2: Pick Your Brush Or Application Tool
The instructions suggested using an old toothbrush to utilise the GroutRenew it into the grout lines and then permit it dry for 24 hours. I went with a thin arts and crafts brush instead because I had way more control (read: way less mess on the tile surface). The thin paint brush was as well easy to dip directly into the canteen when I needed to load up with paint.
Step 3: Plan Your Starting Point & Exit Route
If you're painting a floor, like we were, y'all'll want to sure yous don't pigment yourself into a corner (or at to the lowest degree if y'all do, y'all can carefully tiptoe across your tile without stepping on the cracks). I started in the half-bath because I figured I could work my way out of the room and close the door behind me so it could dry.
Information technology was the contrary of fast. But it worked. Slowly I eked my way out from around the toilet and right out the door, which took most an hour and twoscore 5 minutes.
Step 4: Be Ready For Mistakes
Even with a pocket-sized craft castor there were nevertheless times when it got on the surface of the tile, and at that place was a very brusk window for wiping information technology off before it set (and then had to be scrubbed with a fingernail, which was a huge pain) so I literally would exercise one or two cracks at a fourth dimension and so quickly follow upwardly to smooth both sides of the seam out with a small piece of toilet paper (this would remove any from the surface of the tile likewise as make the sides of each seam dainty and direct looking). A paper towel or clean cloth would work also. That is, if toilet paper isn't fancy plenty for yo?u.
Step 5: Exist Patient & Pace Yourself
Existence pregnant, the bathroom was all I had free energy for on 24-hour interval one. Day two involved iii more hours of line painting and wiping, and I opted to practise fifty% of the foyer in a strategic mode so we could all still walk on the other half of information technology. Here's a shot to bear witness you how hilarious John is. I said: ok, get creative with this picture show so my giant respirator doesn't look weird. I similar his version of getting artistic – only lop off the whole head area.
The 2nd day was the hardest solar day by far, simply because I was still kind of sore from contorting my pregnant body around in the small half bathroom the 24-hour interval before, and the little knobby parts of each of my ankles were dragging on the tile as I scooted around like a dog with fleas, but information technology was all worth it. Worth it and so some!
Day 3 was another three hour process, only information technology was the most exciting day because I could see the lite at the terminate of the tunnel. The end of the longest-running house battle that I had always waged was near. I only worked my way effectually the lobby doing the other half of those pathways that I had done the day before, and I ducked into that last cupboard while pausing occasionally to fist pump and work on my make clean grout acceptance speech ("I'd like to thank the university, and the grout gods who invented this cheap bottle of miracles and unicorns").
Step half-dozen: Let It Dry
After each application process, we gave that section a full 24 hour drying period and made certain zilch got moisture for 72 hours (since that was another warning on the bottle). Information technology's a good bargain lighter than the old grout was, which still makes the states say "whoa now" when we walk through the hallway, but nosotros think information technology'due south merely our eyes adjusting. Maybe afterwards 6 months our brains just can't get over the fact that it finally looks make clean!
We too had about one/four of a canteen left all of this, which was cracking in case nosotros need some impact-ups downward the line. I'll definitely update you guys if annihilation funky happens, but so far it has been great.
Update: After about ii years of use, even with semi-frequent moppings, muddy shoes/paws, and a whole lot of human foot traffic, our grout yet looks identical to when I applied this stuff (you lot tin encounter an updated picture that we shared after six months of usehither). For the folks who can't observe it in stores, here's an affiliate link to information technology on Dwelling house Depot.com and on Amazon , and s ince a few people have as well asked for a "way back" before shot, hither yous go. It'southward crazy how much bluer the tile looked with the brown stained grout and all that bluish trim!
Is anyone else waging war on something stubborn that's taking more than a few attempts? Like some grout that refuses to get clean? Delight experience costless to pin and share this post to spread the give-and-take. I'd Beloved to help anyone else dealing with this supremely annoying issue then we can all practise the clean grout cease zone dance together. Because believe me, after this was done there were mic drops. There was shoulder dusting. At that place was a total on pregnant-lady end zone trip the light fantastic toe.
Originally Published in 2014
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Source: https://www.younghouselove.com/how-you-like-me-now-grout/
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