Y’all, I really feel like I’ve struck gold. I’m certain I’m not the one individual to ever do that, however I’ve by no means seen it earlier than. When you search “the best way to clear white grout in a bathe” on Pinterest, you’ll discover all types of recipes that every one embody issues like baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice, and so forth. However the primary factor is that these recipes all embody directions that require you to placed on some gloves and begin scrubbing your grout.
That’s all tremendous and good, however when you may have an enormous bathe (ours is about 7′ x 7′, so someplace round 49 sq. ft, as a result of it’s wheelchair accessible), scrubbing the tile on the ground to make the grout white once more could be a two-hour job. I’ve usually used my steam cleaner (this is the one I have — affiliate hyperlink), which I nonetheless love and use often, however even that could be a lengthy course of in such an enormous bathe. And whereas it was cleansing the cleaning soap scum off of the tiles, it nonetheless wasn’t getting the grout again to its unique shiny white coloration.
Proper after I completed tiling and grouting our bathe again in Might 2022, I bear in mind a number of folks warning me that I’d remorse having white grout on a bathe flooring. And I bear in mind dismissing these feedback, considering to myself, “Meh, I’ll let Future Kristi fear about that.” Nicely, on Friday, that Future Kristi was down on her palms and knees within the bathe, scrubbing and steaming the grout, and cursing Previous Kristi for her resolution to make use of white grout on the bathe flooring. 😀
Right here’s the issue. Our bathe has a low spot on the realm that’s imagined to be stage, and that low spot catches and holds water. But it surely doesn’t simply catch and maintain clear water straight from the bathe head (which might nonetheless be an issue as a result of we have now arduous water). It catches and holds water stuffed with cleaning soap and hair conditioner.
Not solely is all of that cleaning soap scum ugly to take a look at because it discolors the grout, nevertheless it’s harmful as a result of each time it will get moist once more, it’s very slippery.
I want that I might have seen that low spot earlier than tiling the ground in order that I might have used a self-leveling concrete product on that space earlier than waterproofing and tiling the ground, however I didn’t. I used to be simply so anxious to get the tile carried out that I didn’t discover it or give it some thought.
When I’ve the bathe curtains up, it’s actually not an issue as a result of the bathe curtains retains the water contained within the space of the bathe with the sloped flooring.
However about six months in the past, I took the bathe curtains down to scrub them and by no means put them again up. 😀 I saved that means to place them again up, however simply all the time bought sidetracked and by no means bought round to it. In order that low space was wanting terrible and discolored.
I want I had taken earlier than photos, however to be fairly trustworthy, I had no intention of running a blog about cleansing the bathe tile. It didn’t even cross my thoughts that I’d be sharing this on the weblog, so taking earlier than photos was nowhere in my thoughts. I might kick myself for that now as a result of I really really feel like I’ve struck gold right here.
Anyway, after getting my steamer out and scrubbing that space of the ground, the tile was getting clear, however the grout nonetheless regarded discolored and dingy. I used to be so annoyed, and started planning to search out time in my schedule to purchase some Grout Renew in order that I might paint the grout on the whole bathe flooring. That gave the impression to be my solely possibility for getting the grout again to its unique shiny white coloration.
After which I had an concept. I had simply bought a two-pack of this product…
I shared some time again that that is what I exploit to take away stains on our white concrete counter tops within the kitchen (along with its meant goal of holding rest room bowls glowing white). On our counter tops, I put this immediately on the stain, cowl it with paper towels, depart it in a single day, and by morning, the stain is gone.
I believed if it really works on mustard stains and different cussed stains on white concrete counter tops, I’ll wager it’ll work on white grout! Plus, it has that very helpful spout on it that makes it really easy to use precisely the place you need it. So I bought a bottle and went to work. However I solely put it in that one nook of the bathe the place the water settles when the bathe curtain is down. It took lower than 10 minutes. I did it proper earlier than I went to mattress, and left it there in a single day.
After I bought up the subsequent morning, I went into the bathe and used the hand-held sprayer to scrub it off, and that grout was BRIGHT WHITE!! I imply, it was so white that that nook regarded model new, after which the remainder of the ground regarded dingy compared. 😀
At that time, I had no different possibility however to do the remainder of the ground. Then I used to be cursing myself for getting myself right into a state of affairs the place I used to be going to need to put that stuff on ALL of the grout traces on the entire flooring. I believed it was going to take ceaselessly on such an enormous flooring. But it surely didn’t! I went in there proper earlier than bedtime, and doing the entire flooring (once more, about 49 sq. ft of tiny tiles with plenty of grout traces) took about half-hour. And I put it on each single grout line on the bathe flooring.
And after I bought up yesterday morning to prepare for church, it took me only a few minutes to scrub all of it away earlier than taking my bathe, and this flooring now appears to be like simply nearly as good because it did the day I completed grouting the tile.
Right here’s an image I took again in 2022 proper after I completed the bathe tile…
And right here’s what it appears to be like like this morning…
And better of all…NO SCRUBBING NEEDED!! It did all of the arduous work for me whereas I slept.
I imply, does this appear like 2.5-year-old white grout on a bathe flooring that has been used often? It virtually appears to be like whiter and brighter now than it did when it was new. 😀
After all, these photos, I notice I ought to have used some on the vertical grout traces on the backside on the drain wall. That grout is wanting a bit cleaning soap scummy as nicely. And because it’s a clinging product (made for lavatory bowls), I’m fairly certain it’ll work there as nicely. I’m going to strive it. However I did put it on the grout on that wall the place the wall meets the ground, and it introduced that again to shiny white as nicely.
Anyway, I’ll by no means scrub this grout once more. After all, I’ll even be placing these bathe curtains again up ASAP in order that that low spot doesn’t catch water. However I’ll be doing this at the least yearly any further. Forty minutes of time and fewer than $6 for a two-pack of Clorox Clinging Bleach Gel…and NO SCRUBBING…yearly is a small value to pay for holding white bathe grout shiny white.
Word: When you resolve to do this, I recommend testing it out first in a small, inconspicuous place first earlier than leaping in and doing the entire flooring. And by no means use bleach on darkish grout or pure stone!
Addicted 2 Adorning is the place I share my DIY and adorning journey as I rework and beautify the 1948 fixer higher that my husband, Matt, and I purchased in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do bodily work, so I do the vast majority of the work on the home on my own. You can learn more about me here.
