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Cleaning White Grout Prior to Re-Sealing

pricklypearcactus

12 years ago

I have Laticrete Permacolor Bright White grout in my 1.5 year old bathroom. While I realize that my grout may not stay 100% white forever, I would like to be careful about cleaning and re-sealing and maintaining the clean white look as best as possible. The grout is supposed to be nearly stainproof (according to the tile store) and I did seal it once after installation.

What is the best method and/or products for cleaning to return the white grout to a perfect (or near perfect) white before re-sealing? I am more than happy to put in as much elbow grease as necessary. Or should I have someone professionally steam clean?

The bathroom is mostly used as a powder room with infrequent baths and showers. The floor has developed some darkening around the main traffic patterns. So far I have used fairly mild cleaners (basic environmentally friendly floor cleaner and some dish soap to help remove oils). It gets fairly clean, but not perfect.

Thanks in advance for suggestions and experience with cleaning white grout.

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Comments (4)

beth572
12 years ago
try the Mr. Clean magic eraser or similar product. It's worked magic for me in the house and definately works great in the bathroom on stains I thought would never come out of the grout and a fiberglass shower base!
pricklypearcactus
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks beth572! Great advice, I'll give the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser a try. I had been leery of using it because I know there were concerns on some surfaces, but if it's safe for grout, I'll give it a try.

What about Oxy-Clean? I found one thread here that mentioned it for cleaning some specific grout issue.

Anyone else have experience getting white grout back to pure white before re-sealing? Thanks!
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I just got some from the Dollar Store, not sure what the brand is, some off brand type. I think it is basically the same as the Oxyclean type. It really worked great, but I also used Magic Erasers, (also from the dollar store, another no name brand) Took a good amount of scrubbing but now it looks great. I sealed it over the weekend and in the future when I wash the floor, I'll add some oxyclean in the water.
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Hummmm! We set a lot of tile, and I have never heard that you could not use a "no rinse" shower cleaner on it. I do it all the time. Urethane is more expensive, but taken as a percent of the cost of the whole tile job, it's peanuts compared to years of having to clean and reseal cement grout. As for "pre-sealed" grout. That's not urethane, and I generally would not recommend it because the pre-sealing sometimes affects the product's ability to adhere properly. However, it you take care of the shower properly, it will give years of faithful service. 1. Don't use hard soap. Use a body wash instead, and make sure it does not contain talc. Hard soap is the source of soap scum. Soap scum in cement grout has to be scrubbed out. 2. Use a shower rinse like Shower Clean or the (more expensive) Tilex version after EVERY shower. This is just a liquid that breaks up the surface tension of any water drops left in the shower so they don't dry, leaving behind mineral deposits. I make my own home made version for about 25ÃÂ¢ a gallon. There are several recipes on the web. 3. Inspect the shower about 1xmonth for any sign or mold or mildew and kill it quick with a 10% chlorine bleach solution, or Oxi Clean. 4. Thoroughly clean the shower 1x week. Best wishes.
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Peroxide is the same product that is in the tooth whitening products. It's also very inexpensive and less caustic than other products. Bleach is quite effective but I suggest starting with the peroxide since it most times does a good job. Before using any of the more expensive specialized products, peroxide or bleach have been very effective on coffee stains that discolors white grout on tiled kitchen counters as well as white shower tile grout and most homes already have them there. You may as well work your way to the product that does the job to your satisfaction since the issue will eventually resurface sometime down the road. I think you'll find the least expensive approach the way to go. Test a small area and see what results you get. pour some on, press a paper towel onto it, add a bit more and let it sit for as long as the towel remains wet. If you're in a big hurry to get it done fast, you'll have to use the more aggressive approaches but, if you can wait a few hours, they are not needed. Treat the spot, go to work and when you get home, you may be delighted with the results.
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MongoCT
12 years ago
The oxy-clean types of products are fine.

I'd check compatibility beforehand with your existing grout, but if you really want it bright white, how about using a grout colorant? The Aquamix line is essentially an epoxy overcoat. It'll stay white-white.

But to just clean, I'd recommend any of the non-bleach cleaners like oxyclean.
pricklypearcactus
Original Author
12 years ago
I never thought to color the white grout white, but that's an intriguing idea. Maybe I should consider that for a long term solution. Is it safe for in the shower too? (The bathroom in question is a tub/shower combo, but at some point I hope to do my master bathroom shower in similar tile and grout.)

The grout is much closer to the original white after I let it dry from some serious scrubbing over the weekend. There is a little discoloration near the toilet though, so I think I'll pick up some oxyclean and a mr. clean magic eraser and see what happens.

Thanks!

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