a grout cleaning tip

16 years ago

On some recent posts re: tile and grout for behind the range (and other areas), I'd mentioned that I'd noticed some slight discoloration (the grout, the tile, both?) just above the range's island trim. It wasn't a big deal and barely noticeable.

Well, today, I ran my oven at 500 degrees while trying to clean the oven. OMG, there appeared a very noticeable brown staining going up the splash a good 6-10" above the trim. I was going to take some Comet and very carefully try to clean the area in question (trying not to scratch the glass tile). I figured it couldn't look any worse than it did with the brown staining. Then, I remembered that we had a bottle of Soft Scrub with bleach in the house (our cleaning lady likes to use it in the bathrooms). The bottle was pretty much empty, except for some thick globs of the stuff, but I gave it a try with those globs on a regular sponge.

Hooray! It worked beautifully. I went over the entire splash above the range (up to the hood) and it did a great job. The tile and the grout look even better than it did before I ran the oven this morning (apparently there was some really slight discoloration overall that was noticeable only by its absence after cleaning with the Soft Scrub).

The grout is nice and white and the tile looks even better than it did before (kind of like those commercials where they'd show a white sock or towel that looked perfectly fine until they showed it next to one cleaned with bleach or some other product--one that practically sparkled with whiteness and made the first item seem dingy by comparison!). I finished up with a spritz of Perfect Kitchen spray and a wipe with some paper towel in case there was any lingering haze from the Soft Scrub.

I would imagine some of the other cleaning products with bleach might have the same effect.

I doubt this would work with all tile (I'm sure bleach wouldn't be too good for some materials), but I wanted to pass this along in case it might work for some here who've asked about keeping their grout nice and white.

I do have a question for the tile experts (Bill? Mongo?); we used a 15 year sealer on the grout (3 coats behind the range, maybe even all over)--AquaMix Sealer's Choice Gold. Would we need to re-seal the grout (at all or more often than every 15 years) if we use a bleach-based cleanser to clean the grout above the range?

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Comments (9)

sue36
16 years ago
Oxyclean works great as well. I would test anything used on an inconspicuous spot before use,.
amylville
16 years ago
Be careful using anything with bleach on your grout. It is my understanding that bleach "eats" microscopic holes into the grout, making it more prone to deterioration and deeper staining.
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bill_vincent
16 years ago
Catmom-- listen to both these ladies. They speak the truth!!

Oxyclean's a wonderful thing!! :-)

(and in my opinion, works BETTER than bleach, and it's safe for the grout!)
cat_mom
Original Author
16 years ago
Oh wow! Thanks! Since I did use the bleach containing product already, should I seal the grout again? Also, is there more than one type of Oxyclean (e.g. spray, powder, foam...?), and if so, which one to use?
bill_vincent
16 years ago
You want the original tub (usually used for laundry), and one time with bleach shouldn't do too much to the sealer. If you've done this repeated times, it wouldn't be a bad idea.
cat_mom
Original Author
16 years ago
I only used it the one time (yesterday). If I did re-apply the sealer just to be on the safe side (since it's easy enough to apply), would I apply one or more coats?

Thanks again so much for the heads up! The tile/grout was so brown after running the oven at 500 (what's up with that BTW?), I figured I couldn't make it any worse by using the SS with bleach. Now I know better!
atd_oc
16 years ago
Well, my grout is disturbingly dirty and I continue to use bleach so now I know why I can't win this game.

So, do the experts suggest removing all grout and starting over?
bill_vincent
16 years ago
If your grout was beyond repair, you wouldn't even have to ask. It would be obvious because the grout would start powdering out. If the color is all bleached out, or the staining is beyond repair, you might look into grout colorants. They work excellent.

Cat_mom-- I really don't think it's necessary, but if you wanted to I don't see why not throw one coat on there to be safe.

Here is a link that might be useful: Aquamix Grout Colorants on line
cat_mom
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks again Bill! You da man! LOL

If the stuff were a PITA to use, I'd go out of my way to skip it, but since it's as easy as water to wipe on and then off (the glass tiles) it couldn't hurt. I'll try to get some of the Oxyclean to use first to make sure the grout is really clean before throwing on that coat of sealer (don't want to seal in any stains!).

a grout cleaning tip

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sue36

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a grout cleaning tip

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sue36

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