Dirty Grout

johnnyb6

Hi i have black porceline tiles in my kitchen, but the grout has become dirth over the years and | wondering can any one recommend a good way of cleaning it. I heard baking soda is good but i am open to any advice. Re grouting would be the last option.

Thanking You

tommycahir

It depends how dirty it is and what type of dirt it is but you could look at a steam jet cleaner to try blast the dirt away with pressure of the steam?

johnnyb6

tommycahir wrote: »

It depends how dirty it is and what type of dirt it is but you could look at a steam jet cleaner to try blast the dirt away with pressure of the steam?

Thanks for your reply. I was told to use bread soda and vinegar and scrub it in with tooth brush.

magicbastarder

first thing i'd try would be to buy a bottle of milton (*not* the spray on milton, get the bottle), and dilute it down a bit and apply.

74merc

I recently cleaned the grout on about 80m2 of tiles with a grout brush and Astonish. Barkeepers Friend is probably better, but I ran out of it and couldn't get a replacement.

Outkast_IRE

Be careful with the steam cleaner I have been to a few jobs where they damaged the shower tray or bath seal with a steam cleaner, standard silicones and plastics don't take too kindly to that type steam.

There are plenty of alternatives .

sky6

Brick cleaner will do the job but must be used diluted and with rubber gloves.
A scouring pad and a little patience which it does it's magic. Probably wise to re grout afterwards to get a polished finish again.

johnnyb6

sky6 wrote: »

Brick cleaner will do the job but must be used diluted and with rubber gloves.
A scouring pad and a little patience which it does it's magic. Probably wise to re grout afterwards to get a polished finish again.

Hi Sky 6, thanks for your help, but how do you mean regrout as i wont be raking out old grout.

sky6

The Brick cleaner will definitely clean it. The way it works is it's Acid based and so it attacks the cement in the grout. You will see it foam up as you apply it. When the dirt is removed, wipe it down with Water to neutralise the Cleaner. Sometimes the grout can appear a little rough or pitted. The easy solution is to just regrout the surface if necessary.
I've used it in kitchens with mildew and Grease, Bathrooms and Showers rooms and they came up like new. Some I didn't need to regrout others needed a little refresh.
Make sure to use Rubber Gloves and Just do a few trial mixes to decide what strength you need.

johnnyb6

sky6 wrote: »

The Brick cleaner will definitely clean it. The way it works is it's Acid based and so it attacks the cement in the grout. You will see it foam up as you apply it. When the dirt is removed, wipe it down with Water to neutralise the Cleaner. Sometimes the grout can appear a little rough or pitted. The easy solution is to just regrout the surface if necessary.
I've used it in kitchens with mildew and Grease, Bathrooms and Showers rooms and they came up like new. Some I didn't need to regrout others needed a little refresh.
Make sure to use Rubber Gloves and Just do a few trial mixes to decide what strength you need.

I have black porceline tiles in kitchen and i am just worried would this brick cleaner damage these as the cleaner appears to be very strong

sky6

Yes it is quite strong, It does no harm to Tiles with a glazed surface. If the porcelain tiles have a glazed surface you should be fine. Best though to try a small spot somewhere in a corner before you tackle the whole area.

johnnyb6

sky6 wrote: »

Yes it is quite strong, It does no harm to Tiles with a glazed surface. If the porcelain tiles have a glazed surface you should be fine. Best though to try a small spot somewhere in a corner before you tackle the whole area.

I have cleaned the grout and its looking quiet good again, Is there something I can use to keep it clean now. I was told to spray sealer on grout for this purpose. Has anyone any taughts on this.

sky6

Delighted that worked out ok for you. It is quite strong which is why you need to be careful.
Yes you can use a sealer to seal the Grout. Just use something like a 1/2 inch brush or smaller and try and get it only on the Grout.
Alternatively if you have a piece of your floor tiles you could try painting it all with sealer and see what it's like.
If you're happy with it then you can seal the whole Floor using a roller.

johnnyb6

sky6 wrote: »

Delighted that worked out ok for you. It is quite strong which is why you need to be careful.
Yes you can use a sealer to seal the Grout. Just use something like a 1/2 inch brush or smaller and try and get it only on the Grout.
Alternatively if you have a piece of your floor tiles you could try painting it all with sealer and see what it's like.
If you're happy with it then you can seal the whole Floor using a roller.

again thanks for the great help. I was quoted 30 euro for spray can of seeler and told it would have to be done every year. Is this the norm.

sky6

Don't Buy a Spray can there robbery. It will be thinned so much for the spray that it will be useless on the Floor. You can get it in a 1 litre Bottle it has a little body to it. So will last longer on the Floor.
The last Bottle I bought was about 5 years ago and it was 12 Euro.
It will depend on how much traffic is on the floor. I wouldn't think it needs to be done every year.

Give it two coats and it should be fine for a few years. You can also get a stripper which takes it off again so no need to worry.

Best of luck with it.

johnnyb6

sky6 wrote: »

Don't Buy a Spray can there robbery. It will be thinned so much for the spray that it will be useless on the Floor. You can get it in a 1 litre Bottle it has a little body to it. So will last longer on the Floor.
The last Bottle I bought was about 5 years ago and it was 12 Euro.
It will depend on how much traffic is on the floor. I wouldn't think it needs to be done every year.

Give it two coats and it should be fine for a few years. You can also get a stripper which takes it off again so no need to worry.

Best of luck with it.

Last question. Can you advise me where I could purchase it

sky6

Any good Tile store should have it in stock. You may even get it in a good Builders providers. even b&q or homebase might have it.
Just try one o them wherever you're located

johnnyb6

sky6 wrote: »

Any good Tile store should have it in stock. You may even get it in a good Builders providers. even b&q or homebase might have it.
Just try one o them wherever you're located

and can i mop floor as usual if i put it on.

sky6

Yes you can Mop it as before.