Cleaning floor grout is one of the most difficult tasks around the house. No matter how good a job you do applying grout or sealing it after installation, there will come a time when it needs to be cleaned. Understanding how to take care of the problem easily and effectively is important. Most of the dirt is going to be caused by mold, mildew, food stains, or just plain old foot traffic, so keeping it clean is a necessity. Follow these steps to keep your floor grout looking beautiful.

Prepare the Floor

Thoroughly sweep the floor to make sure you don't have any dirt or debris left on it. Follow that by giving it a good wash down with plain water. Make sure the water gets into the tile grout. Let the water dry before you move onto the next step.

Try Sandpaper

Before you go through the trouble of applying a cleaner to the grout, you should try to remove it by rubbing with sandpaper (we recommend starting with 80-120 grit paper). Always rub in the same direction. You'll need to use a little elbow grease to get the dirt or grout stain removed. This method doesn't always work, of course. If you've got a real tough stain, you'll need to resort to some type of cleaning agent or try the more aggressive "nuclear option" we outline below.

Use Cleaning Products

While you can choose to purchase commercial cleaners, you'll get good results just by combining some ingredients you have around your home. Diluted vinegar combined with baking soda can be an effective grout cleaner. Make sure you wear gloves while dealing with the chemicals so they don't cause you any skin irritation. Apply your mixture of baking soda/vinegar or your commercial cleaner to the grout. Let it sit for a few minutes.

Scrub the Grout

Use a sponge or floor brush to scrub the grout thoroughly. Again, this might take a little bit of effort because the grout can be stubborn. If you're having trouble, reapply the cleaning products and let them sit a little longer before starting to scrub.

Rinse

After the dirt is gone, use a wet mop and wipe down the floors. This will remove all of the cleaning products from the tile.

Apply a Sealer

Once the floor dries, you should apply a grout sealer. The sealer can prevent the grout from becoming as dirty in the future because it forms a barrier against dirt, debris, stains, and other things that might make it look grimy. Some of the sealants will also block out moisture to prevent the development of mildew. Carefully choose the right sealant for your tiles and follow the instructions on the container. Let the sealer dry before anyone has access to the floor.

Although the task of cleaning the grout may still sound pretty difficult, following the steps above will ensure that you get better results than you might with just a commercial cleaner alone. Once you apply the grout sealer, however, you'll find that keeping the grout clean is going to be much easier. You will need to re-apply the sealer every couple of years to maximize the benefits of using it. Do your best to wipe up stains and dirt along the way, too.

The Nuclear Option

If you absolutely cannot get your grout clean, using a manual grout removal tool is actually a fast way to remove a thin layer of grout from the surface of the tile seams. You will be surprised at how fast you can fly around the room, especially if the tiles have straight edges. Be prepared to go through a carbide-tipped blade every 100 square feet or so. Because of this, tools with removable blades are best. Grout removal then allows you to go back and re-apply a new layer of grout. After doing this your tile will look like it was freshly laid.