Advertisement
Home LIFESTYLE

How to clean shower grout: here’s everything you need to know

It takes less effort than you think.
Getty Images

Grout’s porous nature means it can quickly become discoloured and dirty, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Cleaning bathroom grout is easier than you think. 

Advertisement

How do I get grout in my shower white again?

Thankfully, there are lots of options when it comes to getting your shower grout white again. 

Bicarb soda 

Lots of people prefer to to clean using natural cleaners, making bi-carb soda a great choice. All you need is a toothbrush, some bi-carb soda and water. Mix the bi-carb with a little bit of water to form a paste. Using the toothbrush, wipe the grout with your mixture. 

Once you’ve given the area a good scrub, fill a spray bottle with vinegar and spray the bi-carb, and hopefully, the bubbles will help to lift the grime. 

Scrub again with the toothbrush and rinse well when finished.

Advertisement

Steaming

Steaming is an excellent way to remove dirt and grime. If you have a steam cleaner, try steaming the grout using a smaller nozzle. 

Hydrogen peroxide

Spray onto your grout, let it sit for a few minutes and give it a good scrub and rinse. Becky Rapinchuk, from Clean Mama and author of the book “Simply Clean“, told Today she sprays hydrogen peroxide on the grout first to get rid of mould. After rinsing, she uses a cream of tartar and lemon juice paste and gives it a good scrub. Continue as necessary until you’ve reached your desired whiteness. 

A grout pen

Additionally, for stubborn grout stains that won’t budge, there’s one more option worth trying: a grout pen. 

While it won’t remove the grime, it will restore your stained grout lines to their former colour – or better yet, revamp them with a new one.  

Advertisement

Once you have scrubbed your grout, use the grout pen to draw over the lines.

how to clean grout from the shower
(Credit: Getty) (Credit: Getty)

How do you get black mould out of shower grout?

It’s pretty standard for mould to appear in the bathroom. If natural cleaners haven’t worked for you, you could try this bleach hack to remove black mould from grout and shower.

“I used bleach soaked in cotton wool and left it for a few hours. So amazed that this worked!” wrote a mum on Facebook about her experience with cotton balls. 

Advertisement

If bleach isn’t for you, try soaking the cotton balls in a mould and mildew remover spray – which you can pick up from Bunnings or Woolworths – and leave overnight.

Remove the grout

If nothing has worked and the black marks in between your tiles are getting you down, it might be time to replace the grout. 

Use a grout remover to scrape it until there is no sign of staining.

Remove all the dust, mix up the new grout, and spread it over the walls, ensuring it gets right into the joint. Use a damp sponge to remove as much excess as possible, rinsing it frequently. When it’s dry, polish the tiles with a cloth. 

Advertisement

You might also need to swap the silicone to remove mould from your shower.

how to clean grout in the shower
(Credit: Getty) (Credit: Getty)

How do you clean shower grout without scrubbing

The key to keeping your grout white is prevention. Grout is made from sand particles making it easy for dirt and soap scum to build up on it. While trying to reduce moisture in your bathroom is a great idea, so is cleaning your shower tiles a few times a week with a product specifically designed to remove soap scum.

Alternatively, you can keep a spray bottle in your shower with 1 part water and 1 part vinegar to clean your grout once or twice a week – reducing the need to scrub your tiles every few months.  

Advertisement

Giving your shower a squeegee after each use also helps. 

You might also like:

These shower cleaning hacks really work

4 ways to clean your shower screen the natural way

Advertisement

6 gorgeous shower over bath ideas

Related stories


Advertisement