I decided to put one to the test.
I noticed while I was mopping yesterday that the grout in the kitchen was noticeably darker than the bathrooms. Since they are all the same, I knew it was in need of a hard core cleaning. Obviously, the kitchen is a much higher traffic area than the bathrooms and it's in the middle of the house so you have to walk through it to get anywhere. I mop with a bleach solution because I have a six year old, a toddler, a husband and a dog. I guess the bleach just wasn't cutting it to remove the grossness that gets trapped in the grout lines. After reading several blogs and watching some you tube videos, I decided to try the hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. This decision was mostly based on the fact that I had those two things on hand and I didn't want to burn my lungs out with straight bleach.
First, I poured a little peroxide on the grout. I used an old toothbrush to spread it down the line. Next, I sprinkled some baking soda and rubbed it in. It immediately looked lighter. I continued to do small sections because the baby was napping and I didn't want to have to hurry and clean a huge mess if he woke up. Then I ran out of peroxide...
Oh well, the baby was gonna wake up soon, so I sponged up the left over residue. For this I just used water and a basic kitchen sponge. Then I put a towel down to quickly dry the extra moisture, because the baby was really awake now.
I was pretty satisfied with the results. Then the floor dried all the way-----
Un-flipping-believable!
What a huge difference!!
You can already see the dirty mixture just after a quick scrub... In the picture below the bottom left corner area has been cleaned and wiped.
You can see where I stopped. The top grout lines in two pictures above is the "before" and the bottom is the "after." And it didn't take too long. These are 18x18 inch tiles and I probably did like a ten by five foot area in 45 minutes.
I will be finishing the job tomorrow during nap time when I have more peroxide.
If any of you find a method that is faster or easier let me know because this floor will definitely not stay like this forever.....
Until then, (if you have the choice) I would advise to pick a grout color that is not too dark and not too light. This way you will have one less area to detail.
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