I’ve learned a few things this past week:
1. My tile floor, specifically the grout, is not supposed to be a light shade of BLACK.
2. The darker vs. lighter shades of the stone is not just a “design”…it’s DIRT.
3. OXICLEAN is my newest BFFE!!!!
Needless to say, my floors were in need of a DEEP cleaning. Like, the type that requires you to get on your hands & knees, break your back, blister causing, brush scrubbing – type of clean!
I took a 1/4 scoop of Oxiclean and mixed it in a medium sized bowl of hot water, spread it over my tile floor & grout, scrubbed the hell out of it, and let it sit for a couple of minutes. Then I mopped it off, let it dry, and then mopped it again with just water to clean any residue away. LOTS OF HARD WORK…but holy cow my grout is like 10 shades lighter!!!
It should be known that I still use & LOVE my McSteamy, but it doesn’t do much for grout grime. Even my husband was impressed and he’s not exactly the type to get all giddy over a house cleaning product…so you know it’s gotta be good!
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I will have to give Oxy a try. My tile is even whiter than yours. I too have a steam mop and thought I had done a good job with that, sadly looking at the difference in your pics, a hands and knees project is in my future.
ReplyDeleteI hate grout. There I said it :) I will have to try this as well. We have almost the exact tile as you and with a two year old, um...yeah....can we say GROSS! Thanks for the tip. (and yes, I bought the steam mop because of your previous post and love it!)
ReplyDeleteThe previous fools, excuse me owners, put bone white tiles in my kitchen with white grout lines! This floor is my enemy. Tried the peroxide and dawn method and what a sudsy mess. Trying a dollar tree brand of grout cleaner right now that seems to be doing a A- job. Will keep this in mind for future. Sure wish they made a grout attachment for steam mops, don't you?!?!?
ReplyDeleteI had never had tile floors until 3 years ago. Heaven help me. Thanks to my neighbor I have learned a secret to keeping grout clean (once you get it clean). She (has lived in the desert for 20 years with tile) told me you need to be sure to vacuum (without a beater bar vacuum) your tile and grout before using your steamer because if you don't the steamer will push the dirt from the floor into the grout. I finally have my grout clean and have not had any additional backbreaking sessions on my floor since I learned this trick. Seems using a broom and dust mop is not enough. I used a paste of oxyclean and water to clean it last time and let it sit for 30 minutes and used a tile and grout brush. Worked like a charm. Hope this helps someone else.
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