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You are visiting: Home » Giveaways & Product Reviews » How to Clean Tile and Grout Without Chemicals

How to Clean Tile and Grout Without Chemicals

by Lindsay Ballard on July 22, 2013 32 Comments

How to Clean Tile and Grout Without Chemicals via MakelyHome.com

Y’all, the big living room/entryway/pain in my rear portion of the house is finally beginning to get it’s makeover.  I can hear the angels singing – it’s only been five years that I’ve been wanting to Lindsay-ify this area of my home.

The first thing we’re doing is ripping out the old carpet that’s been destroyed by kids/pets/coffee and replacing it with new flooring.  I really wanted to rip out all of the tile downstairs, too, so that we’d have the same flooring throughout the space, but Tom wouldn’t go for it.  Our tile is perfectly fine and neutral, so it would be a big mess and expense to get rid of if for no good reason.  Okay, fine.  Huff!

So, since we are keeping the tile in the entry way, kitchen and breakfast room, I decided that I needed to give it a good scrub.  When we moved into the house and the tile and grout were new, the grout lines were really light greige.  Now, they are almost black.  The tile was looking kind of gross itself.

How to Clean Tile and Grout Without Chemicals via MakelyHome.com

YUCK!  And y’all, my floors are religiously mopped once a week, so this could have been so much worse.

I’ve talked about cleaning grout before, but this time I wanted to find a way to do it without getting my hands covered in chemical grout cleaner.  My mom told me that she and my dad had used their Shark steam mom to clean their grout before.  They simply hit it with some steam and scrubbed with a toothbrush.  The problem with that method is that it took two people (one to stand up with the mop and the other to scrub) and it was unlikely that I’d have cleaning assistance from Tom.  Just keeping it real.

So, I asked my friends at HomeRight if they would send me one of their SteamMachine Multi-Purpose Power Steamers to see if it would work well on my tile and grout.  My contact there is so sweet and agreed to help save me from my gross tile.  Just a few days later, there was a new toy at my doorstep.

How to Clean Tile and Grout Without Chemicals via MakelyHome.com

Now, this little machine costs about $100, but it comes with a lot of accessories.  There’s a microfiber mop head, several scrub brushes, a jet nozzle, a squeegee and a wallpaper steam plate.  I filled the machine with distilled water (not absolutely necessary, but I wanted to try to avoid mineral buildup inside) and attached the jet nozzle (pictured above).  I got down on my hands and knees and got after it.

Working a section at a time, I’d steam about a foot of grout line with the nozzle and then use a small scrub brush to loosen the dirt in the grout line.  Then, I’d wipe off the water with a microfiber cloth.  I did the same on the tiles themselves, except I used a larger brush.   I love that the nozzle gets the steam so concentrated that the water is only going where you need it.

How to Clean Tile and Grout Without Chemicals via MakelyHome.com

After it was dry, I was blown away by the difference.  Go back up and look at the picture of my dirty tile.  Now come back down and look at this image of the same spot that is now clean.

How to Clean Tile and Grout Without Chemicals via MakelyHome.com

I am horrified and mesmerized at the same time.  This is a huge undertaking, so I’m working on a little section every day.  It’s overwhelming with such a large area of tile, but it’s like eating Pringles chips or shaving your legs – once you start, you can’t stop.

Because I don’t want to have to get down on my hands and knees and do this every few months, I went ahead and sealed the grout and tiles, too.  Now, this IS a chemical that I used – 511 Impregnator Sealer from Home Depot.  You just wipe it on, wait 3-5 minutes and then wipe it off.  I have already accidentally spilled some water on it, and the water just beaded up.  I can’t wait to tackle my kitchen floor with this stuff!

How to Clean Tile and Grout Without Chemicals via MakelyHome.com

Isn’t the difference amazing?  I’m having a love affair with this little SteamMachine.  I wonder what else I can clean with it?

How do you clean your tile and grout?

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for HomeRight.  I was given the SteamMachine and received compensation for this post.  The opinions expressed and the dirty floors are entirely mine.

About Lindsay Ballard

Lindsay Ballard is a former college mascot turned political geek turned roller derby playing, DIY fanatic.

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.

Lindsay lives outside of Austin, Texas with her husband (Tom), children (Zack and Emma), and dogs (Duke and Jill). She plays roller derby for the Rockin' City Rollergirls out of Round Rock, Texas.

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Comments

  1. Julia @ cuckoo4design says

    July 22, 2013 at 7:21 am

    A steam machine sounds like a great way to clean grout. I actually use bleach pen to clean my grout.

    Reply
  2. Jen says

    July 22, 2013 at 8:36 am

    Ugh. I have SO much tile and this is probably what I need to use but I dread doing it!! Your tile looks great!

    Reply
  3. Carla says

    July 22, 2013 at 8:41 am

    I have that same steam machine and LOVE IT! It does amazing cleaning grout!

    Reply
  4. Donora says

    July 22, 2013 at 9:42 am

    I am in the process of cleaning all my grout as well. We moved in a year ago and the grout was black. Well to my surprise it was actually supposed to be white! GROSS!
    After many concoctions and attempts to get the grout white the best method I found is: spooning baking soda into the crack and then squeezing a squirt of lemon juice on it. It starts to bubble, then just scrub. It continues to work even after you scrub and wipe it up. Let me tell you also, I had my handy husband attach my round scrub brush to his drill because I was moving at snails pace with my grout scrubber. This sped things up TREMENDOUSLY!! I just pour the solution, then pull the trigger and the scrub bush spins at such speed its done in no time!

    Reply
    • Sarah says

      August 1, 2013 at 2:14 pm

      That is ingenious! What type of brush did you use and how did you attach it? I’m intrigued!

      Reply
      • Donora says

        September 15, 2013 at 9:18 pm

        I thought I would post my own blog post about this, but clearly that has not happened. I used a circular dish brush from lowe’s – the bristles have to be pretty tough, but not as hard as steel… which are the only drill attachments I could find. We clipped off the handle, then my husband drilled through the center (EXACT center) and attached a drill bit to it with a washer/bolt. voila!
        Also be sure to use the arm attachment that comes with the drill that way you hold it steady with one hand and pull the trigger with the other… very simple. I cleaned my whole kitchen in just a couple hours. It splatters a bit if you get moving very quickly, but my entire floor needed a good cleaning so I just wiped it up and then mopped twice with my steam mop. Shiny, like-new floors!

        Reply
  5. Tom says

    July 22, 2013 at 12:24 pm

    Great way to clean out that dirty grout! I’d like to see the results in person.

    Reply
  6. Arlene says

    July 22, 2013 at 8:18 pm

    My tile has those little indentation lines and divots in it too to make it look like natural stone. It looks great (the professional cleaner who just cleaned it really had to look hard to decide if it was natural stone or tile) but boy the dirt builds up in all those little cracks. I have used baking soda and a toothbrush with good results on everything but my knees. YIKES – that is a lot of crawling around. And it took days. This spring I decided it was worth it to me to pay to have it done, so my carpet cleaning guy gave me a quote to use a commercial steam cleaner on it. It was just under $200 for my large kitchen/dining room and foyer. To me it was WELL worth it. He had it done in less than an hr. and the results were stunning on both tile and grout. He was shocked how black the water was. I then sealed it with sealer and bam! DONE! I highly recommend a professional steam cleaner!

    Reply
  7. Jerri says

    July 23, 2013 at 10:44 am

    You can thoroughly clean the area around the toilet seat bolts. I’ve also used it around the inside top of my top loading washing machine. You made a great purchase!

    Reply
  8. Toni t says

    July 25, 2013 at 9:16 pm

    it must be the warm weather..I am also cleaning my tile floors..I started last week end…and I have been at it for 6 days…the first room idid on my hands and knees and chemicals and sponges and wire brush…also had to flood the floor with clean water to get up the soapy chemicals..i then threw down a large old towel and did the shimmy and twist across the floor…I then opened doors and windows I live in Las Vegas…the floor dried quickly…well///tomorrow I will finish the job…I have about 1200 square feet of tile on the first floor of my house…and I am pushing 70 years old…I have used steamer machines before…but they don’t last very long…the deposits in our water corrode the machine…I may try again with distilled water…

    Reply
  9. Sylvia says

    July 31, 2013 at 5:54 pm

    The sealer that you used, did it leave your tile and grout looking too shiny? I want to give it a try but afraid that it may be too shiny or even too dull.

    Reply
  10. cynthia says

    August 1, 2013 at 12:17 pm

    I love your house! I’ve had the same issue with grout in the past and I have tried everything. Through my experiences I have found that the Mr. clean magic erasers actually work the best. I’ve been shocked as to what those little sponges can clean and it never fails me. No odor, no machines, just a little water and getting on hands and knees.

    Reply
  11. Myia says

    August 20, 2013 at 10:30 pm

    I have tried it all. Steaming works good, and what is left is sanitized from the steam anyway. I also recently read about using resolve carpet spray cleaner and a brush. The results in the article looked far superior to steaming. Maybe steam after the cleaner to get all the chemicals off. I make most of my own cleaners and I try to avoid chemicals as much as possible.

    Reply
  12. Mary @ Redo 101 says

    August 21, 2013 at 8:09 am

    My niece had the carpet cleaners steam her tile kitchen floor – and it looked like new. I’ve got to do something, mine are gross! Thanks for sharing your success story with us.

    Reply
  13. Kathy says

    October 4, 2013 at 5:45 pm

    OK, I have insomnia and I watch late night TV ads. What about the Shark? There are two (3 am and 4 am) — one steams, and one has two pads that vibrate. Looks good on TV–anybody used one or the other and why are they different? The one with the two pads can be used on carpets and floor but I wonder if it wouldn’t rough up the pile and make it look fuzzy. K

    Reply
  14. MM says

    January 23, 2014 at 1:28 pm

    Amazon has this little machine for $80.

    Reply
  15. Jeff Needham says

    March 28, 2015 at 12:07 pm

    Please, NOBODY use a steamer on your Hardwood or Laminate floors. They may clean them nice, but they’ll also drive steam into joints and over time will cause the boards to swell. If there are any splits in a hardwood floor finish, steam will aggravate those, too. Vinyl floor finishes could be permanently clouded if the steamer head is left in one place for too long.
    And, the only thing I’d be concerned of with a ceramic tile surface is that some newer premium grouts are labeled as not for use in pools, or steam showers. I imagine those grouts would not stand up to regular steam cleaning, either.

    Reply
  16. Gail says

    July 4, 2015 at 1:44 pm

    But if you are using steam to clean your tiles what happens to the sealer on the tiles or dont you have sealer on your tiles.

    Reply
  17. Corey Hammack says

    August 2, 2017 at 7:17 am

    Thanks! This is a very helpful post. I’ve been thinking about doing something like this for a while now but I just keep getting turned off by the thought of harmful chemicals. Can’t hurt to try your method. Looking forward to seeing my tiles and grout good as new!

    Reply
  18. Slawecki Constance Harris says

    February 20, 2019 at 9:06 am

    In a fit of not-thinking far enough ahead, I had marble tiles installed in 2 bathrooms — on the floors and half way up the walls. It looks wonderful, but trying to clean the floor grout is challenging because almost any decent cleaning product will damage or etch the marble. I did the toothbrush bit once with soap and it looked great, but I’m getting too old to get on my hands and knees like that. Anybody have recommendation for cleaning marble floors? Would the steam machine be enough?

    Reply
    • FeNiX says

      July 21, 2019 at 8:18 am

      A steam cleaner should be enough as the high heat will loosen all the grime without marring the marble, since no harsh chemicals will be used! Even better is if your steam cleaner has brush attachments, so you can also scrub at the grout while blasting it with the hot steam. If your steam cleaner doesn’t have any brush attachments, another wonderful tool I’ve found that is great to have around for cleaning in general is the Rubbermaid Reveal Power Scrubber (which looks like an electric toothbrush, but for cleaning!) The regular brush attachment that comes with it will already do a great job on your grout, even without steam… but pair it with steam, and bammo!: easy peasy grout cleaning! Or go one step further even, and get their dedicated ‘Grout Brush Head’ attachment, and together with the steam, your grout will never know what hit it!! 🙂

      And for the record: No, I don’t work for Rubbermaid! (lol) But I did clean professionally for several years, and both my steam cleaner(s) AND my Rubbermaid Reveal Power Scrubber were my most prized cleaning tools that I’d never go to ANY job without! I’m a big believer not only in the cleaning power of steam, but oscillating vibrations (which is how the Rubbermaid tool operates) loosens up grime like nobody’s business!

      Reply

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About Makely

Lindsay Ballard is a former college mascot turned political geek turned roller derby playing, DIY fanatic.

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.

Lindsay lives outside of Austin, Texas with her husband (Tom), children (Zack and Emma), and dogs (Duke and Jill). She plays roller derby for the Rockin' City Rollergirls out of Round Rock, Texas.


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