Grout is one of the most difficult things to clean in your home and the less often it is tended to the harder the task. Bathrooms are probably one of the most common places to find dirty or stained grout, specifically in the shower. Even if someone is in the shower for five minutes any remaining moisture takes hours to dry and could cause mold or mildew to form in the grout.

The key to maintaining clean grout is maintenance. Clean often, even if its ten or fifteen minutes a week. This can sometimes be hard to schedule so make it a routine with your other house chores.

When youre cleaning, use gentle grout cleaners, as some are so abrasive they will damage the grout, which could cause new problems such as moisture leaking into walls or floor boards.

Now, when youre ready to proceed with the cleaning here are some items you may need: a toothbrush or grout brush, rubber gloves, cleaner (see below), rags, grout sealer, and safety goggles as some cleaners are toxic and with all the scrubbing the last thing you want is a harsh substance infiltrating your eye.

Also, make sure wherever you are cleaning to ventilate well by opening windows and if available, set up one or two fans.

How to clean:

1.Cleaner options:
Use vinegar and water at a ratio of one to one. You may add some baking soda to enhance the consistency.
Mild household detergent.
General household/bathroom cleaners. These may include bleach or sprays. NOTE: do not mix acidic solution household cleaners with bleach as it creates dangerous fumes.

2.Wipe away excess dirt before the actual grout cleaning.

3.Spray or apply your cleaner to the stain. Let it sit for a few minutes fighting the stain and scrub the grout hard with the brush. Work it in well.

4.Rinse the brush and wipe the area with a rag to see if it worked. Depending on the type of stain you may need to repeat these steps.

5.Finally, sealing the grout so it stays clean is a good option. The sealer fills in pores and covers the area so mildew, mold or other bacteria doesnt find a home. By doing this you still need to give the grout a wipe once in a while but not with the same consistency. To apply run the sealer across the grout and wipe away any overflow on the tiles.

If you still havent found a solution to cleaning your grout, there are services for hire that will clean your grout but this must be weighed in terms of time and money; whether you have the time to do it yourself or the money to pay them.