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How to Clean Grout

Home/Resources/Cleaning & Laundry/Cleaning Grout
DH
Written & researched by Derek Holt Home & Appliances Editor
Updated August 2026
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Cleaning grout is an inexpensive DIY job, about 30 to 90 minutes for a bathroom or a stretch of floor, using pantry ingredients or a bag of oxygen bleach. No permit or pro is involved. The work is mostly patience and the right narrow brush. The one thing that keeps grout clean afterward is sealing it once dry, since grout is porous and re-soaks dirt. Watch the surface, too: acids and bleach that are fine on ceramic can damage natural stone and colored grout.

How to Clean Dirty Grout With Homemade Cleaner — Ask This Old House

Step-by-step: bringing grout back

  1. Sweep or vacuum first. Remove loose dirt so you are not grinding grit into the tile as you scrub.
  2. Choose your cleaner by surface. Baking soda paste plus vinegar spray for everyday grime on ceramic or porcelain; oxygen bleach for heavy discoloration. Skip acids on natural stone and colored grout.
  3. Test a hidden spot. Confirm your cleaner will not etch the tile or fade the grout before doing the whole area.
  4. Apply and dwell. Work the paste or solution into the grout lines and let it sit 10 to 15 minutes so it can break down the grime.
  5. Scrub the lines. Use a stiff, narrow grout brush along each line, or a drill brush attachment for large floors, working the recessed grout, not just the tile face.
  6. Rinse thoroughly. Wipe and rinse with clean water to remove loosened dirt and cleaner residue, changing the water often.
  7. Let it dry fully. Allow the grout to dry, ideally 24 hours, before sealing.
  8. Seal the grout. Apply a penetrating grout sealer to clean, dry cement grout and wipe excess off the tile. Reseal every one to two years.
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Tools and materials

You need a stiff grout brush, baking soda, white vinegar or oxygen bleach, a grout sealer, gloves and cloths. Grout cleaning is part of keeping a whole tiled floor looking maintained, and for the ongoing upkeep between deep scrubs, a tool from our steam mop roundup lifts surface grime from sealed tile and grout with heat rather than chemicals. For an all-surface cleaner that handles the tile faces and surrounding areas, our all-purpose cleaner picks round out the kit.

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Mistakes that damage tile or waste effort

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Notes and safety

This is DIY, with a few cautions. Ventilate well and wear gloves with oxygen or chlorine bleach, and never mix bleach with vinegar, ammonia or other cleaners, since the fumes are dangerous. Keep acids and bleach off natural stone and colored grout, testing first. There is no code or permit involved. If grout is crumbling, cracked or missing, that is a regrouting repair rather than a cleaning job, and persistent mold behind tile can signal a moisture problem worth investigating.

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Straight Answers

Frequently Asked

What is the best homemade grout cleaner?

A paste of baking soda and water scrubbed in, then sprayed with a half-and-half white vinegar and water solution to fizz, lifts most everyday grout grime, and it is safe on ceramic and porcelain tile. For tougher, darker grout, oxygen bleach powder dissolved in warm water and left to dwell is more effective and gentler than chlorine bleach. Avoid vinegar and other acids on natural stone like marble or travertine, and on colored grout, because acids etch stone and can fade the pigment. Test any cleaner on a hidden spot first.

How do you get grout white again?

For badly discolored grout, oxygen bleach is the most effective safe option: mix the powder with warm water into a solution or paste, apply it to the grout lines, let it dwell 10 to 15 minutes so it can work, then scrub with a stiff grout brush and rinse. Repeat for stubborn areas. If the grout is stained beyond cleaning, a grout pen or grout colorant can recolor the lines, and in the worst cases regrouting is the reset. Sealing the cleaned grout afterward keeps it looking white far longer.

Can you use bleach on grout?

You can use chlorine bleach diluted on white grout with ceramic or porcelain tile, but it is harsh, the fumes are strong, and repeated use can weaken grout over time and discolor colored grout. Oxygen bleach is the safer, nearly-as-effective alternative for most jobs. Never mix bleach with vinegar, ammonia or other cleaners, which creates toxic gas, and keep bleach off natural stone and colored grout. Ventilate the room well and wear gloves. For routine cleaning, start with baking soda and oxygen bleach before resorting to chlorine bleach.

What is the best brush for cleaning grout?

A stiff-bristled grout brush, which is narrow so the bristles reach into the recessed lines, is far more effective than a wide scrub brush or a sponge that just rides over the top. An old toothbrush works for small areas. For large floors, a grout brush attachment on a drill or an oscillating cleaning tool saves your knees and does a more consistent job. Avoid metal wire brushes, which can scratch tile glaze and gouge the grout itself. The narrow shape matters more than anything, because grout sits below the tile surface.

Should you seal grout after cleaning it?

Yes, sealing cement-based grout after it is clean and fully dry is what keeps it clean. Grout is porous and soaks up spills, dirt and moisture, which is exactly why it discolors in the first place, and a penetrating grout sealer fills those pores so grime sits on top to be wiped away instead of soaking in. Let the grout dry fully, usually 24 hours after cleaning, then apply sealer per the product directions and reseal every one to two years. Epoxy grout does not need sealing, but standard cement grout does.