Having trouble cleaning grout in your home? Use this recipe: 7 cups water, 1/2 cup baking soda, 1/3 cup ammonia (or lemon juice) and 1/4 cup vinegar. Spray on grout, leave for about 1 hour, then scrub vigorously with a scrub brush.
What did you do with that mixture? Spray it on and leave it on? For how long? Scrub it with a toothbrush? Details please :) This would be soooooo helpful! :)
Ok well .... I just gave this a try... In the kitchen...... Although it does break down the crime pretty well.. Keep in mind its not a ticket to no work .... and perhaps if I had left it sit on the floor longer it might of been easier... I still found myself using the scrub brush with a handle (like a mop/broom only a brush) to scrub the grout lines to get the dirt out and white again. I will try it again.. However consider the work you put in will effect the out come....
I tried this to get soap scum and hard water stains off my shower and it worked great. I did have to scrub this mixture a bit with a green scotch bright pad but it was not too bad. And the shower came out beautiful.
SOAP SCUM: Use rubbing alcohol on a rag, you need to use some strength when rubbing over the soap scum, but I was totally amazed on this one ingredient solution and it works on our glass shower doors wonderfully!
Ammonia and bleach are toxic when combined, that is why it is unsafe to drink unfiltered tap water if you have any medical conditions that compromise your immune system. They produce a toxic gas.
This blogger has posted nothing about combining bleach and vinegar, much less ammonia and bleach. You should think about what you post prior to posting it Marmee.
That's right the acetic acid (vinegar) and the base (baking soda) react to form salt and water, so that nice salt film on your floor has to be cleaned up! The lemon juice is just more acid, I think that's in there to smell better. The clean up just involves a few warm water rinses. It is a cheaper than a commercial tile and grout cleaner, but does take more time and effort. The chemicals are essentially the same, just weaker in the home remedy. (I am a chemistry teacher!)
This did not work at all. Maybe because there is some special way to use it? No instructions, so... just mixed it all up and poured it on the dirty tile. NOTHING. Left it for a good 45 mins. NOTHING. DOES NOT WORK.
This worked for me, but only when mix was fresh. I added ammonia and water, then vinegar and baking soda when I was ready to clean. Applied it on the grout of my kitchen floor. I did use a tooth brush on the grout, but it was the cleaner which caused the dirt to lift up (toothbrush alone never works). Also, you have to wipe up the dirty water and change the water often so that you're not readding the dirt to the floor when you are cleaning. Time consuming, yes, but still cheaper than hirering someone.
Okay, I used this on my hall bathroom floor. I used a toothbrush as a scrub brush. I had to sprinkle additional baking soda over the grout lines to get it to work. Apparently the baking soda doesn't dissolve in the liquid mixture and settles (very quickly, in fact) to the bottom of the bucket. I will say it did work. But I spent an hour on a floor that is 5'x 5' and I didn't get the whole floor done - only the center.
Soap scum on glass shower door try a microfiber towel no chemicals and a little elbow grease, not much. Easier to see results on the glass but you can feel the clean on the shower walls. Wish it worked on grout. I am so trying this mix
The ph's of vinegar and ammonia cancel each other out when you mix them together, which makes them ineffective as cleansing agents. Any results you guys are seeing is probably coming from all the scrubbing that you are having to do. It would probably work better to use the vinegar without the ammonia.
...but ammonia is effective in lifting dirt, so maybe you could just open the windows, put on some gloves, and use the mix with ammonia but no vinegar.
I just did tonight and the mixture turns a mucky mustard color... not so pretty. I did it just to give it a test and I think I may try it again with ammonia... although I agree with others have written about having to put a lot of elbow grease into it, this is not a magic solution. If you value your time, skip it, if you value your money and have tons of time on your hands than try it out.
I used lemon juice but did the treatment in steps. I mixed less water and used citrus infused vinegar (we use for our hardwoods). I poured the liquid on the grout then sprinkled baking soda down. Scrubbed a bit and let it set. Clean up was a lil messy but it worked great. I will use this from now on. The less chemicals in our home the bette.
This works but you have to mix the soda with warm water to dissolve. And guys, nothing is magic... you're going to have to work to get that dirt off. I did this with a scrub brush, on hands and knees, and didn't let it sit and it worked well. imagine if I had let it sit. Also, regarding the white film... you'll have to do a once or twice over with fresh water to get it clean. This is a great alternative to chemicals when you have a toddler and you're the one cleaning with one on the way. :)
I just used this mix without the lemon juice and used a scrub brush on the grout and I noticed a big difference. Afterwards I used my swiffer and the film was removed.
I just used this on my tiled shower and am really happy with the results! I used lemon juice and very warm water, then a sponge to get everything wet. I followed the sponge with a scrub brush and with only moderate effort (i'm 9 months pregnant!) got a very obvious layer of mold/ickiness off. I plan to have my husband follow up with full strength in a week and then I think things will be very easy to maintain!
And yes, Ajax would work the same, but while exposing yourself to a lot of nasty chemicals!
Hmmm... I was excited to try this. My bathroom floor is clean, but the grout is not white anymore. I was disappointed. Aside from the fun fizzles when you first mix it, my chemistry understanding would have me believe that, by the time you get to the bathroom with the bucket, you pretty much have water left, since the baking soda, vinegar and ammonia in the windex react to form carbon dioxide (the "fizz"), water and that ammonium chloride that folks are wiping off the tiles. I wanted this to work!
My youngest son told me to go get "Grout Bully!" I think bleach in a spray bottle and a toothbrush will be better at this.
Gosh i just use baking soda and peroxide and with 16 kids and 7 grandkids my white grout gets pretty ugly. Make a paste using these two ingredients let sit maybe 3 min spritzing more peroxide if needed then use grout brush (Walmart) and minimal Scrubbing is needed. Yes there is white film due to baking soda but a good moping does the job.
Even better, use Clorox toilet bowl cleaner the tip lets you get it right in the grout lines, leave it on for 30 mins use the rough back to a sponge to get in the groove and kind of push the dirt out flip the sponge over and wipe it up... works wonders
Ok, gals. This is a good example of why I hate tile and would never ever voluntarily have it in my home again! Vinyl, stained concrete or linoleum for the bathrooms would be my choice.
No matter whether you like it or not, your oven will now have to be cleaned this week. And just the believed of you heading down and dirty with all the grease gathered in it can be aggravating. But however, you want to do it or melt away the upcoming cake you will require to bake due to the fact of a dirty oven. Now just relax simply because cleaning it doesn’t want to be these kinds of a hideous burden. There are numerous techniques to thoroughly clean an oven, and it depends on how you would want to approach it.
I used this recipe a few weeks ago, dubious. I've tried so many things, even renting one of those market floor cleaners - all with no success. Between this and a floor cleaner I found on another one of your posts (I believe), my ceramic tile floors look brand new again. I am a skeptic, but with your ingredients, directions, and elbow grease, it worked. Thank you for your great blog. I'm really surprised by so many of the comments and wanted to make sure to encourage you. Have a great day.
My bathroom tiles were a sight for sore eyes: the grout was stained and looked filthy. Sadly I couldn’t afford to replace the grout for the entire bathroom. I found out about Nugrout products and decided to give it a try. I am amazed by how new my bathroom now looks with the new grout color, and how affordable the entire process was. Check out their website at http://www.nugrout.com. I highly recommend them.
Wow, that really does get rid a lot of the hairspray gunk. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWhat did you do with that mixture?
ReplyDeleteSpray it on and leave it on?
For how long?
Scrub it with a toothbrush?
Details please :) This would be soooooo helpful! :)
I see plenty of details in the post. Maybe reread.
DeleteThis looks like it's on a tile (bathroom) surface with grout... right? Great info, just need more details, please?
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing rub, set, and wipe. But yes, better details would be... well, better.
ReplyDeleteOk well .... I just gave this a try... In the kitchen...... Although it does break down the crime pretty well.. Keep in mind its not a ticket to no work .... and perhaps if I had left it sit on the floor longer it might of been easier... I still found myself using the scrub brush with a handle (like a mop/broom only a brush) to scrub the grout lines to get the dirt out and white again. I will try it again.. However consider the work you put in will effect the out come....
ReplyDeleteI tried this to get soap scum and hard water stains off my shower and it worked great. I did have to scrub this mixture a bit with a green scotch bright pad but it was not too bad. And the shower came out beautiful.
ReplyDeleteSOAP SCUM: Use rubbing alcohol on a rag, you need to use some strength when rubbing over the soap scum, but I was totally amazed on this one ingredient solution and it works on our glass shower doors wonderfully!
ReplyDeleteMr.clean magic eraser works wonders on soap scum with little effort!
DeleteMr.clean magic eraser works wonders on soap scum with little effort!
DeleteWonderful, i shall use this on my linolium kitchen.
ReplyDeleteMixing bleach and vinegar is toxic. Please refer to this website:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.state.nj.us/health/eoh/cehsweb/bleach_fs.pdf
It might be wise to take this post down.
There is no bleach in this mix, it is ammonia. Mixing ammonia and bleach is toxic, not ammonia and vinegar.
DeleteVinegar and bleach are not a toxic combination.
DeleteAmmonia and bleach are toxic when combined, that is why it is unsafe to drink unfiltered tap water if you have any medical conditions that compromise your immune system. They produce a toxic gas.
This blogger has posted nothing about combining bleach and vinegar, much less ammonia and bleach. You should think about what you post prior to posting it Marmee.
Thats funny, I don't see the word bleach, Marmee. Read the post AGAIN and then perhaps you should remove your comment.
ReplyDeleteBTW, all this did was leave a nice white film on my tile. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteMine too. How can I get the film off?? I have tried everything.
DeleteThat's right the acetic acid (vinegar) and the base (baking soda) react to form salt and water, so that nice salt film on your floor has to be cleaned up! The lemon juice is just more acid, I think that's in there to smell better. The clean up just involves a few warm water rinses. It is a cheaper than a commercial tile and grout cleaner, but does take more time and effort. The chemicals are essentially the same, just weaker in the home remedy.
Delete(I am a chemistry teacher!)
This did not work at all. Maybe because there is some special way to use it? No instructions, so... just mixed it all up and poured it on the dirty tile. NOTHING. Left it for a good 45 mins. NOTHING.
ReplyDeleteDOES NOT WORK.
There are instruction, spray on leave for an hour then scrub.
DeleteThis worked for me, but only when mix was fresh. I added ammonia and water, then vinegar and baking soda when I was ready to clean. Applied it on the grout of my kitchen floor. I did use a tooth brush on the grout, but it was the cleaner which caused the dirt to lift up (toothbrush alone never works). Also, you have to wipe up the dirty water and change the water often so that you're not readding the dirt to the floor when you are cleaning. Time consuming, yes, but still cheaper than hirering someone.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I used this on my hall bathroom floor. I used a toothbrush as a scrub brush. I had to sprinkle additional baking soda over the grout lines to get it to work. Apparently the baking soda doesn't dissolve in the liquid mixture and settles (very quickly, in fact) to the bottom of the bucket. I will say it did work. But I spent an hour on a floor that is 5'x 5' and I didn't get the whole floor done - only the center.
ReplyDeleteI definitely am noticing this working.. just scrubbing / time consuming.. but yes, a lot cheaper than alternatives!
ReplyDeleteSoap scum on glass shower door try a microfiber towel no chemicals and a little elbow grease, not much. Easier to see results on the glass but you can feel the clean on the shower walls. Wish it worked on grout. I am so trying this mix
ReplyDeleteThe ph's of vinegar and ammonia cancel each other out when you mix them together, which makes them ineffective as cleansing agents. Any results you guys are seeing is probably coming from all the scrubbing that you are having to do. It would probably work better to use the vinegar without the ammonia.
ReplyDelete...but ammonia is effective in lifting dirt, so maybe you could just open the windows, put on some gloves, and use the mix with ammonia but no vinegar.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone tried this with lemon juice rather than vinegar?
ReplyDeleteI just did tonight and the mixture turns a mucky mustard color... not so pretty. I did it just to give it a test and I think I may try it again with ammonia... although I agree with others have written about having to put a lot of elbow grease into it, this is not a magic solution. If you value your time, skip it, if you value your money and have tons of time on your hands than try it out.
DeleteI used lemon juice but did the treatment in steps. I mixed less water and used citrus infused vinegar (we use for our hardwoods). I poured the liquid on the grout then sprinkled baking soda down. Scrubbed a bit and let it set. Clean up was a lil messy but it worked great. I will use this from now on. The less chemicals in our home the bette.
DeleteThis works but you have to mix the soda with warm water to dissolve. And guys, nothing is magic... you're going to have to work to get that dirt off. I did this with a scrub brush, on hands and knees, and didn't let it sit and it worked well. imagine if I had let it sit. Also, regarding the white film... you'll have to do a once or twice over with fresh water to get it clean. This is a great alternative to chemicals when you have a toddler and you're the one cleaning with one on the way. :)
ReplyDeleteI just used this mix without the lemon juice and used a scrub brush on the grout and I noticed a big difference. Afterwards I used my swiffer and the film was removed.
ReplyDeleteAjax works the same. Only a dollar at the dollar store.
ReplyDeleteI just used this on my tiled shower and am really happy with the results! I used lemon juice and very warm water, then a sponge to get everything wet. I followed the sponge with a scrub brush and with only moderate effort (i'm 9 months pregnant!) got a very obvious layer of mold/ickiness off. I plan to have my husband follow up with full strength in a week and then I think things will be very easy to maintain!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, Ajax would work the same, but while exposing yourself to a lot of nasty chemicals!
What do you think ammonia(ammonium hydroxide), baking soda(sodium bicarbonate) and vinegar(acetic acid) are?
DeleteThanks for the recipe, i must try this. I'll be back later for some great reading...
ReplyDeleteCleaning systems
valuable advice!!! Perfect timing for me to read your blog and to guide my assistants Cleaner Jobs
ReplyDeleteHmmm... I was excited to try this. My bathroom floor is clean, but the grout is not white anymore. I was disappointed. Aside from the fun fizzles when you first mix it, my chemistry understanding would have me believe that, by the time you get to the bathroom with the bucket, you pretty much have water left, since the baking soda, vinegar and ammonia in the windex react to form carbon dioxide (the "fizz"), water and that ammonium chloride that folks are wiping off the tiles. I wanted this to work!
ReplyDeleteMy youngest son told me to go get "Grout Bully!" I think bleach in a spray bottle and a toothbrush will be better at this.
This did not work at all on my grout. No improvement at all. I ended up buying a grout paint and painting all the grout. It looks brand new.
ReplyDeleteWonderful tip & now it is easy for me to clean my home's Grout! Recruiting Cleaners
ReplyDeleteGosh i just use baking soda and peroxide and with 16 kids and 7 grandkids my white grout gets pretty ugly. Make a paste using these two ingredients let sit maybe 3 min spritzing more peroxide if needed then use grout brush (Walmart) and minimal Scrubbing is needed. Yes there is white film due to baking soda but a good moping does the job.
ReplyDeleteI use peroxide and baking soda and yes it works.
DeleteEven better, use Clorox toilet bowl cleaner the tip lets you get it right in the grout lines, leave it on for 30 mins use the rough back to a sponge to get in the groove and kind of push the dirt out flip the sponge over and wipe it up... works wonders
ReplyDeleteDid not work very well at all.
ReplyDeleteOk, gals. This is a good example of why I hate tile and would never ever voluntarily have it in my home again! Vinyl, stained concrete or linoleum for the bathrooms would be my choice.
ReplyDeleteThat picture looks photoshopped.
ReplyDeleteI am thankful for your post. You have given a great info about tile cleaning. I just wish your blog to get success.
ReplyDeleteTexas Tile & Grout Restoration
Spray Clorox Cleanup directly on the grout. Let sit for 10 or 15 min then use a chore boy pad and a little elbow grease and it will come off!
ReplyDeleteNo matter whether you like it or not, your oven will now have to be cleaned this week. And just the believed of you heading down and dirty with all the grease gathered in it can be aggravating. But however, you want to do it or melt away the upcoming cake you will require to bake due to the fact of a dirty oven. Now just relax simply because cleaning it doesn’t want to be these kinds of a hideous burden. There are numerous techniques to thoroughly clean an oven, and it depends on how you would want to approach it.
ReplyDeleteOven Cleaning brisbane | Oven Cleaning Melbourne
I used this recipe a few weeks ago, dubious. I've tried so many things, even renting one of those market floor cleaners - all with no success. Between this and a floor cleaner I found on another one of your posts (I believe), my ceramic tile floors look brand new again. I am a skeptic, but with your ingredients, directions, and elbow grease, it worked. Thank you for your great blog. I'm really surprised by so many of the comments and wanted to make sure to encourage you. Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your feedback and kind words, Terry! I truly appreciate you taking the time to write! xx
ReplyDeleteMy bathroom tiles were a sight for sore eyes: the grout was stained and looked filthy. Sadly I couldn’t afford to replace the grout for the entire bathroom. I found out about Nugrout products and decided to give it a try. I am amazed by how new my bathroom now looks with the new grout color, and how affordable the entire process was. Check out their website at http://www.nugrout.com. I highly recommend them.
ReplyDeleteAwesome tip! Pinning it to my blog's boards for The Jenny Evolution.
ReplyDelete