DIY Grout Cleaner: Homemade Recipe with Baking Soda
Make your own DIY grout cleaner with baking soda for less than a few dollars. This homemade grout cleaner is non-toxic and less expensive than the store-bought variety, using just a handful of ingredients that are already in your kitchen pantry! Clean your tile, grout, tubs, sinks and more with this DIY homemade grout cleaner without needing a mask or gloves or excessive scrubbing!
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DIY Grout Cleaner with Baking Soda
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To go along with my early spring cleaning/organizing I wanted to tackle my grout! We have quite a bit of tile in our home. The bathrooms, the kitchen, and the laundry room. The house is 8 years old and I’m not sure if the tile was just never sealed or if it’s just dirty after all these years. Either way, I was going to rid it of the yuckiness!
DIY Grout Cleaner: Homemade Recipe with Baking Soda
I came across a Pin that did not link but had a grout cleaner recipe pasted with the picture. I decided to give it a try. I figured if it didn’t work I would just go to Lowe’s and buy a real grout cleaner.
I am so happy that I gave it a try! It actually worked!! And all of the chemicals I used were kid friendly so my kiddos got to help too…which they thought was so much fun!
This post contains affiliate links. Please read my disclosure here.
What You Need:
7 cups Water
1/2 cup Baking Soda
1/3 cup Lemon Juice
1/4 cup Vinegar
Toothbrush OR these Brushes (I like these because of the two sizes on 1 brush)
We started in the kitchen
…and then tackled the master bathroom floor
Can you see the difference?!?! The grout looks as good as new!! I seriously was amazed!
I’m going over the grout with this grout sealer that we had left over from laying travertine in our Georgia house. This was bought at Home Depot.
DIY Grout Cleaner – Safe & Non-Toxic
Equipment
Ingredients
- 7 c water
- 1/2 c baking soda
- 1/3 c lemon juice
- 1/4 c vinegar
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together in a bowl or bucket
- Using a brush, scrub vigorously at the grout to clean
- Repeat and make a new mix if necessary
- Use soap and water to wash off tile floor and grout
Frequently Asked Questions
Since writing this post, I have received many questions about cleaning tile grout. I’ve written another post answering all of your questions for the best homemade grout cleaner for tile floors and walls! Be sure to check it out!
I’d love it if you would Pin this post if you found it helpful! May everyone who has tile have clean grout!!
If you liked this post please check out my natural, safe, non toxic homemade wood floor cleaner HERE!
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Happy Cleaning!
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You have no idea how badly I need this in my life!!!! My shower grout is beyond embarrassing. I’m bustin’ this out before the week is over for sure!
haha! Good Luck!!
I cleaned my shower yesterday with Lime Away and decided to spray some on some grout in a different room. I used a toothbrush to scrub it…it worked but didn’t seem to get it as clean as the homemade mixture!
Let me know how yours turns out!!
Yikes I did something wrong, I saw this same formula and the person said let it sit an hour then wipe away…. I see no change. I notice yours says to scrub but I’m seeing buckets and wash clothes- true dummy here- did you spray directly on the grout or mop the floor by hand? Did you let it sit before tooth rushing it?
Hi Tiffany! I actually didn’t even spray it! I just got the toothbrush wet and started scrubbing! It did take some elbow grease and going back and forth over the same grout line a couple of times – but all in all it was super easy! I had a wash cloth beside me and just wiped up the realllly dirty water/formula from the grout! Best of luck! Let me know if you have any other questions! **I also was cleaning my shower one day with Lime Away and noticed a spot on the tile/grout that was dirty…so I sprayed that and scrubbed with the toothbrush and that seemed to work as well…just not kid friendly and could possibly stain the grout
THANK YOU so much for this recipe. I used this recipe plus a good sturdy scrub brush on my 6 month old tile grout which is a light beige and my OLD floor which I think was white tile grout. It worked WONDERS!
The old tile was in the house prior to us moving in 3 years agoand it looked dirty and nearly brown. It is now a nice white color!!! THANKS
Hi CJ!! I’m so glad it worked so well for you too!! My husband still thinks I’m crazy because I comment about how awesome our floors look every.single.day!! But I’m just so happy that they floors look new without replacing them!!
This is wonderful! Thanks! I pinned it. Rhondda
Awesome!! Thank yo so much Rhondda!! So glad you stopped by!!
i did this when my wife went on a business trip & she came in the door & thought i had painted the walls! i started doing about 4 square feet – went to bed & was amazed at the grout & the tile in the morning. i used vinegar not ammonia. i also used baking soda to get ink from an exploding pen out of a new dining room table.
Ohh that’s the best news! Congrats!! I’m so glad your wife was happy too! 🙂 I still admire my clean grout daily!! 🙂 It’s the little things in life! 🙂 *thanks for the tip about baking soda and ink!! I will definitely keep that one in mind should I have ink to get out someday!! Thanks for stopping by!!
I am going to give this a try tonight! Thank you for the inspiration! I’ve been postponing dealing with the grout in my bathrooms long enough! 🙂
Good luck!!!
Figured I’d give this a try, mainly because I didn’t have any ammonia in the house. Amazing. I have a huge tiled kitchen and eating area. Did a little area to see how it worked. Ended up doing almost whole area. Great recipe; time for a nap. 🙂
I agree, it does make you tired!! But is so worth it!! Happy napping 🙂
This works amazingly well! I would suggest letting it sit for 10 minutes or so, then scrub. Less scrubbing needed.
So glad it worked for you!!
Did you use something like LemonReal or real lemon juice? Just wondering if it’d make a difference.
I just used the lemon juice in the green bottles that I bought at the grocery store! 🙂
Thanks for the recipe! I did my whole entry way today and went through six toothbrushes! Thank goodness for the dollar store. I used lime juice, since that’s what I had, and scrubbed in extra baking soda (like a paste) on especially dirty grout lines. Think I’m going to be sore tomorrow, but my neat nick husband is THRILLED!
More tomorrow….
love it!! It is hard work but totally worth it!!! 🙂
I unfortunately did not find this recipe to work well. It took a tremendous amount of scrubbing compared to putting a liberal amount of powdered OXI CLEAN in a bucket of hot water. Much less scrubbing needed with that.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! It worked great on the tile in our entry way. 🙂
Yay!! So welcome!
Can this sit in a bottle for a day or 2 or does it have to be used right away? I want to try it at work but would rather mix it at home first.
Honestly, I’m not sure since I made it when I was ready to use it. But I’m sure that it would be fine to make ahead. Let me know how it turns out!! 🙂 Good luck!
Stephanie or Lynette have either of you stored any away since posting? I’m wondering if the mixture is something you can keep bottled to use as needed.
I’m sorry I have not. I just made up the mixture as I needed it.
I tried storing my leftover solution in a spray bottle under my sink. The next time I took it out there were blobs on mold in the solution. Probably from the lemon juice. I used juice from lemons I squeezed. Might last longer if you store in the refrigerator. Think I’ll just make it up fresh each time.
Can I use this in a Hoover Max Extracter Scrub machine to clean my tile floors?
I’m not familiar with that product so I cannot advise either way, sorry
Love the post Stephanie, especially how the recipe is kid friendly. The results is pretty clear in the photos, but I wonder now much scrubbing you had to do to get that result. A stronger bleach based product might have brought up a brighter color. Thanks again for sharing!
followed the directions but didn’t see much improvement. Maybe the grout was sealed with the dirt below it by a previous owner.
Recipe left a filmy residue on my tiles even after mopping. Any suggestion on how to remove the baking soda residue from my tile?
Hi there this worked wonders helping with grout cleaning especially in spots my dog enjoyed marking. Being pregnant made it especially hard for me to clean it because of the harsh chemicals in the products or how ineffective they were. This is my go to now 🙂 thanks! Making my pregnant cleaning days extremely easy.
Yay!!! I’m so happy it worked!! Congrats on your expected little bundle of joy! 🙂
I did not notice any difference using this. Our house was built just a year ago, so the dirt and mildew scum in the tiled shower is ALL NEW haha! I wish this had worked but it didn’t. I’m going on to OxiClean now.
Hi! I have baking powder in my kitchen, can I use this instead in replacement for baking soda?
No, unfortunately you cannot substitute powder for soda. Sorry!
Hi, Stephanie! My dad and mom are coming to visit for a few days during this Thanksgiving holiday and I couldn’t be more excited; it’s their first visit to my new home. But anyhow, you know what that means…… yes, a mad dash to get everything SPOTLESS!!! I saved the grout for last (as it is my LEAST favorite) but with this concoction I found it effortless!! I put it on, waited 5 minutes then ran an electric toothbrush over it. THANK YOU for the child/pet safe cleaner that actually works. 🙂 Happy Holidays! The Hanks Family
Yay!!! I’m so glad it worked so well for you! Love the idea of the electric toothbrush!! I actually just threw away my kid’s old ones…maybe I need to go get those out of the garbage!! 🙂
Thanks again for such a sweet comment! (and I hear ya on the mad dash to get everything clean right before company comes…story of my life!!)
This worked great but, how do you remove the white haze that is left after? I wiped with a sponge and re-mopped but still lots of baking soda on the tile.
Could you do a vinegar and water rinse? i know i use baking soda on my stove top and it leaves a film. Usually a little vinegar will cut it. Just a suggestion to try.
what a wonderful recipe, works just as good as store bought cleaners, but so much cheaper. thanks!!
We live in a rental house and the grout for our pretty, light terra cotta-ish colored tiles looked to be a dark gray… until I got down close one day to wipe up a spill and noticed the grout in this fairly unwalked upon area was a nice LIGHT gray! I’ve been on a mission ever since to get it all clean! I had great success with a 50:50 plain white vinegar & water mixture scrubbed in and wiped off and was very pleased with my efforts… except in our master bath. It looked like something had been spilled in the area most walked upon, right inside the door, between the first sink and the toilet room. My beloved vinegar/water did little more than make the stained area stick out even more with the surrounding grout now light and pretty! I was worried that something had been spilled and actually STAINED the grout. I whipped up a batch of this, toothbrush in hand, I sat on the floor, took a deep breathe, said a quick pleading prayer, and began to scrub. I use the term “scrub” very loosely here, it was more like just pushing the toothbrush back and forth, swirling in areas that looked ground in. The hardest part of this whole procedure was keeping my mini schnauzers from licking the wet floor or drinking from the bucket! This stuff smells like a delicious citrus soda! I just had to remember to keep myself between the wet floor and the eager pups and to put the lid on the cat litter bucket I used to mix when I stepped away from it. This was not surface dirt, so I didn’t get the muddiness you did, (my first plain viegar/water scrub a few months ago got the muddiness off) but the towel I used to wipe it did get dirty none the less. I noticed a film of baking soda on the tile, so I put a timer in for 30 minutes and then used my floor steamer on super high steam to clean the film off. The towel I ran over the floor while it was still wet from the mega-steam was CLEAN! And the bathroom floor grout now looks CLEAN! I left a few lines of grout unscrubbed for comparison (only a few because I got swept up in the excitement!). No lingering chemical smells, no dry hands, no broken back or sore atms/hands, not much effort at all! Hands down my favorite cleaning day EVER! Thank you so much for posting this!
YAY!!! I’m so happy it worked so well for you!!! We’re in the process of renovating our kitchen so my once clean floors are filthy again! 🙁 I can’t wait to finish the construction so I can give the grout a good cleaning again! 🙂
I used this in my new home the groutwas black, not exagerating. This mixture got it back to white. The floors were gleaming! I will be doing this again yearly for spring cleaning thanks
That’s great news!! Thanks so much for coming back and letting me know!! Happy cleaning!!
The best thing I have found for grout is Magic Erasers. Buy a large container and cut them in half, dampen eraser and get on your knees and go for it. Be sure to wipe up dirt with damp cloth as you go. Erasers will crumble and fall apart because of the gritty grout, but it works.
Thank you for this recipe! We remodeled our house 3 years ago and put down new tile. I bought a product that was suppose to seal the grout and it did not seal and it bleached my taupe grout white…uggh! Anyway, I’ve been in a dirty grout battle ever since and this is the only thing that has worked. I have used bleach, oxi clean, and professional strength cleaner. I am so grateful to end this battle.
Wow!! That’s great Tana!! Thanks so much for sharing your good news!!
Tried this homemade recipe on my ceramic tile bath floor . Cut the recipe down, also used lemon juice not ammonia, but put it in a spray bottle, and sprayed the grout & let it soak a few minutes, then used toothbrush. Works fine!
It’s working!
My kitchen floor is cream colored ceramic tile and this mixture is definitely cleaning the grime and staining in the grout. We’re looking to remodel and I’d rather work with the existing flooring than have to take up all that tile!
yay!!! so happy for you!!
You have adorable kids. I can only imagine how sweet and lovely they are. All your hard work was really worth it. The result is fantastic! Your home tiles look so clean and new. That brand deserves a great review. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much Cory!!
How can I remove the baking soda residue that was left on my tile floor? Was so happy to see how clean my grout got..until the floor dried and seen the floor is now white from the baking soda 🙁 have used my steam mop 5 times on it now and it’s not helping. HELP! :/
I’m not sured since I didn’t have this problem. Did you try just using vinegar to wipe it up? It may help
OK, so was this supposed to produce a lava flow like one of my kids volcano experiments. I had all ingredients but BS in a jug. Added baking soda and had a huge reaction. After foam cleared away, half of the mixture was down the sink!
I did not have that happen, although, I used a large container to mix it in as well as added the vinegar slowly. Good luck!
It works and does store in a spray bottle for reuse.
thanks for the feedback Sheila!
Hi There,
Have tried this ‘recipe’ on small grout staining and found it to be effective but have recently moved to a new rental property with heavy grout staining around the toilet (as a guy I don’t understand how others can miss by so much!) and some parts of the shower where it has been un-effective. Obviously keep the kids away but hard-core chemicals have been the only answer for me.
Regards
Rod
It’s a great recipe. The grout is so white, like when we renovated the bathroom. And the effect comes so fast, you don’t need do scrub too long. Thank you for the idea!
woo hoo!! that’s fantastic!
Wow thank you so much for this ! I have finished half of my counters so far and it works wonders !!! I was trying to figure out how to attach a picture but I can’t figure out how! My grout was brown and filthy now it’s white and looks brand new 🙂
Woo hoo!! So excited for you!!
I tried this for my grout and was very impressed with the results, as you mention you have to put some work into it with an old toothbrush, but results are worth it, my floors look great!!!
That’s awesome!! So excited your floors look great!! Thanks for sharing!
Oh wow, that’s quite impressive to know that you can clean tile grouts with a liquid like that and a toothbrush. Looking at the picture it sure reminds me of the tile cleaning that I should be doing. Well, my tiles have ended up all dirty with mud and other sticky things stuck in between the tiles.
Do you use white or cider vinegar?
white vinegar
So you mix a base (soda) with an acid ( vinegar)…lol…and you end up with something close to neutral….I think the only part that works in this mix is the “scrubbing”. The “it works” part of it is what i would refer to as a “placebo” effect…If anything I would either use the base OR the acid for it to have a cleaning effect…
This recipe of yours is really a life saver I needed it and baking soda is anyways a life saver doesn’t it clean everything? However, If you are looking to clean your carpet you can use the combination of baking soda and vinegar there as well. I will use your recipe to clean the tile and grout of my bathroom, it’s been dark since ages.
so glad to hear!
Great Recipe. Instead of a tooth brush or scrubbing brush I use a gout cleaning brush. The brush is narrow and it has a long handle like a broom or mop. The brush fits into the grout lines and you scrub backwards and forwards then rinse with a mop. No bending or kneeling or crawling on the floor. I found mine in Godfrey’s a vacuum and cleaning shop. You might find them in hardware stores or other places. Well worth looking for one.
great!! thanks for the tips!
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Thanks so much for posting this because I’ve tried everything from Tilex to toothpaste, even just baking soda and vinegar but they all required substantial elbow grease. I tested this tonight and it works like a dream! After letting the mixture sit on the groat for a few minutes, even the almost-black spots were gleaming white without a lot of effort. Just a little light scrubbing then rinse. If I had the groat cleaning brush that Gail suggested in her post, it would have been even easier. I guess the key was the citric acid in lemon juice. I tried just undiluted lemon juice on some less intense spots and it worked as well. But for heavy areas, the full formula worked best and fastest for me. It’s a keeper!
Wonderful tips and suggestions!! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for this easy to follow tips, nice job.
Great stuff! I’ve found the longer you let it set, the better it seems to work on those heavily stained spots. 10~15 mins seems to do the trick!
awesome! thanks so much for your tip!! glad it worked out!
This is a very great tip! Having a checklist will definitely be a lot of help. As someone from the housekeeping industry, I got to say this is one of the best read I have encountered.