Cleaning Grout

As many of you know, grout can ruin a project or make it beautiful. I have had a lot of clients asking me how to get the grout off of the tiles or how to get grout out of the tiny pores or indentations of the tiles.

First off, many people love the grout being stuck in the pores. So don't think you are weird if you like how it looks. When this happens you get a wonderful natural, earthy overtone to your finished product. This is especially true if you are doing a backsplash with our Art Tile Collection.

If you don't like this look then you will need to act quickly. Quickly means within 24 hours.

There is a wonderful product at Lowe's call Grout Haze Remover. This is a chemical that works very well in cutting into the haze that can stay on the top of your tiles. You must mix it as half chemical and half water. If not then you will leave another weird sticky residue on top of your tiles. Take an old sock or rag and dip it into your mixture. Squeeze it out well and wipe off the haze. It is really that simple.

If you have grout in the pores or striations and want it out then you will need a stiff bristle brush. Often a toothbrush with hard bristles will work fine but sometimes you will need the grout brush from your hardware store (this is if you left the grout on for too long). Dip your brush into the Grout Haze Remover/water mixture and brush off every tile that has the grout stuck in the pores. It really won't take as long as it sounds. After you brush the tile then wipe it off with a clean rag.

These two methods should take care of all of your grout residue issues. If you leave the grout on for longer than 48 hours, you are pretty much stuck with what you have.