I didn’t even give this one thought when it came to this one thing when I signed the lease on renting my new house. The house had the space we needed. It was in the location we needed it in. Bedrooms were there. Kidding. This was a good deal and we took it.
Then, one morning, something was there I never thought about. I was taking a shower and looked at the tile. Some tile looked fine, but others were brown in between the tile. I couldn’t think of the name at the time, but it’s GROUT.
What is grout
Grout is a particularly fluid form of concrete used to fill gaps. Grout is generally a mixture of water, cement, and sand, and is employed in pressure grouting, embedding rebar in masonry walls, connecting sections of precast concrete, filling voids, and sealing joints such as those between tiles. Some common uses for grout in the household include: filling in tiles of shower floors and kitchen tiles. It is often color tinted when it will remain visible, and sometimes includes fine gravel when being used to fill large spaces such as the cores of concrete blocks). Unlike other structural pastes such as plaster or joint compound, correctly mixed and applied grout forms a waterproof seal.
Yeah, I didn’t get all that, but I thought I’d include it. To me, it’s the part in between one tile and another. And some were brown. Aging. No one probably sees this or cares, but I wanted to know the solution to this puzzle. So, I turned to the only place I turn in these cleaning events:
The Eco Way
Someone out there has solved this problem in a natural way. I guarantee it. And I wasn’t wrong. Plenty of people use cleaning tools for the floors(http://thehomemakersjournal.com/best-vacuums-for-laminate-floors/) or another way to clean the grout in the shower. There is a natural way to fix this and most of the things I needed to do the job I already had in my house. Most use bleach, but it may just mask the problem. This is the natural eco way to fix the problem.
Steps to your solution:
At any point, users can use a toothbrush for tougher areas. I’d wait until the final steps for that, but it can’t hurt either way.
#1 Baking Soda
Have a box of baking soda in the fridge? If not, the baking aisle of any grocery store will have it for around a dollar. Put ½ a cup in a bowl. Dampen a sponge with warm water and wipe down the areas needed for the shower. (This will be one of your new favorites according to our friends at Alpine Maids!)
#2 Distilled White Vinegar and a Spray Bottle
I bought a 16oz. bottle of the vinegar, and a spray bottle from the cosmetics aisle at Walgreens. Fill the spray bottle halfway with the white vinegar and fill the other half with warm water. Spray the whole shower, paying extra attention to the affected areas. Let sit for 15 minutes and scrub it down with a damp sponge.
#3 Salt
Just regular good old salt. Any iodized salt used for a salt shaker. Using a damp sponge, sprinkle salt into the areas needed and scrub it in. You will notice a change at this point. Let that sit overnight and wipe it down the next day.
#4 Lemon Juice
Mix it with a little bit of that baking soda and scrub away. Rinse.
#5 Hydrogen Peroxide
My bathroom cabinet had some peroxide in it. Damped the sponge with it. Scrub and let sit for an hour. The wipe it away with water.
After this, you just turn your shower on its hottest temperature and close the door. Let it steam.
