Tiles are generally easy to clean and maintain. However, with tiles, come another often overlooked element: grout. 

Keeping your tile grout clean is another matter altogether. It’s easier for stains, dirt and bacteria to collect in your grout.

While it may look like grout is easy to clean or won’t take that much time and energy, it can actually be rather frustrating trying to get in the grooves for a proper clean. Most people also don’t realize that improper grout cleaning can lead to other issues like cracking the grout and allowing moisture to gather under the tiles. It could end up causing you more problems than it’s worth which is why it’s often better to hire the experts for tile cleaning in Kissimmee.

Nevertheless, if you still want to clean your grout yourself, here are a few of the most common mistakes that you want to avoid. 

Improper Grout Cleaning Mistakes

There are some common mistakes when cleaning grout that can lead to some real disasters. In order to be as prepared as possible and prevent the most common errors, here is a quick list of things to be aware of.

Excessive Water

When it comes to cleaning grout, using too much water can be a major problem. You’ll usually mix it with some type of grout cleaner since water alone won’t do much, but it’s important you don’t accidentally add too much water. 

It will weaken the adhesive and lead to crumbling or cracking. Crumbling can also occur if you use a brush that’s too harsh or other abrasive materials.

Cracked grout can cause moisture to collect under your tiles, leading to water damage and mold. 

Wrong Chemicals

There are right and wrong cleaners for grout. Grout has pores and will absorb any liquid you scrub over it. When using acidic or colored cleaning chemicals, the grout will absorb them and over time, you’ll notice damage and discoloration. 

Make sure whatever cleaner you use isn’t too harsh or acidic. Acidic cleaners can cause the pores in the grout to grow bigger which makes it so the grout gets dirtier faster.

Scrubbing Too Hard

Scrubbing too hard or using brushes that are too abrasive can lead to problems. It may seem like a good idea at first because you’ll get more dirt out, but you end up damaging the grout and causing it to crumble or crack over time. Avoid using steel wool and harsh abrasive chemicals or powders.

Why is Grout so Difficult to Clean?

Grout is what holds your tiles in position on the floor. There is a sandy characteristic to it and it’s porous too. This means that moisture and dirt can collect in it easily over time. It is the sandy and porous properties that make grout so challenging to clean.

If you simply approach cleaning with the idea of scrubbing as hard as you can, you’d be disappointed. As mentioned above, scrubbing too hard can dislodge the sandy particles, which will just make the grout crack more easily. 

Related Content >> We also offer Port Orange tile cleaning!

Conclusion

If you’re dead set on cleaning your grout yourself, then we definitely recommend you do plenty of research ahead of time and talk to the people at your local hardware store in order to find the best cleaner. However, for those who don’t want to take the risk of more problems such as moisture and mold under your tiles, it’s much easier to call in the local grout cleaning experts and know that your grout is in good, professional hands.