Tips For Maintaining Your New Grout

You’ve taken the time to remodel your walls, and now you would like to maintain them. Your walls have tile, and new grout and your biggest fear is the grout looking dirty. Since it is new, you have the opportunity to keep it looking whiter longer. What steps can you take to maintain your new look? Here are some ideas.

Wipe Down Walls

The tile in your shower/bath needs to be wiped down every day after use. You can use a squeegee after you exit the shower to remove the excess water droplets, and then you can further wipe the walls down with a dry towel to pick up the rest. The water droplets if left will create a soap scum like appearance on your shower doors and walls. After a few showers, these drops will be harder to clean up. You will then need to use a vinegar-type solution to remove the build-up. If you wipe down the walls every day, then clean-up will be easier.

Weekly

Along with wiping the walls down every day, you can do a weekly cleaning of the space which will include the walls. This cleaning will be more thorough and will remove any excess soaps, oils, or lotions that have been left during the week. You can use a grout brush to clean the grout, and you can inspect the grout for wear or stains.

Spot Cleaning

If you find that your new grout develops stains, you can spot clean the stained area. You can use a bleach pen or peroxide solution on the small area. One word of caution is that this method can weaken the grout because the cleaning solution will break down the grout over time. It is important to inspect the grout during cleanings to see if there are weak spots, stains, or places the grout is thinner than others.

Dark Grout

Another option would be to use a darker grout, depending on the rest of the color scheme in the room. A dark grout will not show stains as quickly, but this does not mean you should clean the grout less. Cleaning the grout will remove dust, hair, or other debris that remains from general daily use as well as shower use.

Seal Grout

Sealing the grout will help keep the stains and debris from sticking around the tile. This will help keep the grout whiter for longer and will help maintain the integrity of the grout as well.