BUT, This is ONLY for white grout! I haven’t tested it on any other colour so beware!

I recently decided to clean the grout in my kitchen. It’s been a few years and I know from personal experience that when selling a home, clean grout really does make a big difference. Plus with the dog coming in and out the dirty grout was really starting to bug the heck out of me.

I tried a lot of methods to get it clean – ones that I found on the internet along with grout cleaners from my local hardware store but none of them did the job. They all worked ok but I was looking for grout that was brought back to looking brand new.

I did some thinking and on a whim bought something called Vim. It’s used to clean sinks, counter tops and appliances etc. The first time I bought it I tried it and it worked very well. Almost as good as new and better than anything I had previously used. The bottle ran out so I went back to the store to buy some more. By mistake I bought the same product but this time it contained bleach. I went home and got to work. The next morning when I woke up, BHAM! The grout looked perfectly white and just like brand new. The cleaner helped to remove the dirt and the bleach whitened everything up. In fact it worked so well I went over the previous area I had cleaned with regular Vim.

Here’s what you do:

Apply the Vim directly from the bottle and don’t dilute.

Generously too, right into the grout line. Leave it for about 10 seconds then scrub the grout line with a grout brush.

A grout brush can be found at your local supermarket for about $5. Take some contractors paper towel and clean off the excess and the dirty cleaner, leaving a small amount of wet Vim in the grout line.

I chose not to use regular paper towel as it ends up falling apart in the grout line. Keep going until you’re done. Beware of the fumes though, they can be rather strong due to the bleach. You also may want to test on a very small area of tile before you go and do your whole kitchen. I have porcelain tiles so I had no worries. Marble or granite may be a different story due to the porousness of the rock so beware.

The next morning the grout will be so white you’ll be tempted to use Vim on your teeth! Grab a mop and a bucket and rinse off the excess dried up Vim. After that, voila! Done!

Before:

After:

If you believe in sealing your grout on your kitchen floor, I’m pretty sure the bleach will most likely eat at away at any sealer that was previously there so you may have to reapply afterwards. Personally I don’t believe in it in a non – wet area. I’ve sealed grout and not sealed grout on kitchen floors and have seen absolutely no difference in how long the grout remains clean. Plus, if your fridge leaks and you don’t catch it in time, water is going to penetrate the floor no matter what – sealer or no sealer.

In the future if you ever spill a cup of coffee or some red wine on your floor, keep some Vim handy for a quick clean up.

Happy cleaning!