You’ll be amazed at how new your bathroom will look by restoring the while grout between your tiles to its former glory.

Dirty, discoloured, stained or mouldy grout looks unattractive and prevents your bathroom from sparkling.  Even in the newest of bathrooms, once the white grout begins to discolour or mould, it stops your bathroom from having its luxurious new feel.

Luckily there are several successful methods for how to restore white grout.  Thankfully it’s a chore that only needs doing once every few months with a little elbow grease to keep your bathroom looking fresh.

Read on to learn how to clean grout from tiles in your bathroom and restore its bright white colour.

Use prevention methods to prevent discoloured grout

First, it’s worth mentioning ways to stop grout from becoming discoloured so quickly by using prevention methods.  Grout often becomes discoloured, dirty and mouldy due to limescale, soap scum and moisture being on the grout in the bathroom.  Make sure you don’t leave soap scum on the bathroom tiles after showering or bathing, ensure good ventilation with a bathroom fan and open window and consider quickly drying the tiles after using the bathroom with a hand towel.  If you’re in the bath or shower and notice they are starting to get dirty or changing colour (sometimes yellow, pink or orange), then grab your flannel and wipe it away before it turns into a stain.

Use grout cleaner to restore white grout

The most obvious and probably best solution to bring your grout colour back to life and remove dirt and stains is to use a dedicated grout cleaner.  A specialised grout cleaner is made for this job so you know you’ll get great results.  They are designed to move the dirt, not just cover it up and restore the colour at the same time.  Choose a ready-to-use grout cleaner for speed, or save money with a concentrated solution you mic with water yourself.

Use bleach to restore white grout

If your grout has become stained by limescale and mould then it can be difficult to scrub away.  A small amount of whitening bleach left on the stubborn areas can help to remove black mould and limescale marks.  Brush the bleach onto the area using an old toothbrush and leave for around 30 minutes, then thoroughly rinse.  Make sure you wear protective gloves and open a window as bleach is very toxic.  Thoroughly clean and dry the area afterwards.

Use a grout pen to restore white grout

The fastest way and least laborious way to freshen up bathroom grout is using a grout pen to draw over the grout and make it look new.  You can find water-based non-toxic pens which are more eco-friendly, but this method does have its drawbacks.  Grout pens tend to cover the problem and won’t clean off any dirt or mould, so whilst they are a quick fix, it is sometimes better to clean the mould away rather than just covering it up.

Use natural methods to restore white grout

If you don’t want to use harsh chemical cleaners then you can try some natural cleaning methods to restore your white grout.  Fill a cup with ½ baking soda, ¼ white vinegar and ¼ fresh lemon juice, then mix well with two cups of water. Use a scrubbing brush with the mixture on the grout to clean it.

Try a steam clean

If you have a steam cleaner then you can steam your grout back to its original colour.  Using the power of water turned into steam and applied at a high pressure, you can simply blast away the dirt and grime.

Re-grout the tiles with fresh white grout

Sometimes the grout starts crumbling or cracking and coming out from between the tiles, especially after some time.  If it’s a newer bathroom then this shouldn’t be happening and you should call your tiler to fix the issue, however if it’s quite an old bathroom then it might be time to re-grout the tiles. If you’re competent at DIY then you may be able to do this yourself.  Check out this step-by-step video to learn how to regrout your tiles.

There are lots of ways to keep your grout clean to prevent a fast build-up of mould or discolouration and many methods to clean it once it does become an unsightly problem.  By keeping your grout clean and restoring the colour every once in a while, your bathroom will be a beautiful place to relax and rejuvenate once more.