If you have a newly-modeled ceramic bathroom, then you are probably in awe of how beautiful and white the original grout lines are. However, if they already got the grayish tint, then there is no need to worry. These stains can be perfectly cleaned.
The bad news is that you will have to clean the grout lines several times a year if you wish to have them white all the time. Why several times a year? Well, the problem is that grout is porous and thus, will keep sucking dirt and dust vigorously.
Can I Use Vinegar?
The short answer is no. Due to the porous nature of the grout, cleaning solutions like vinegar, toilet bowl cleaners and lemon juice can permanently damage the surface via grout corrosion.
Lightly-stained Grout Lines
In the areas where the grout is just light-gray in color or stained only on certain parts, then any non-chlorine bleach will do the trick. Personally, I’d recommend oxygen bleach (hydrogen peroxide). I’d suggest diluting 1 part of oxygen bleach with 4 parts of cold water. You can either use it by pouring the solution on a dish cloth, tooth brush or by pouring it to a clean spray can.
Heavy-stained Grout Lines
If your grout lines are heavily-stained and the oxygen bleach cleaning solution didn’t do the trick, then you can either use a stronger mix ration in favor of oxygen bleach, or simply use chlorine bleach. The latter is much stronger than the former, because it contains sodium hypochlorite as an active agent.
Other Cleaning Options
If you don’t or can’t use chlorine bleach cleaning solutions, then you can also use a rather strong solution mixed of a small amount of oxygen bleach with 1-2 teaspoons of liquid dish detergent and 1 cup of baking soda. The combination of these ingredients will create a pasta-like cleaning solution, which can be applied on a toothbrush to cleaning the stained grouts.
Just remember to not use the same toothbrush on your teeth afterwards.
Conclusion
There you have it. These few simple cleaning solutions will help you protect the grout lines in your bathroom and keep them all white and clean.