• Home Home

Cleaning expert shares 'genius' bleach-free grout cleaning hack to give your tiles a second life: 'I need to do this'

This option is better for the environment than a traditional store-brand cleaner.

Bleach-free grout cleaning hack

Photo Credit: @cityline / Instagram

Grout — that seemingly unidentifiable substance that sits between the tiles on your floors or in the bathroom — can get dirty easily. This hack uses a few simple ingredients, a squeeze bottle, and a toothbrush to ensure that it stays sparkling clean. 

The scoop 

The Instagram account for the long-running Canadian talk show Cityline (@cityline) posted this solution in a recent Reel, noting their distaste for dirty grout. 

It involves just a few simple ingredients: baking soda, peroxide, and dish soap. In the video, they instruct viewers to combine a quarter cup of peroxide, a half cup of baking soda, and a few drops of dish soap to create a paste that you can put in a squeeze bottle. 

On cleaning day, just squeeze the paste along the line of the grout, use a toothbrush to scrub away any dirt, and wash away the suds. 



💡 Get money for home upgrades

Rewiring America makes it easy to get info about upgrading your home with tax credits. Sign up today to learn more about helping yourself while helping the planet.



By clicking Learn More, you agree to send your info to Rewiring America, who agrees to use it according to their privacy policy.

"Just apply, scrub, and wipe. It's instant, clean, fresh," the video advises. 

How it's helping 

Unfortunately, grout is a mixture of concrete, aggregate, and other materials like sand and water that can make it a porous substance — so it needs to be cleaned often. This hack, however, makes the cleaning process safe, quick, and easy, and can be far more cost-effective than buying traditional cleaners. 

Some folks use bleach to clean grout, but this can cause damage to the grout over time, so it's not recommended. 

Other grout cleaners are on the market, and the top-selling cleaner on Amazon is Grout-EEZ — with bottles selling for $30.95. Alternatively, a 32-ounce bottle of hydrogen peroxide and a 16-ounce bag of baking soda on Amazon sells for a total of around $17. 

Not only that, but this option is better for the environment than a traditional store-brand cleaner or even bleach. Traditional cleaners use an abundance of chemicals, and bathroom cleaners especially tend to use hydrochloric acid for its stain-removing properties. When washed down the drain, bleach and other ingredients can be toxic for the local environment and water. 

What everyone's saying 

Many commenters on the post were thrilled with the simplicity and convenience of the hack. "I need to do this! [You] read my mind!" wrote one user. Another added: "Cleaning genius!" 

Others took to the comments to share their success with the concoction. "This really worked!" wrote one user. 

Meanwhile, a few others claimed that this did not work for them. "I tried this. It didn't work. All it did was leave a film from the baking soda," one person added. 

So it might be a good idea to test a small area before spreading the mixture on your entire floor or bathroom wall. 

Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more, waste less, and help yourself while helping the planet.

Cool Divider