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Differences in Grout Cleaning for Different Tile Materials

mariakay | Sep 20, 2010 |

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One might wonder if the procedure for cleaning grout is different depending on the type of tile the grout is used with. For example, should your technique or grout cleaner choice be different for marble tiles than it is for slate tile? Or should there be a difference in how you clean grout for ceramic tiles and glass tiles? The answer is yes and no. There are some elements that are the same no matter what the tile material, but there are some special considerations for certain types of tiles.

An example of something that does not change from tile to tile is the fact that you should use circular scrubbing motions. No matter what the tile is made of, a back and forth scrub will not get your grout lines clean. The reason for this is that the backward scrubbing motion pushes all the dirt you pulled out going forward back into the grout.

An example of something that might change is the grout cleaner that you use. For example, citric acid or lemon juice is a common agent for cleaning ceramic tile grout, because it will not damage ceramic tiles. However, slate or other natural materials might be negatively affected by the use of the acidic cleaner. Make sure that you always test any cleaning agent on a small part of both your grout and your tile to make sure there are no negative effects.

Another example of something that stays the same no matter what kind of tile you are cleaning is hardness of the bristles you use. If the bristles are too soft, you will never be able to penetrate the grout enough to make a difference. However, if the bristles are too hard, it could chew up the grout and leave scratch marks on your tile.

On the other hand, you might want to change the shape or size of the brush depending on what type of tile you are cleaning. For example, if you are cleaning an area with very small mosaic tiles, then you might want a small brush so that you can clean the grout lines with more precision. In addition, brushes with bristles on the outside edges that are shorter than the bristles in the center are desirable if your tiles are easily scratched or damaged.