Handy tips on how to clean bathroom tiles and grout

Beautiful tiles make a bathroom look absolutely stunning.

There are special things you can do to prevent the ageing and stains on the tiles and grout. How to clean bathroom tiles and grout is a frequently asked question by DIYers.

The easiest way is to get someone else to do it, but that's not always viable. It costs good money for a professional tile and grout cleaner.

Here are some handy tips on how you can do it yourself. The first thing to know is what kind of tiles you have.

How can you tell what kind of tiles you have already?

Identifying your existing tiles can be hard if you didn't buy them. There are many different kinds of floor and wall tiles on the market today.

Generally, the ones you'll find in your bathroom are either:

• Ceramic
• Porcelain
• Marble

It's easy to clean ceramic and porcelain tiles but cleaners say that marble tiles can be damaged by acids like lemon and vinegar, and some cleaning cloths can also damage them. We'll have a special look at marble as we go.

Innovative products for cleaning tiles and grout effectively

There are some innovative solutions for cleaning mould and grime off tiles, and the good news is some of the products are already in your fridge or kitchen cupboard.

These include:

• Lemon
• Vinegar

• Baking Soda (Bicarb soda)

   

Lemon. With the natural acidic qualities of lemon, cleaners say your ceramic and porcelain tiles will come up sparkling and new. All you need to do is squeeze a good amount of lemon juice into a spray bottle, fill it with warm water, and there you have it. A cost-effective tile cleaner. Spray onto the tiles and let it soak in for a little while.

Vinegar. White vinegar is a wonderful natural disinfectant, that DIYers also use as a brilliant tile cleaner. By mixing half a cup of white vinegar with a litre of warm water, you can fill a spray bottle and spay all the tiles down. Let it soak in for a moment before scrubbing

Baking Soda. It's a great leavening agent for baking cakes and muffins, and people have also found it useful for cleaning tiles. Simply make a paste of 2-3 cups of baking soda using a small amount of water, and presto, a cost-effective cleaning solution. For floor tiles you could also try sprinkling the baking soda directly onto the tiles and grout and letting it sit.

The last resort is using chemicals. There are professional cleaning products which will do the job beautifully, if you have excellent protection for your hands, mouth, nose and eyes. Choosing eco-friendly chemicals will help protect the environment.

What's the best way to clean marble tiles without damaging them?

Professional cleaners offer a few ways to clean marble tiles. One of those is with water and a soft microfibre cloth. Be careful not to scrub the surface too hard. Then you can wipe the tiles dry.

If there's a build up of dirt, use a diluted solution of gentle dish soap with warm water. With a soft cloth you can wipe away the grime.

For removing a stain on marble tiles, spray the stain lightly with water, apply a thick paste made from baking soda and water, and cover it with something like plastic cling wrap or glad wrap. Leave it covered for 24 hours and then the next day use a damp cloth to wipe the solution away. If the stain is still evident, repeat the process again.

Tools you need for cleaning tiles and grout

It's a given that whatever tools you need the bristles need to be pretty hard for scrubbing grime and mould effectively. DIYers use stiff bristled brushes and non-scratch scourers.

For those hard to get to corners, toothbrushes come in very handy. Just remember to label the toothbrush very clearly that you’re using to clean the tiles.

Some people treat the grout in the shower a little bit at a time. They keep a toothbrush in the shower and use it each time they're taking a shower to scrub different areas of the grout. They scrape a bit of the soap onto the toothbrush and away they go for a minute or so. Each time they shower, they do a little bit more.

Within a week the grout could be all done and it didn't seem like you had to do much work at all.

The secret to avoid tiles and grout building up with grime

Once you've cleaned the tiles and grout, there's a way to avoid having to go through it all again. The secret is to keep it clean, by wiping it over once a week.

For floor and wall tiles outside the shower, do a quick wipe with a sponge mop using warm water and vinegar or lemon.

For inside the shower, spray the walls and floor with a lemon or vinegar solution before you take a shower. Let it sit for a few minutes, then while you're taking a shower, it's just an easy wipe down. The water from your shower washes it all away.

The same goes with your glass shower screens and the bath.

For preventing build up on grout, keep doors and windows open for as long as possible to allow air flow to dry them. Some people run the exhaust fan for a while after showering to draw the moisture out of the room.

Maintaining tiles and grout regularly is easy. Leaving it all for one big clean requires considerably more effort and time.

The Bathware Direct difference

When you do a beautiful bathroom makeover, you'll want to keep it as clean as possible. Whether it's the tiles, the vanity, or the beautiful walk-in shower screen like the Fully Frameless Walk in Shower Screen Fixed Panel by BELLA VISTA at Bathware Direct.

Whatever bathroom products you need, Bathware Direct have the best prices and best range, and offer an enjoyable customer experience.

PLUS - there's the bonus of prompt delivery.

For quality bathroom products, it's Bathware Direct.