How to Clean Grout on Tiles (Floors, Showers and Splashbacks)
To clean tile grout, scrub it with a stiff white nylon brush and a pH-neutral tile cleaner or a paste of bicarb soda and water, then rinse it with clean water and dry it. For black mould, use oxygen bleach. Most grout is cement-based, so skip vinegar and other acids: they dissolve cement grout.
Never mix bleach with vinegar, ammonia or another cleaner, because the fumes are toxic (Better Health Channel). Find your mess in the table below for the exact method.
This guide follows the grout makers' own care sheets. We sell wall and floor tiles, and we photographed our tiles in five grout colours to show which grout hides dirt best.
How to clean tile grout: step by step
- Clear the loose dirt. Vacuum or sweep a floor. Wipe a wall or splashback with a damp cloth.
- Put the cleaner on the grout lines. Use the right one for your mess from the table below. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes so it can soften the dirt. Don't let it dry out.
- Scrub along each line. Use a stiff nylon grout brush or an old toothbrush. Pick a white brush or pad: coloured ones can stain light grout. Don't use a wire brush, which can scratch the tile glaze.
- Rinse with clean water, and change it often. Dirty rinse water soaks straight back into the grout. On a floor, a wet vacuum lifts the dirty water best.
- Dry it. Wipe with a towel or squeegee, and run the exhaust fan in a bathroom. Damp grout grows mould.
Which grout cleaner for which mess?
These methods are for cement grout, the kind in most Australian homes. Epoxy grout and natural stone tiles have their own rows.
| Mess | What to use | Leave it | Don't use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Everyday dirt on floors | A pH-neutral tile cleaner in warm water, or a paste of 3 parts bicarb soda to 1 part water | 5 to 10 minutes | Vinegar or lemon juice |
| Grease on a splashback or kitchen floor | Dishwashing liquid in warm water, or sugar soap | 5 minutes | Acid cleaners |
| Soap scum in the shower | A pH-neutral or alkaline bathroom cleaner, or the bicarb paste | 5 to 10 minutes | Vinegar or acid limescale removers on the grout |
| Black mould spots | Oxygen bleach (sodium percarbonate) in warm water, mixed as the pack says. On white grout, for stubborn mould: 250 mL of bleach in 4 L of water | 10 to 15 minutes, kept wet | Bleach mixed with anything else. Strong bleach on coloured grout: it fades it |
| Stains that won't shift | Oxygen bleach mixed to a paste | 15 to 30 minutes | Scourers that scratch the tiles |
| Epoxy grout | A pH-neutral cleaner. It needs no sealer | 5 minutes | Strong acid, alkaline or ammonia cleaners |
| Marble, limestone or travertine tiles | A pH-neutral stone cleaner only | As the label says | Vinegar, lemon juice or any acid: they etch the stone |
What not to use on grout
- Vinegar and lemon juice on cement grout. Acid dissolves the cement, and repeated acid cleaning can end in a regrout. It also etches marble, limestone and travertine, sealed or not.
- Bicarb soda mixed with vinegar. The fizz looks busy, but the two cancel each other out and leave mostly foam. Use the bicarb paste on its own.
- Bleach mixed with anything. Bleach with ammonia or an acid gives off toxic gas. Rinse well between products, and never follow a vinegar step with bleach.
- Strong bleach on coloured grout. Concentrated bleach fades grout colour and wears down grout sealer.
- Wire brushes and coloured scourers. Wire can scratch the glaze, and dye from coloured pads can stain the grout.
How to clean shower grout
Shower grout turns black from mould, which lives on soap scum and damp. Spray oxygen bleach on the grout, keep it wet for 10 to 15 minutes, scrub, rinse and dry. Wear gloves and a P2 mask, open a window, and don't dry-brush mould: it spreads the spores (Better Health Channel).
Check where the black is. Mould in the silicone along the corners and the shower base can't be cleaned out: cut the silicone out and reseal. Mould that's back within days, or a musty smell, can mean water is trapped behind the tiles, so get a licensed tiler or builder to check it (QBCC).
To keep it clean, squeegee the walls after each shower and leave the exhaust fan running until the room is dry.
How to clean floor grout
Floor grout goes grey because mop water carries dirt into the grout lines and dries there. Mop with a pH-neutral tile cleaner, then go over the floor again with clean water. Every month or two, scrub the grout lines with the bicarb paste and lift the dirty water with a wet vacuum.
How to get grout white again
- Scrub with oxygen bleach paste and leave it for 15 to 30 minutes, kept wet.
- For mould on white cement grout, use the bleach mix in the table (250 mL in 4 L of water), then rinse well (NSW Health).
- If it's still stained, a grout pen or grout paint recolours the surface. It's a coating, not new grout, so it wears off in wet areas.
- If none of that works, regrout.
How to keep grout clean: seal it
Cement grout soaks up dirt, so seal it after a deep clean. Let it dry for 48 hours first, then brush on a penetrating grout sealer. New grout needs at least 14 days before sealing. Epoxy grout needs no sealer.
To know when to reseal, drop water on the grout. If it darkens and soaks in, reseal. In a shower that's usually every 1 to 3 years.
When to regrout instead
- The grout is cracked, crumbling or missing. Water gets behind the tiles, so fix it soon (QBCC).
- Stains or mould come back within days of a deep clean.
- The grout is stained deep and oxygen bleach doesn't shift it.
Cut the old grout out before you regrout. New grout over old grout doesn't bond. Work out how much grout you need for a wall or floor in our tile calculator.
Pick a grout colour that hides dirt
Choose the colour for how it will look in five years, not on day one. Mid grey hides splashes and grime best and ages the most evenly. White shows grime first. Black hides stains, but it can show a white haze of salts. Try each grout on our tiles below.
Pearl with mid grey grout
- What it shows
- A clear outline around every tile, so the brick pattern shows without shouting.
- What it hides
- Most splashes and grime: mid tones are the easiest grout to keep looking clean.
- How it ages
- Ages the most evenly of the five: grime blends in, and it doesn't show a white haze the way black can.
Dark grout on a light glaze: ask your tiler to grout a spare tile first. Some tile makers coat the glaze with a wash-off grout release, so the colour can't settle into it.
See Pearl tilesFull-size sample $7
How to clean grout: common questions
What is the best thing to clean your grout with?
For everyday dirt, a pH-neutral tile cleaner or a paste of 3 parts bicarb soda to 1 part water, scrubbed in with a stiff white nylon brush. For mould, oxygen bleach. Rinse with clean water and dry the grout.
How can I get the grout white again?
Scrub it with an oxygen bleach paste and leave it 15 to 30 minutes. For mould on white cement grout, use 250 mL of bleach in 4 L of water (NSW Health), then rinse well. If it's still stained, recolour it with a grout pen or regrout.
Is sugar soap good for cleaning grout?
Yes, for greasy, everyday grime. Sugar soap is alkaline, and cement grout handles alkaline cleaners well. Rinse it off with clean water.
What should you not use to clean grout?
Vinegar, lemon juice or acid limescale removers on cement grout, bicarb mixed with vinegar, strong bleach on coloured grout, and wire brushes. Never mix bleach with vinegar, ammonia or another cleaner.
Does vinegar damage grout?
Yes, cement grout. Acid dissolves cement, so repeated vinegar cleaning wears grout away. Epoxy grout can take it, but a pH-neutral cleaner works just as well.
Can you steam clean grout?
Yes. Steam lifts stubborn dirt from cement and epoxy grout. Afterwards, do the water drop test on cement grout and reseal it if water soaks in.
Should you seal grout after cleaning?
Seal cement grout once it has dried for 48 hours after a deep clean. It soaks up less dirt afterwards. Epoxy grout needs no sealer.
How often should you clean grout?
Wipe or mop tiles weekly and scrub the grout lines every month or two. Check the grout and silicone once a year, and fix cracks straight away.
Last updated: October 2026 · Written by the team at Hybrid Floors Australia
