My adventure dealing with very dirty (and some mold) grout in bathroom/shower

[Jingthing]

Well things got bad enough so that I finally have to deal with it. 

 

So I just wanted to share my experience doing so as it may be useful to others, and of course other people will vehemently disagree and say their solution is much better.

 

Anyway my problem is fairly limited in area so that makes a big difference. If I needed to clean the grout in my entire condo I would seek a more hard core solution or maybe pay for help. 

 

In any case, as I haven't done this before, I did what people do these days to find out about such things -- youtube.

 

Ideally of course you won't need to get down on the floor and scrub so the answer many people had for that was bleach based toilet cleaner gels.  Apply to grout without getting down on the floor, wait a certain amount of time, and then just wet mop up.  But these sorts of bleach based toilet cleaner gels don't seem to exist in Thailand although you can order very expensively to have them shipped in from the U.S. via China. But bleach is very toxic and best avoided if you can anyway.

 

There are also custom products that supposedly work the same way without scrubbing such as something like Grout-eez which doesn't appear to be sold in Thailand. Perhaps there are equivalents to that at the hardware stores here. I didn't even check.  Maybe someone can suggest a locally sold product for that. 

 

So then I looked into some more expensive methods. Buy an electric drill (which I don't have) and attach a scrubbing brush to it. Buy a steamer tool, big or small, ideally with an attachment not requiring bending on the floor.  With steam you don't need any cleaner, only water, and with the mechanized scrubbing brush you need to decide on a cleaning product. I think either one of those ideas might make sense for bigger area jobs.

 

But I decided to at least try out a low tech cheap method. I noticed many videos mentioned the use of hydrogen peroxide (not toxic like beach) mixed with baking soda. You can either mix into a paste or apply the baking soda and spray the peroxide (must be a dark bottle or the chemical becomes inactive). As I had shower walls to deal the paste method was the obvious choice. So I made the paste and applied it to the dirty grout and also some larger mold patches with an old toothbrush. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes and then scrubbed (not very hard needed) with a custom grout brush. Then wiped away residue with a rag, and then water rinse. For the floor parts which I haven't done much of yet, I will let the baking soda get dry, then sweep, then sponge or mop. 

 

This is working very well. Easy enough. For the floor part I can use a small stool. Not a problem for the small area I'm dealing with.

 

One thing that surprised me is that this worked well enough for some minor mold on the tile adhesive areas. The videos all said it wouldn't and that would need to be removed and replaced or cleaned by using rolled up toilet paper or salon coils soaked in bleach. 

 

As an old boss of mine used to say, there are many ways to skin a chicken (it wasn't a kitchen job), well you know the rest ...

[onebir]

The paste stayed in place ok?

[Swiss1960]

Another option (my preferred one): Clean regularly, enable air flow in bath room (with fan if no windows) and you don't get mold.. 

 

How somebody can wait with cleaning his appartment until mold shows up or grout turns black evades me.

[moose7117]

you are doing it all wrong and my way is much better.

 

it is really simple.

 

1. sell the house

2. move in to a brand new one with new bathroom.

3. tiles get dirty.

4. return to step one.

 

[ezzra]

So all that story is about removing some grime from tiles grouting, good read for the morning...I can hardly wait for a blow by blow tell of how to successfully remove skid marks for well worn undies mate...

[gunderhill]

There is a very simple cheap way, every single  time you use the shower dry the walls and floors with squeegee and cloth preferably  cotton, this way the grouting never goes  black. 10  years doing this and no dirty grouting.

[sirineou]

every time after  I take a shower I spray the whole shower with water to wash away the soap from the tiles. Soap is food for the mold. 

Every couple of weeks I spray the whole shower with a bleach and water solution. I usually do it in the morning if I will be away most of the day or a couple of days , because the shower is by my bedroom and I hate the smell.  But it works like a charm. 

[ChipButty]

If it's that bad maybe scrap it out and start again and dont let it get that bad again, I think you need to have a word with whoever does the cleaning

 

[kokesaat]

I've used a 50/50 mix of bleach and water made into a paste with liberal amounts of baking soda.  I apply with a 1/2" paint brush.  Once cleaned, I agree that drying or using a squeegee is the best way to prevent a recurrence.  

[PFMills]

  On 1/30/2021 at 6:43 PM, Jingthing said:

Well things got bad enough so that I finally have to deal with it. 

 

So I just wanted to share my experience doing so as it may be useful to others, and of course other people will vehemently disagree and say their solution is much better.

 

Anyway my problem is fairly limited in area so that makes a big difference. If I needed to clean the grout in my entire condo I would seek a more hard core solution or maybe pay for help. 

 

In any case, as I haven't done this before, I did what people do these days to find out about such things -- youtube.

 

Ideally of course you won't need to get down on the floor and scrub so the answer many people had for that was bleach based toilet cleaner gels.  Apply to grout without getting down on the floor, wait a certain amount of time, and then just wet mop up.  But these sorts of bleach based toilet cleaner gels don't seem to exist in Thailand although you can order very expensively to have them shipped in from the U.S. via China. But bleach is very toxic and best avoided if you can anyway.

 

There are also custom products that supposedly work the same way without scrubbing such as something like Grout-eez which doesn't appear to be sold in Thailand. Perhaps there are equivalents to that at the hardware stores here. I didn't even check.  Maybe someone can suggest a locally sold product for that. 

 

So then I looked into some more expensive methods. Buy an electric drill (which I don't have) and attach a scrubbing brush to it. Buy a steamer tool, big or small, ideally with an attachment not requiring bending on the floor.  With steam you don't need any cleaner, only water, and with the mechanized scrubbing brush you need to decide on a cleaning product. I think either one of those ideas might make sense for bigger area jobs.

 

But I decided to at least try out a low tech cheap method. I noticed many videos mentioned the use of hydrogen peroxide (not toxic like beach) mixed with baking soda. You can either mix into a paste or apply the baking soda and spray the peroxide (must be a dark bottle or the chemical becomes inactive). As I had shower walls to deal the paste method was the obvious choice. So I made the paste and applied it to the dirty grout and also some larger mold patches with an old toothbrush. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes and then scrubbed (not very hard needed) with a custom grout brush. Then wiped away residue with a rag, and then water rinse. For the floor parts which I haven't done much of yet, I will let the baking soda get dry, then sweep, then sponge or mop. 

 

This is working very well. Easy enough. For the floor part I can use a small stool. Not a problem for the small area I'm dealing with.

 

One thing that surprised me is that this worked well enough for some minor mold on the tile adhesive areas. The videos all said it wouldn't and that would need to be removed and replaced or cleaned by using rolled up toilet paper or salon coils soaked in bleach. 

 

As an old boss of mine used to say, there are many ways to skin a chicken (it wasn't a kitchen job), well you know the rest ...

Expand  

Straight to the point of Jing....when’s the novel coming out  LOL

[Bruce Aussie]

  On 1/30/2021 at 10:00 PM, Swiss1960 said:

Another option (my preferred one): Clean regularly, enable air flow in bath room (with fan if no windows) and you don't get mold.. 

 

How somebody can wait with cleaning his appartment until mold shows up or grout turns black evades me.

Expand  

Agree airflow almost eliminates problem. I never have to scrub just lightly spray with bleach every 3 months. Leave it overnight and wash off with morning shower.

[PatOngo]

How adventurous! What will your next adventure be, spraying ants on the back porch? 

[canopy]

  On 1/30/2021 at 6:43 PM, Jingthing said:

There are also custom products that supposedly work the same way without scrubbing...which doesn't appear to be sold in Thailand

Expand  

 

It is sold in Thailand. It's called bleach. That's right, plain, simple, cheap, old bleach you can find anywhere. Bleach is the simplest, easiest choice ideal for lazy people that removes 100% of mold with no scrubbing and no tools whatsoever and is so long lasting that I find only needs performed once a year.

 

 

[Yellowtail]

That "Duck" brand bathroom cleaner works great for me.

 

Also great is the 3M Scotchbrite floor scrubber. No getting on your knees, it's fast and it gets in the corners great. Seems to last forever as well.

 

 

[Andrew Dwyer]

Sold everywhere, Haiter bleach.

You can dilute it with water in a spray bottle, give the affected area a good spray, vacate the room for a couple of hours, use one of those Scotchbrite pads ( or scrubbing blocks ) and give it hell, wear a mask and glasses.

 

 

 

 

[canopy]

Unbelievable, why on earth are you guys still talking about scrubbing with brushes??? It's stupid. It's a waste of time, waste of effort, and a waste of money. Watch the video I posted. 

 

[Andrew Dwyer]

  On 1/31/2021 at 1:18 AM, canopy said:

Unbelievable, why on earth are you guys still talking about scrubbing with brushes??? It's stupid. It's a waste of time, waste of effort, and a waste of money. Watch the video I posted. 

 

Expand  

Unbelievable, why are you posting a video about removing mould from silicone sealant round a bath when the op is clearly talking about grout !!

 

Did you watch the video you posted ??

[canopy]

  On 1/31/2021 at 3:42 AM, Andrew Dwyer said:

why are you posting a video about removing mould from silicone

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I have found bleach works equally well on grout and tiles as it does on silicone and one application a year is sufficient. But you are welcome to waste your money on commercial cleaners and all the scrubbing and for no benefit. Boy has the big chemical companies managed to brainwash so many people.

 

[lopburi3]

I posted several weeks ago about using plain white vinegar spray rather than bleach.  Does not ruin sprayer and does kill mold - a lot safer than using bleach and when come back in two hours to wash not that much smell remaining.  I admit the maid did the chore but it returned plasterboard ceiling to clean white.

[Yellowtail]

  On 1/31/2021 at 4:06 AM, canopy said:

I have found bleach works equally well on grout and tiles as it does on silicone and one application a year is sufficient. But you are welcome to waste your money on commercial cleaners and all the scrubbing and for no benefit. Boy has the big chemical companies managed to brainwash so many people.

 

Expand  

 

The Duck brand cleaner costs less than fifty baht a liter, so while it is more expensive than bleach, to say it's wasting money might be a stretch. It cleans most everything in the bathroom quickly and easily, including but not limited to: soap scum, mold, mildew, and hardwater stains. 

 

Bleach is fine, but you splash it on one pair of trousers or a nice shirt and there goes a ten year supply of bathroom cleaner...

[canopy]

  On 1/31/2021 at 4:43 AM, Yellowtail said:

The Duck brand cleaner...

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The thing I hate about Duck is it requires scrubbing. You scrub off mold as long as it takes working all the tiles, grout, corners, and everything until it reaches an acceptable level and call it a day. The mold is not all gone, it's just down to a visually appealing level. Then the mold comes right back and repeat. Bleach is not like this. You pour on the bleach and do no scrubbing whatsoever. Just let it deep penetrate as shown in the video leaving it completely alone and you're done. In my case I only need bleach treatments about once a year. This is cheaper and easier than Duck which furthermore has hydrochloric acid in it and can stain or corrode various materials and is not so friendly going down the drain either. After learning the bleach method, I threw Duck in the garbage and never looked back.

 

[Jingthing]

  On 1/30/2021 at 7:40 PM, onebir said:

The paste stayed in place ok?

Expand  

Yes, for the most part to get the job done, which is all I care about. 

[Jingthing]

  On 1/30/2021 at 10:00 PM, Swiss1960 said:

Another option (my preferred one): Clean regularly, enable air flow in bath room (with fan if no windows) and you don't get mold.. 

 

How somebody can wait with cleaning his appartment until mold shows up or grout turns black evades me.

Expand  

As you inferred, it is not a well ventilated area. That's another reason I wanted to avoid bleach products to avoid toxic fumes. Thanks for trying to shame me. I really don't care. 

[Jingthing]

  On 1/30/2021 at 10:24 PM, moose7117 said:

you are doing it all wrong and my way is much better.

 

it is really simple.

 

1. sell the house

2. move in to a brand new one with new bathroom.

3. tiles get dirty.

4. return to step one.

 

Expand  

Funny that you say that! That's been my tactic in the past but given the market for "used" condos in Pattaya, I'm not in the mood to throw big bags of money out the window. 

[Jingthing]

  On 1/30/2021 at 10:37 PM, ezzra said:

So all that story is about removing some grime from tiles grouting, good read for the morning...I can hardly wait for a blow by blow tell of how to successfully remove skid marks for well worn undies mate...

Expand  

No skid marks. Have you heard of bum guns?

[Jingthing]

  On 1/30/2021 at 10:55 PM, gunderhill said:

There is a very simple cheap way, every single  time you use the shower dry the walls and floors with squeegee and cloth preferably  cotton, this way the grouting never goes  black. 10  years doing this and no dirty grouting.

Expand  

But this topic is about cleaning dirty grout. Did you somehow miss that?

[Jingthing]

  On 1/31/2021 at 12:21 AM, PFMills said:

Straight to the point of Jing....when’s the novel coming out  LOL

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Perhaps a vlog? Jingthing's Cleaning Disasters?

[Jingthing]

  On 1/31/2021 at 12:28 AM, PatOngo said:

How adventurous! What will your next adventure be, spraying ants on the back porch? 

Expand  

What do you have against my pets?

[Jingthing]

  On 1/31/2021 at 12:33 AM, canopy said:

 

It is sold in Thailand. It's called bleach. That's right, plain, simple, cheap, old bleach you can find anywhere. Bleach is the simplest, easiest choice ideal for lazy people that removes 100% of mold with no scrubbing and no tools whatsoever and is so long lasting that I find only needs performed once a year.

 

 

Expand  

Duh. I know bleach is sold in Thailand. I was talking about another product that is a bleach gel sold for cleaning toilet bowls but widely promoted on youtube for grout cleaning. Specifically the Lysol and Clorox brands. Apparently not sold in Thailand.

Duck is not the same.

[Jingthing]

  On 1/31/2021 at 4:21 AM, lopburi3 said:

I posted several weeks ago about using plain white vinegar spray rather than bleach.  Does not ruin sprayer and does kill mold - a lot safer than using bleach and when come back in two hours to wash not that much smell remaining.  I admit the maid did the chore but it returned plasterboard ceiling to clean white.

Expand  

Yes vinegar mixed with baking soda is a common suggestion. I already use vinegar for different cleaning things. I just decided for this task to use Hydrogen peroxide.