How To Clean Bathroom Tile

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Clean Bathroom Tile

No one likes to do it. Cleaning bathroom tile can be tedious work, especially if we are trying to clean those tiny little tiles that looked so cute when we picked them out. Now that they have become mildewed and require hours worth of cleaning, rethinking their design is inevitable.

Most people don’t realize that tile grout is not water proof and should be replaced every two to three years depending on how often it is getting wet. Every year we should be sealing the tile to ensure the grout stays as intact as possible. Here are a few tips and hints to keep you clean and mildew free between replacements.

Regular Tile Cleaning

Tile can be cleaned with a variety of things but vinegar, baking soda, salt and lemon juice are the best, least expensive and most effective products to clean with.

Try this mixture to create a paste that will get most any soap scum built up on tile.

• 1 cup salt
• 1 cup baking soda
• 1 cup vinegar

Mix these ingredients together to create a paste and rub them on with a non-abrasive sponge to attack most anything stuck on the tile.

If you find that you can’t get in certain corners, try using a Q-tip or even a cotton ball soaked in cleaner. Leave it in the corner several minutes and the goo will come right out.

Dip a sponge in lemon juice and wipe down tile surfaces to create a shine, leave the area smelling fresh and leave a touch of citrus to disinfect and discourage mildew. The citrus will also remove body oils and soap scum.

In addition to regular tile, you will want to make sure you are maintaining the runners along the shower door very clean as well. If you can’t reach inside the runner with your handy old toothbrush turned scrubber, then use Q-tip dipped in cleaning solution.

Another trick is to just pour the vinegar in the runner, wait several minutes and rinse well with water. Usually that will flush out most of the dirt and accumulations.

Cleaning Shower Curtains: Mold and Mildew

Shower curtains are another source of problems when it comes to keeping tile clean. Shower curtains often brush against the tile either on the floor or on the walls. Shower curtains are notorious for collecting all sorts of soap scum and mildew. One thing you can do immediately upon buying a new shower curtain is cut off the seam at the bottom. That seam has no real purpose since plastic won’t unravel. It just collects mold. Cutting it off resolves that problem. Spraying it regularly with straight white vinegar will cut down on the mildew and using lemon juice on a sponge every so often will cut down on the soap scum.

There are other ways to help prevent mold and mildew on tile. These environmental suggestions are simple ways to help keep your bathroom cleaner in general.

• Leave lights on whenever possible to reduce humidity and create a less comfortable environment for mold and mildew.
• Decrease humidity by leaving door cracked when showering, blow drying hair in bathroom and installing a ceiling fan that sucks the air out of the room.
• Clean regularly. Mold and mildew feeds on itself…the less there is, the less it will grow
• Keep everything as dry as possible. Use the used towels to dry up anything left wet, take out wet towels, and consider hanging wet towels in bedrooms or other closet.
• Wax all surfaces to create a less comfortable environment for mildew and mold to grow.

Tile Grout Replacement

Tile Grout Replacement: Don’t let this household project scare you. If you can stand to be on your knees for a couple of hours, replacing tile grout can be done by just about anyone. Buy the grout replacement mix from you local hardware or home improvement store. Be sure you check the color – you want it to match or be slightly lighter.

You will also need a flat head screwdriver just the size of the grout gap to dig out the old stuff, a grout trowel and sealer. From home, you will need a bowl of warm water and an old, lint free rag. Once you get home, roll up a towel for your knees and get to work digging out the old grout. Once you have successfully scraped out the old grout and cleaned up the area, prepare the replacement grout according to directions and put it where the old grout just came out. The grout trowel will help you get it just where you want it and the old rag will wipe up any bits that go astray.

Once you have accomplished the grout application to your satisfaction, follow the directions on the sealer (usually a matter of painting it on), and you are officially a home improvement wizard!

Be sure you follow up yearly with a new coat of sealant and every two years with another application of grout. Soon you will be taking on the caulking around the bathtub as well.