What exactly is grout anyway?
Simply put, grout is the porous, sand-and-cement mixture that fills the spaces between your tiles, locking them together and keeping moisture out. Unfortunately, it acts like a giant, absorbent sponge for dirt, spills, and soap scum—making the battle to keep it bright feel never-ending.
Searching for the Best Grout Cleaner? (We’ve been there!)
You’re not alone. Because the reality is, no one wants to spend more time and energy on that hideous cleaning chore than the bare minimum required.
Why grout cleaning is trickier than most people realize
To save you time and money, we rolled up our sleeves for this 2026 tested review to find out which cleaner actually conquers the grime—and the ultimate winner might completely surprise you!
What surprised us most about grout cleaner effectiveness
You don’t hear many people say cleaning grout is their favorite household task, that’s for sure!
How We Tested: Real Grout, Real Results
We have a rental property. A while back, we had to turn it over for new renters. The previous family had been living in the property for about 5 years. And though they were great tenants, I don’t think they EVER cleaned grout.
So we had the perfect (disgusting) testing ground
There were lots of grout cleaning projects to be tackled throughout this house once the tenants left. I wrote another post about cleaning kitchen grout and the best grout cleaning tips, if you want to check that out as well!
Here in this bathroom, sadly (or maybe happily), these pictures (and even the video below), don’t really demonstrate how thoroughly gross this grout was before I cleaned it.
Maybe that’s because it’s uniformly dirty which I guess helps it look a little better? You may just have to take my word from it that this floor looked terrible to begin with.
The floor USED to have white grout, believe it or not. Here’s a picture of the floor when we still lived in the house ⤵.
From white grout to mocha — and back again
And at the onset of this project, the grout was more like a mocha 😳🤢.
Because I knew how much grout needed to be cleaned in this house, I took some time to research “best grout cleaner on the market” and saw conflicting info out there.
We tested 6 products — with zero brand sponsorships
So I gathered 6 of the most commonly recommended products together and decided I would figure it out for myself.
And before I continue, I’ll let you know that this content is NOT sponsored by any company.
I don’t have any relationship with any of the brands that I tested in this project. I truly wanted to figure out which product worked the best, and once I figured it out, share that info with you, too.
Some homeowners turn to harsh, off-label chemical mixtures like toilet bowl cleaner to strip floor stains. We wanted to focus on solutions designed specifically for tile safety — which is exactly what we tested.
What We Tested To Determine the Best Grout Cleaning Product On The Market
1. Clorox toilet bowl cleaner with bleach
2. Soft Scrub with bleach
3. CLR
4. Aqua Mix Heavy Duty Tile and Grout Cleaner
5. Lysol Hydrogen Peroxide Spray
6. Lysol toilet bowl cleaner with bleach
I put together a video to show you the process I used to test these products, as well as the method I used for applying them to the grout and cleaning the grout with them.
The video is just 4-minutes in length, and hopefully, it will answer most of your questions!
Grout Cleaning Video Overview
As you can see in the video, I divided our small bathroom floor into 6 areas, testing a different product in each zone.
Using several different brushes (because I wanted to test those out as well, and this one was a clear winner) I initially scrubbed each zone once the product was applied, and then allowed the cleaner to soak overnight since the floor was so dirty.
After allowing the cleaners to soak, I removed all of the product with a sponge and water.
Based on what I saw, here are the results in rank order from BEST grout cleaner to worst performer…
Results (in rank order) from BEST grout cleaner to worst performer:
1. 🎉 Clorox and Lysol toilet bowl cleaners (both with bleach) 🎉
2. Soft Scrub
3. CLR, Aqua Mix Tile & Grout Cleaner and Lysol Hydrogen Peroxide Spray all performed poorly
Unlike straight chlorine bleach which can weaken cement grout lines over time and strip away its color, finding the right situational cleaner protects your flooring investment. Because grout cleaning is rarely a one-size-fits-all chore, treating a flat mudroom floor requires a totally different strategy than cleaning a vertical shower wall. Before grabbing your utility brushes, let’s break down the best cleaning methods for specific problem areas in your home.
Best Grout Cleaner for Shower Walls (Vertical Surfaces)
Cleaning vertical shower grout presents a unique structural challenge. Standard liquid cleaners will instantly run down the tile face before they have a chance to penetrate the mold, mildew, and deep soap scum buildup. When searching for the best grout cleaner for shower environments, you need to prioritize thick gel formulas, heavy-duty foaming sprays, or homemade baking soda pastes. Products like clinging foam bathroom sprays or deep-penetrating grout gels are engineered to physically stick to vertical walls. This allows the active ingredients to sit directly on the stained areas for 10 to 15 minutes, doing the chemical lifting work for you without dripping away.
Best Floor Grout Cleaner for High-Traffic Tile Floors
Floor grout handles an entirely different type of daily abuse than a bathroom shower surround. Mudrooms, entryways, and kitchen tile floors are constantly subjected to ground-in dirt, kitchen grease, and pet stains. The best floor grout cleaner for tile floors requires a high-volume liquid or concentrated pourable formula that can easily pool inside the lower-sitting grout lines. For large floor surfaces, look for oxygen-bleach or specialized enzyme-based floor solutions that can be applied cleanly with a mop or a long-handled grout brush. Allowing the cleaner to pool and dwell in the floor lines for several minutes breaks down the bound dirt, making it easy to scrub and wipe away completely
How to Clean and Restore Stained White Grout
White grout looks incredible when first installed, but it acts as a magnet for dark discoloration. To safely restore stained white grout back to its original bright finish without eroding the surrounding tile work, you need targeted oxygenated lifting agents. Avoid using aggressive chlorine bleach regularly, as it can weaken the integrity of the grout structure over time. Instead, a thick paste made of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda—or a commercial oxy-based whitener—provides the safest chemical reaction to lift deep-set coffee, mud, or hard-water stains out of white porous lines.
Can You Use Toilet Bowl Cleaner to Clean Tile Grout?
A highly popular viral cleaning trend asks: will toilet bowl cleaner clean grout? While it is true that chemical toilet bowl cleaners (especially those containing hydrochloric acid or concentrated bleach) will instantly blast away stains and turn dark grout lines bright white, you should absolutely avoid using this method regularly.
Toilet cleaners are formulated for vitrified porcelain bowls, not porous cement grout. The harsh, concentrated chemicals will chemically eat away at the top layers of your grout lines every single time you use it. Over a short period, this degrades your flooring, causes the grout to crack or crumble, and can ultimately dissolve the underlying adhesive, leading to loose, expensive-to-repair tiles.
If you do choose to use an off-label gel product like a toilet bowl cleaner for a severe, one-time restoration emergency, do so at your own risk. Be sure to work in small sections, never let it sit on the grout line for more than a couple of minutes, and neutralize the area completely with clean water and baking soda immediately afterward to stop the chemical reaction from destroying your subfloor.
As far as supplies go, here’s what I recommend you’ll need to tackle your own grout cleaning project at home…
Grout cleaning supply list
- Cleaner (based on results, I’d recommend toilet bowl cleaner, brand of your choice…gel with bleach type)
- Grout cleaning brush (I’ve linked the one I use and love)
- bucket of water
- sponge
- open windows/fan(s)
- respirator mask
- rubber gloves
- Dupray Neat Plus Steam Cleaner for Home. Refer to the FAQ about steam cleaners below.
What is the best grout cleaning brush?
Below is a pic of my favorite brush.
There are many out there, and I tried several. But this one is smaller and allows you to really get into those grout lines better than a larger brush. Strong bristles make a huge difference as well!
I’ve often seen people recommending toothbrushes, but those bristles just aren’t strong or durable enough to do the kind of job this $3 brush will do for you.
I’ve also seen “wire” grout brushes mentioned once in a while. Though most tile is pretty tough, I’d be hesitant to use wire just on the off chance that it could scratch your tile, and possibly dig into and remove some of your grout. Better to stay with the brushes whose bristles are made of a poly material.
That’s a grout cleaning wrap!
Remember to check out my top grout cleaning tips here. Finally, if this post helped you find the best grout cleaner on the market, pin this post for later!
You can even leave your own clean tile picture and comments on the pin to help others, too!
FAQs About Cleaning Tile Grout
Professionals typically use heavy-duty, high-alkaline concentrated cleaners to emulsify grease and soil without deteriorating the grout lines. For routine household maintenance, a specialized commercial grout brush paired with targeted natural oxygen lifters is preferred
Most top-rated commercial and DIY grout cleaners require a dwell time of 10 to 15 minutes. Allowing the solution to sit breaks up deeply embedded dirt before you begin scrubbing
Hydrogen peroxide is highly effective and completely safe for standard ceramic and porcelain tile grout. However, heavy-duty industrial degreasers or highly acidic formulas should be avoided on natural stone surfaces like marble, as they can cause permanent etching
The most effective DIY combination is a thick paste of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide applied directly to the stained lines, followed by a light scrub with a dedicated nylon grout brush
The safest and most effective way to restore white grout lines without degrading the mortar structure is using an oxygen-bleach booster or a thick DIY paste of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. This lifts deep organic stains out of the porous cement matrix without stripping away the crisp white color like harsh muriatic acids do.
Yes, over time, toilet bowl cleaner can severely ruin your tile installation. The concentrated acids or raw bleaches chew through the sealants and dissolve the porous cement grout lines beneath your tiles. Eventually, this allows moisture to seep behind or under the tiles, causing them to loosen, crack, or lift away from the subfloor completely.
Steam cleaning is widely considered the most effective chemical-free method for deep-cleaning grout. By using pressurized steam (typically above 200°F), you can loosen embedded dirt, oils, and bacteria that traditional mopping misses. While it is excellent for sanitizing and lifting surface stains, very old or porous grout may still require a targeted alkaline-based grout cleaner to remove deep mineral deposits or mold. We used the Dupray Neat Plus Steam Cleaner for Home, and it worked well. Give it a try.
Technically, you should not grout over old grout. For a new layer of grout to bond properly, it requires a depth of at least 1/8 inch. Adding a thin “skim coat” over existing grout often results in cracking, peeling, and eventual failure. If your grout is beyond cleaning, the professional recommendation is to remove at least 50% of the old grout using a grout saw or oscillating tool before applying a fresh layer to ensure long-term durability.
Seasonal Home Projects & Entertaining
Don’t just clean — decorate! Check out our DIY Christmas mantel ideas for quick holiday updates that make your living room shine.
Once your home is spotless, add some style with our favorite Serena & Lily furniture finds — curated picks that work for every budget and finish the look.
For more quick seasonal makeovers, try this 5-minute feather craft fall garland — an easy accent that pairs beautifully with a freshly cleaned space.
Also helpful: our DIY air freshener guide — fresh scent + clean grout = guests impressed.
Pssst…before you go, I sure would love to hang out with you again really soon! Sign up now and get a no-cost copy of “Builder-Grade To Beautiful: 10 Totally Transformative Home Decorating Solutions, All Under $100!” Click here to enter your email or on the image below. Your copy will be emailed right away!
Cher Robertson says
I had a similar situation to yours except I believe the grout was even more stained than yours was. I used a liquid spray T. S. P. And found that it did an excellent job without too much hard scrubbing required. I had a tile floor that went continuously from the front door, down the main hallway, throughout the kitchen as well as the main floor powder room. A major undertaking! Thankfully it did a great job and although I was down on my hands and knees, the lack of hard scrubbing meant that the job was done in a very reasonable amount of time. I purchased the T.S.P. at Home Depot here in Canada. I would definitely recommend this product.