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How to clean grout and get it white again

A cleaned bathroom wall with pearly white grout

Overview

Tiles need a bit of a refresh? Forget about totally re-tiling – give your bathroom a facelift with these simple and easy ways to clean and refresh your grout.

Steps

1Gather your tools and materials

Below are all of the tools and materials you'll need to complete this project.
Bucket, gloves, toothbrush, cleaning products and safety equipment laid out.

2Wash your tiles and scrub your grout

Before you get cracking, use a two-step cleaning process.

First, wash your tiles and grout with sugar soap using a toothbrush and scrubbing brush. We used Selley’s Sugar Soap concentrate for this, mixed with warm water in a bucket – it works a treat. Use your toothbrush, scrubbing brush and some elbow grease to scrub the grout and give it a good going-over.

Sugar soap being mixed in a bucket

3Get rid of any mould

Grab your dust mask, open some windows and grab some mould killer to get in there and exterminate any mould spores – this is what’s made your grout look so dirty.

Selley’s Rapid Mould Killer removes 99.9% of germs and can be used in heaps of places around your house like toilets, showers and laundry surfaces. Simply spray on, leave for two to three minutes and rinse down well with water. You’ll be amazed at how effective this stuff is. But a word of warning – it’s fairly noxious, so don’t forget to wear your breather. For extra grimy tiles and grout, repeat this two-step process several times.

Mould killer being sprayed on a bathroom wall

4Mask up your area

Once you’ve given everything a good clean, leave for about two hours before grabbing some masking tape and taping up around your designated tiled area. Mask up any areas you don’t want to get paint on, like around walls, taps and mirrors.

Cleaning wipes being used to clean around bath fittings

5Use your grout pen

Grout pens are seriously handy! Simply use them like a pen to paint on a fresh layer of grout. It’s touch-dry in thirty minutes, but if you need to give them a second coat, wait one hour before re-applying.

A grout pen being used to clean grout between bathroom tiles

6Good as new

And just like that – your tiles and grout look fresh and clean.
Bathroom with fresh white grout.

7Looking for more bathroom inspo?

Check out Mooch Styles' bathroom makeover and more simple how-tos from Make It Yours season one, bathroom episode.
Health & Safety

Please make sure you use all equipment appropriately and safely when following the advice in these D.I.Y. videos. You need to be familiar with how to use equipment safely and follow the instructions that came with the equipment. If you are unsure, you may feel it is safest to consult an expert, such as the manufacturer or an expert Bunnings Team Member.

Grave health hazards are linked to asbestos, which may be in homes built up to 1990. Health hazards may result from exposure to lead-based paints in older materials and copper chromium arsenic (CCA) treated timber. For information on the dangers of asbestos, lead-based paint and CCA treated timber and tips for dealing with these materials contact your local council's Environmental Health Officer. You can also use a simple test kit from Bunnings to indicate the presence of lead-based paint.