Best Grout Cleaners in 2023 Reviews

1. Tilex Grout Pen
2. Hoover Grout Plus (Top Pick)
3. StoneTech Klenz All
4. Black Diamond Stoneworks Ultimate Grout Cleaner
5. Stain-X Pro Grout Cleaner – 32 OZ

1. Tilex Grout Pen

This is the best grout cleaner if you want a cleaner to is easy to use and targets certain areas. If you just want a quick fix or have spots that need some touch-up, the grout pen is what you want to get.

Because it is made with bleach, you want to be careful with it when you are targeting certain areas.

Out of all the pens like grout cleaners, we found the Tilex Grout Pen to work the best. It certainly works better than the Miracle Grout Pen.

It cleans out the most amount of grout while minimizing odor due to bleach. The best part about this pen is it is very cheap, as most retail stores have this in stock for only a few dollars.

We highly recommend you use it for fixing small spots in the toilet or shower. If you need to clean the entire house or have a bigger project, we would suggest you use another product. We really like this pen in that it is a hands-off solution, meaning you won’t have to scrub too much.

Simply apply a thin layer of the solution over your dirty grout and watch as the bleach reacts and dissolves the dirt and debris inside your grout lines. Please don’t think this is a toy and let your kids or pets get a hold of it. The active ingredient in it is bleach and it is quite lethal if it is in the wrong hands.

We really can’t say too many negative things about the Tilex Grout Pen besides the fact that it contains bleach and is dangerous. We did find that you can finish the product quite fast if you are not careful with the amount you use every time.

These are small problems to have and we see the pros far outweighing the cons here. The Tilex Grout Pen is the best grout cleaner if you want a portable quick fix to grout lines.

Pros

• Portable and good for spot cleaning
• Powerful bleaching agent
• Inexpensive

Cons

• Hazardous if not used correctly
• Cannot clean the entire house

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2. Hoover Grout Plus for tiles – Best Grout Cleaner

The Hoover Grout Plus is the best grout cleaner if you have medium-grade debris. It is Amazon’s best-seller of grout cleaners because it works better than all of its competitors and is relatively cheaper. If you have more area to cover, we highly recommend you look into the Hoover Grout Plus instead of the Tilex Grout Pen.

The Hoover Grout Plus is an acid-based solution that works better than its top competitor Zep after multiple tests in our test lab. And because it is an acid-based cleaner, you don’t have to scrub too much as the acid in the solution does most of the work already.

However, it also comes with some pitfalls as it cannot be used on stone, granite, or marble as it would react and cause damage to your floor. If you have stone, marble, or granite countertops, we recommend you try the StoneTech Klenz All.

Hoover Grout Plus is the most trusted brand according to all the long-term consumers we interviewed. We even asked a bunch of professional grout cleaners what their preferred grout cleaning brand is and about 70% of them said Hoover Grout Plus.

So it is not just the marketing: this stuff really works. The most common positive comment about this product from professionals and consumers is that it is the best grout cleaner for value.

Hoover Grout Plus is very cheap and long-lasting. One bottle of this product can be used for many years.  The most common complaint we see from customers who have used this product for a while is that they wish it would also work on stone, marble, and granite tiles.

If you want the best grout cleaner for the money, we suggest you get Hoover Grout Plus.

Pros

• Good for large-scale projects
• Used by many professionals
• Powerful acidic cleaner

Cons

• Cannot be used on stone, granite, or marble tiles

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3. StoneTech Klenz All Grout Cleaner

StoneTech Klenz All is the best grout cleaner if you are looking for a professional-grade cleaner that can be used on all surfaces. Because the main ingredient in StoneTech is an alkaline base, it is relatively non-reactive to marble, granite, or colored tiles.

This means that for full-scale home projects, you can loosely apply this everywhere and don’t have to worry about damaging your floor.

In fact, many people even put this on a mop and apply it everywhere on the floor. It certainly saves you time and probably your back and well because you no longer need to hunch over and get on your knees to clean dirty grout lines.

StoneTech’s biggest competitor is Aqua Mix and through our lab tests, we found StoneTech to be the superior product. It tends to work better by soaking up more dirt and debris and is generally cheaper in most retail stores.

This is of course after you dilute the product since it comes in a concentrated solution. StoneTech is a DuPont product, and DuPont is a name brand that we all know and trust.

The professionals we talked to said they liked StoneTech because it is a powerful grout cleaner that is very forgiving to your tiles.

The most common negative comment was that you had to dilute the concentrate, which can be a bit more tedious work. All in all, StoneTech is the best grout cleaner and the best way to clean grout if you have a big project.

Pros

• Can be used on all tiles since it is a basic solution
• Great value
• Used for cleaning the entire house

Cons

• Must dilute before using
• Not as strong as acidic-based cleaners

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4. Black Diamond Stoneworks Ultimate Grout Cleaner

The Black Diamond Stoneworks is a fast-acting spray cleaner that is specifically made for all types of grout. It saves you a lot of time and labor by removing grease, dirt, oil, and soap scum wedged in your grout lines.

Although you still have to scrub the dirt away, at least this product helps you get 50% there. It is an acid-free and deep penetrating formula that cleans out your grout lines without damaging them.

Black Diamond Ultimate Grout Cleaner comes ready to work out of the box. You don’t have to mix this product at all or prime your surface. All you need to do is spray a few drops on your dirty grout lines.

Then just wait a minute or so for the chemicals to react with your grout. Finally, scrub away with a scrub brush and wipe clean. You can use the Black Diamond Ultimate Grout Cleaner whenever you need to and definitely before re-sealing your grout. It can even be used as a daily cleaner for shower tile grout.

In terms of performance, it is definitely not the strongest acting grout cleaner out there. However, it is strong enough to get most of the dirt out of your grout lines. This is probably not the product for you if you have disgustingly dirty grout that hasn’t been cleaned in years.

Also, it doesn’t clean up the water or calcium spots because it is an acid-free formula. The good part is, that it smells quite pleasant and doesn’t give off harsh fumes.

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5. Stain-X Pro Grout Cleaner – 32 OZ

The Stain-X Pro Grout Cleaner is one of our top recommendations for a cleaner that can be used daily. It is definitely not a miracle product in a bottle. What we mean by this is that it won’t completely restore your grout lines to normal.

However, we find the Stain-X Pro great for spot cleaning, and your grout and tiles go from space grey or black to egg color. It won’t be bone white and shiny, but as long as you don’t expect this, you should be alright with this product.

One of the main selling points of the Stain-X is that it is an odorless product. This may be a bit of an exaggeration but for the most part, it is true. It certainly doesn’t smell like water and is completely neutral. But it also doesn’t wreck fumes and you won’t have to put on a gas mask to apply it.

The Stain-X Pro grout cleaner is also a rather green product and is environmentally friendly. It is non-toxic and non-acidic, which basically means that it is safe to use on all sorts of grout lines and tiles. We recommend that you keep a bottle of this in your shower and spray it on your shower grout lines. This product is also safe to be used on colored grout.

In terms of cleaning power, the Stain-X is not the best. With a grout cleaner that is safe on your grout and doesn’t have strong odors, you can’t really expect a powerful cleaner. What we can say is that it works to clean up a good 80% of dirt and debris around your grout lines.

We suggest you look at the Stonetech Klenz if you want a powerful grout cleaner. The Stain-X shines in the fact that it is inexpensive, non-toxic, and odorless. It is the best grout cleaner if you don’t mind sacrificing a bit of cleaning power.

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Grout Cleaner Basic Ingredients

The best grout cleaners all have the same active ingredients: either they contain acid, base, or bleach. Acidic solutions can be very strong like hydrochloric acid or very weak like lemon juice or vinegar.

Normally, when you use an acid-based cleaner, you don’t have to do too much work because the acid is very reactive.

The trade-off is that acid does not cope well with certain materials and can damage them. Basic solutions are more forgiving in terms of damaging your tiles. You can liberally apply them without worrying about causing too much harm to your floor. Bleach-based solutions are the most powerful.

However, if not used correctly, they can also be the most damaging. You can seriously discolor your floor or harm yourself when you use to bleach the wrong way. Please use extra care when handling bleach.

What is a Grout?

Grout is a type of material used to seal tiles. It is generally made of cement, sand, and water and acts as a glue that holds your tiles together. Grout is also quite porous, meaning it has many microscopic holes that let dirt and debris seep through. Your grout lines become discolored over time as dirty water goes through the porous material inside of your grout lines.

Bacteria and other germs can even grow in your grout lines as your floor gets dirty, which can cause health risks to your entire house. People often confuse the term grout with tiles. Just remember that grout is the glue that binds together your tiles.

Often it is also the place that collects the most dirt because it is porous. When your grout lines are dirty, we advise you use the best grout cleaner to make your floors spotlessly and clean.

Best way to clean grout and tiles

1. Wear Protection

You will probably want to wear a pair of thick plastic gloves when handling grout and the best grout cleaner. If you are using bleach or any professional-grade grout cleaner, you wouldn’t want any of that to get on your hands. We recommend these gloves if you want to use a pair of grout cleaning gloves

2. Clear the surface

If you are very serious about cleaning your dirty grout lines, the first place to start is to make sure the surface of your tiles is clean as well. You do this because you want to make sure there is nothing around the surface of your grout lines before scrubbing or else you could get unnecessary dirt and debris inside your grout lines.

3. Use the best overall grout cleaner solution

It is already hard enough to pick the best grout cleaner.  We have made your life easier by reducing it down to the top three. Remember, when you apply the grout cleaner, you don’t need to use too much. Extra cleaner won’t make a difference other than it will just create more clean-up for you and you will end up wasting a lot of solutions. Also, try not to immediately scrub and let the grout cleaner react with the grout lines first.

4. Scrub the grout mold and mildew

After you let the best grout cleaner react with your dirty grout line, it is time to scrub your grout. It is best to use a scrub brush that was specifically designed for grout. If the bristles are too strong you maybe scrub into the grout itself and damage your tiles. You want a grout scrub brush that has medium bristles so that you don’t run the risk of over-scrubbing. You want to use a circular motion when scrubbing your grout lines. We recommend this scrub brush.

5. Rinse and clean up the tile and grout lines

By now you’ve done most of the dirty work. You can pat yourself on the back for a job well done. You now just have to clean up the area with water and wipe off the remaining debris. Paper towels or a dry mop is fine for this. Afterward, you should have a brand new floor to play on.

Products to clean grout

1. Grout Steamer:

What a grout steamer does is applies water vapors at extremely high pressures and heat which in turn breaks up the dirt on the surface of your grout lines. This can be the lazy man’s way of cleaning grout.

You don’t have to apply any grout solution or get on your hands or knees. The grout steamer will mostly suck out surface-level dirt and debris from your grout lines. The grout steamer can be an expensive way to clean grout. You can find a good quality steamer here.

2. Do It Yourself Products:

You can try to create your own solution at home. We can guarantee you it won’t be as effective as using the best grout cleaners we reviewed. This may not be the best way to clean grout so try it out if you want.

Most people generally have no idea how the chemicals they’ve made will react with their tiles. If we were to guess, we would say you’re setting yourself up to damage your tiles. Most of the time you are just wasting your time. Do-it-yourself home solutions usually are made of lemon juice, baking soda, vinegar, or dish detergent.

3. Over-the-Counter Household Cleaners:

These products weren’t specifically designed to clean grout. Instead, they are generic clean everything solutions you can find at your local supermarket. While they are not designed for grout lines, they are generic cleaners and can be used on grout lines. Whether or not they are effective is a different issue. We would also advise you to be careful when dealing with these products as some of them could damage your floors as well.

4. Professional Grout Cleaners:

If you are serious about cleaning your dirty grout lines, just get a solution made specifically for grout. These professional-grade products are usually very cheap and incredibly effective. We have reviewed the best grout cleaners on the market and they are obviously all professional grout cleaners for a reason: they work. We highly recommend you use an industrial-strength cleaner the next time you decide to clean your dirty tiles.

5. Hire a pro:

When you don’t have the time or energy to get on your knees and scrub away at grout, it is time to give up and just call a professional. There is no shame in it, but just remember it can get really expensive.

Tile Grout Cleaning Tools

Mop/Broom:

Mops and brooms are generally used to wipe the surface of your floors clean before applying the best grout cleaner. This is done to make sure you don’t get extra dirt on the tiles of your floor into your grout lines.

Grout Scrub brush: 

Using the best grout cleaning scrub brush is an effortless way to clean grout. Make sure you get a brush where the bristles in the middle are longer than the ones on the side because grout lines are going to be deeper than your tiles.

The deep bristles in the center and going to penetrate your deep grout lines and the shorter bristles will gently scrub over your tiles.  Also, make sure you find a scrub brush with a good handle and a nice comfortable grip. We recommend this scrub brush.

Grout Brush Drill:

Believe it or not, you can actually get a brush that will attach to the end of a drill. It can be used to apply even pressure to your grout lines and scrubs in a nice circular motion. This is really a nice solution for those who don’t want to work that hard.

Cloth/Cleaning pad:

The cloth or cleaning pad is used to wipe done your tiles and grout lines after you’ve finished cleaning. A white one is nice to have because you don’t want any of the dyes on the cloth to get on your grout lines.

Why is cleaning grout important?

Health benefits:

The obvious number one benefit of having clean grout floors is the fact that you won’t get sick. Bacteria and other germs like to live on the floor, in wet and porous areas. Therefore, grout is one of their best homes. If you have kids or dogs who like to play around on the floor, they will surely pick up dirt and debris that contains germs. If you are serious about not getting sick, you should keep your grout lines clean.

Aesthetics:

If you have dirty grout lines, an appraiser will lower the value of your house. Dirty grout lines do not really complement your tiles well and they simply do not look good. When others are visiting your home, you don’t want to give the impression that you are a dirty person who keeps the house poorly maintained.

Grout Prevention

One of the best ways to ensure that your grout doesn’t get dirty again is to properly apply a grout sealer. Once you are done cleaning your grout lines with the best grout cleaner, you should apply a grout sealer. The sealer sits on top of your grout lines and prevents water and other particles from seeping through. It is an added layer of protection from dirt and debris.

There are two kinds of sealers: penetrating and topical sealers. Penetrating sealers get into the microscopic pores of your grout and seal them, preventing water from getting into them in the first place. They last a long time and are extremely effective.

Topical sealers sit on top of your grout lines and form a protective wall. They are generally cheaper but a bit less effective. In general, you want to use topical sealers in less used areas and save the penetrating sealers for areas of high traffic. If you are looking for the best grout sealer, look here.