How do I fix discoloured grout?

Tiles can be a fantastic addition to your home, whether it be your bathroom, kitchen or even your whole house! Tiles can add style to an area, they can protect the longevity of your home and  feel great underfoot. And we all know it beats having dusty, mite-ridden carpet or cheap, peeling lino!

But tiles also come with their fair share of problems. One of the biggest problems faced with tiled floors is discoloured grout.
My grout looks gross.. what do I do?
They say that prevention is the best cure-and the same goes for your grout lines. When you first have your shiny, new tiles laid, and everything looks spick and span, be sure to SEAL your grout lines. Most good tilers should do this for you, but be sure to ask them before they head out the door! If your tiler is already riding off into the sunset-never fear. A good quality grout sealant costs around $15-20 and should be available from all good hardware stores. Grout sealant is easy to apply- simply buy a thin paintbrush and apply once over your groutlines, both on your wall tiles and floor tiles. NOTE: You should ALWAYS be careful not to coat the entire tile- only ever coat the grout lines. Grout sealant is water-resistant and could easily make your tiles super slippery!

But what if it’s too late? My grout lines are already discoloured!
If your grout lines are unprotected, or the grout mix used when the tiles were laid was improperly mixed or applied, it can cause your grout lines to discolour or look patchy. Find out all about WHY this happens over here, but in the meantime you have a few options:

The first is the age-old ‘soda and vinegar’ trick. Mixing baking soda and vinegar to use as a cleaning product is one of the all time greatest money saving hacks in existence-clean your sink with it, clean your benchtops, clean your shower. And it even helps with minor discolouration in grout! Now, this is probably not going to be the answer if you have widespread grout discolouration due to a poor grout mix, but for leaf-stains, coffee spills, or dirt in your grout, it can often provide the quick fix you need.

Chances are your grout discolouration is a bit more widespread and a bit more serious than the odd stain around the house. Now, in this case, your best option is to ‘re-colour’ your grout or have the grout professionally cleaned. Depending on the size of the area, your best bet is probably to have the area professionally cleaned and of course SEALED upon completion.

However, if you have a bit of time up your sleeve (perfect rainy day job), you can choose to ‘renew’ your grout with grout colourant. This essentially involves you ‘painting’ your tiles with a toothbrush and a special grout renewal product such as this one. Whilst it takes a bit of extra hard yakka, it can make your grout lines good as new within hours, and save you the cost of a professional clean.