Cleaning Ceramic Tile Grout

Ugh! Cleaning ceramic tile grout can be such a pain in the “you know what”. The grout between the ceramic tiles in your bathroom can quickly get black and gritty. There can even be a musty smell too that may be mildew. Before you grab one of those tough bathroom cleaners consider this: There's a method for cleaning tile grout without chemicals. That's good news for your family's health and your wallet.

Consider some of these facts about the products you find at your friendly neighborhood grocery store:

• Many general cleaners and disinfectants for the bathroom contact Alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs), a chemical that disrupts the way hormones work in the body. Cleaners with this chemical could certainly contribute to infertility problems in men and menstrual problems in women.
• Using products with chlorine bleach to make the toilet bowl sparkle? Have you breathed in fumes from that cleaner lately? Hurts your eyes and lungs, doesn't it? So why are you still using it?
• If you are using ammonia to clean the bathroom, be sure to open the windows to let out the fumes before they irritate your nose and lungs. Oh, and by the way, did you know that if you accidentally mix ammonia with chlorine bleach – or products containing chlorine bleach – it makes deadly chlorine gas, the kind once used in lethal military weapons?
• That pleasant fragrance in your bathroom air freshener may not be so pleasant if it's made with phthalates, a class of chemicals linked to asthma and allergies in children and liver cancer in lab animals.

But what about that awful grout? Surely mold and mildew are problems, too?

Of course they are. The happy news is that you don't have to resort to toxins to get rid of them. All it takes is some baking soda and a little lemon juice or some vinegar. And no, we're not kidding.

Here's how to use baking soda for cleaning ceramic tile grout:

Sprinkle the baking soda on any dirt grout, leave it on for a few moments, and then wipe it off. If the grout is really badly stained, try scrubbing the grout first with a quarter of a lemon, sprinkle on the baking soda, then scrub with an old toothbrush. If you have trouble sprinkling the dry baking soda where you need it, you can make a thick paste of it with a small amount of water and apply it that way with a toothbrush.

To clean grout with vinegar, simply wipe it full-strength onto the dirty grout, or apply with the handy toothbrush. Be sure to rinse right away because vinegar can cause the grout to lose its cohesion if left on full strength. What's great about using vinegar for household cleaning is that it's also an excellent deodorizer (the vinegary smell dissipates rapidly) and it comes in lovely big gallon jugs at most grocery stores and warehouse clubs. That's not only an eco-friendly cleaning product; it's a tremendous help with the household budget in tough economic times!

So what will it be for cleaning ceramic tile grout? Scary, harmful chemicals or environmentally friendly cleaning? You decide!