Repurpose This Laundry Staple To Clean Your Tile Grout

Sometimes, instead of cleaning your entire home in a frenzied bonanza, it's more sane and manageable to focus all your attention on one room at a time. When it comes time to clean your bathroom, the regular spots that require cleaning are typically the same from week to week. You need to wash the countertops, clean the toilet and shower tiles, cleanse the floor, and polish the mirror. However, every once in a while, you should also inspect the grout between your bathroom tiles, either on the floor or in the shower. If some of your grout lines are a bit darker than others or if they're all looking dingy, it's time for a little extra cleaning. 

Repurpose this laundry staple you most likely already have to clean your grout — a bleach pen. While this item is normally used to get stains out of clothing or sheets, it can also be helpful when cleaning tile grout. Because it has stain-lifting properties yet is safe for most fabrics, you can feel assured that this won't damage your grout. If you've run out of bleach pens, Tide sells them for less than $5 each on Amazon, and there are also other brands available.

To complete this hack, you'll need a fresh bleach pen as well as a sponge or a clean cloth and warm water. Once you've identified what areas of your grout need attention, press the bleach pen along those lines. If you work in a pattern, say left to right, then you can keep track of what you've cleaned and what you haven't, then let it sit overnight. If you're using this hack in the shower, it's a good idea to wait until everyone in your household has used the shower or tell them to use another bathroom before competing this hack, as you don't want anyone to be breathe in bleach fumes. If you're trying this hack on the floor, try to avoid walking on the surface while it sets as well. 

The next morning, grab your sponge or cloth, wet it with warm water, and rub it over each line of grout, rinsing the sponge periodically. If you want, you can aim the shower head along the wall for an extra rinse, but you don't have to. Make sure your space is well ventilated or the fan is on. As a best practice, we recommend you test this process on one line of grout before proceeding to clean all your tile grout to make sure it doesn't cause any damage.