When you moved into your home, chances are your tile looked new and fresh. After time, however, tile grout can turn black, making the entire area look dingy and dirty. Truth be told, this may not be a reflection on your cleaning habits. Tile grout turns black for a number of reasons. Regardless of why it’s discolored, can tile grout be restored to its original beauty?

Let’s find out a little bit more about what’s going on with that tile grout. Then let’s see if there’s something we can do about stains and unsightly tile surfaces.

Grout Turns Black – But Why?

Dirt is one likely reason why your tile grout looks black or dark. But why is your grout turning black if you wash your floors regularly? You can actually be contributing to the problem with frequent floor washing if you’re doing it in a particular manner. The porous grout joints can collect cleaning solution and dirt that is washed from tiles. Each time you clean your floors, another layer of cleaning solution and dirt builds up.

When you clean tiled surfaces, try to avoid using too much water or solution. Additionally, avoid discoloring your grout by using bleach or ammonia-based cleaners. To remove the film that remains after cleaning, immediately after the cleansing process has been completed, only use a small amount of water… but right away. All the daily cleaning in the world may not make a difference once the grout becomes permanently stained.

Mold and Grout

Mold can be responsible for black grout. In areas where there is moisture or high humidity, mold can develop. Though it can appear on kitchen backsplashes, it is most commonly found on bathroom floors and shower tiles. To avoid health risks, as quickly as possible, mold should be removed. After each shower, regularly wipe down the tiles to prevent mold from developing. Fix leaky faucets and shower heads and clean your shower weekly.

Grout Brightening Solutions

To improve the look of grout and tile, special cleaning solutions and tools are used by professionals. However, for daily and weekly tile and grout care, there are solutions available from your local store. Professional technicians may be needed, however, if a deeper cleaning solution/technique is required. High-pressure water and special cleansers are used by professionals to clean grout and stone. Ideally, to protect the floor from new stains, a clearcoat sealant will be used after a professional cleaning process.

In a worst-case scenario, to completely change the look of the flooring, permanently stained grout may be specially treated to establish a new color. Again, this is a professional service.

Though you may be keeping up with your weekly grout and tile cleaning, there are times when you simply can’t avoid grout stains. With a professional cleaning service, however, and the waterproof sealant/treatment that they can provide, you can once again enjoy a beautifully tiled area – and do so for an extended period of time.

The Professional Tile and Grout Cleaner

Riley’s Oriental Rug Cleaning does far more than just clean oriental rugs. In fact, we offer a great many services. Since 1918, Northern New Jersey has been relying on our trustworthy, reputable company to clean and repair carpets and rugs. Now we have expanded our services to include tile and grout, as well as other household surface processes. Contact us today if you have grout and/or tile that you’d like returned to its original beauty.