[mol]

I installed ceramic tile in a shower stall a few year ago, however I never sealed the grout. The grout in a few areas have an orange/brown staining. I tried many commercial cleaning products with no success. Any help would be appreciated.

mol

[Lowtax4eva]

What have you tried, Hertel Plus or CLR are supposed to be good, if not try a bleach based cleaner, there's this new cleaner that's basically bleach with a thickener, I forget who makes it but it's bleach that will hold to vertical surfaces.

[ballengerb1]

Orange and brown? Try Wink found in many hardware stores. You may have some rust build up and Wink will take care of it. Works great on rust stains on clothes too. Really bad stains can't always be cleaned. If all else fails get a carbide grout saw and scuff the grout line to remove the discoloration. And of course seal the grout.

[mol]

Thanks for the advice but the commercial cleaning products didn't work. I guess I will go the grout saw route.

[persainpapaya]

Have you tried grout paint? Much easier than the grout saw route. I know that many of us do this and break the rules, but my ex has been installing tile and hardwood floors, and he always says never to use bleach on grout, because it can begin breaking down, supposedly. Grout paint can do wonders... especially if you don't always use white. Shower areas often get moldy or discolored grout over time. I like to use gray to paint the grout lines in my shower. Just a thought...

[mol]

Thanks, I will give it a try.

[ballengerb1]

Bleach, 50:50 mix, will not harm grout. Nearly every tile mold and mildew cleaner has a healthy does of bleach. You are certinly welcome to give paint a try but it will look like what it is, someone tried to paint a thin straight line. The blade I mentioned is not a circular saw blade, it is a thin wire coated with carbide grit. You slide this blade back and forth in the grout line. Often you will be able to find grout cleaning scraper with this grit.

[mol]

Thanks, I will try the grout saw.