Green Cleaning

The former owners of our house weren't the cleanest people. For example, what was supposedly grey grout in the kitchen is now black. I've never cleaned with green products before, but I figured it's never too late to start!

I did a lot of research on the best method to clean grout, and they all point to using baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. Plenty of cleaning solutions cost more than $3, and for less than $2, I got myself a trust-worthy green cleaner. I tried different methods of using the green cleaner from my research, and below is the method that worked for our extremely dirty grout:

• First, make a paste using baking soda and water. It doesn't take much water to make the paste, so be careful how much you use. If it's too runny, you can always add more baking soda. Spread the paste onto the grout and leave it there for about 5 minutes.

• Meanwhile, make a solution using equal parts of hydrogen peroxide and water in a spray bottle. Spray on the solution to the baking soda that has been applied on the grout. Leave on for about 5 minutes. (My grout was so dirty that the moment I sprayed it on, dirt started coming out of the grout!)

• Scrub the area with a grout brush. You should see dirt coming out. Wipe off the area with a wet sponge. Spray on the hydrogen peroxide solution and scrub once more to ensure you've gotten the dirt and baking soda out. I also tried scrubbing with a stiff toothbrush, but the grout brush worked the best.

• Do a final wipe using a clean wet sponge to get the baking soda off entirely and allow the area to dry. You may need to repeat the sponge process in order to get the baking soda off completely. I saw results after scrubbing two to three times (because it was so dirty!). Below you can see the difference between the cleaned grout (left side) vs. the dirty grout (right side). My grout is now grey like it should be!