How to Clean Grout with Toilet Bowl Cleaner | Should You???

Grout is such a pain to clean and keep clean. There are always stains that we think will come out with just one wash, but then they never do!

If you are unsure about all the social media advice on “how to clean your grout with toilet bowl cleaner,”;  you have come to the right place. We have tested these methods out; read on to find out if using toilet bowl cleaner works and with which product.

Again we know cleaning grout is a thankless task, like cleaning the kitchen draw! We appreciate and love it when it is done, yet most of us do not rush in to do it!

Featured product in this blog

We recognize sometimes, you need more options to get the job done. We have done the work for you!

• ➡️ Clorox Toilet Bowl Cleaner with Bleach
• ➡️ Lysol toilet bowl cleaner
• ➡️ Grout pen
• ➡️ Scrubbie Gloves
• ➡️ Mr. Siga microfiber cloths
• ➡️ Target bathmat
• ➡️ Customizable Amazon t-shirt
• ➡️ O’Cedar Spin Mop

What should be the color of your grout? White or light-colored, but instead, it is often dark because we have been neglecting to clean up after ourselves. We only have grout in the laundry and the bathroom (which are not very large) in our house. Check which room has grout in your house; we tend to be put off just at the thought of it (especially when you have many rooms or large surfaces to do!)

Cleaning grout with toilet cleaner

We tried Lysol Advanced Toilet Bowl Deep Cleaning Power toilet bowl cleaner and Clorox with Bleach clinging gel. The Clorox brand has hydrochloric acid. It would help if you searched for toilet bowl cleaners with high sodium chloride, commonly known as lye. We expected Lysol to do better because it contains this ingredient! Clinging gel is a lot easier to apply than a liquid, so for ease of use, Clorox is helpful that.

Method

1. Cleaning the floor is not always fun, yet necessary to remove as much dirt as possible. Make sure it is clean to get the cleaning bowl product “focusing” on the grout, not the dirt on top of it! 
2. Since we had no real idea how tough it would be to clean with these chemicals, we took precautions since these cleaners are caustic. So make sure you wear cleaning gloves with rubberized palms and a mask for extra protection from fumes.
3. Two words: Go Clean! Add toilet bowl cleaner to grout lines. Start from far away and work your way out of the room because this will be slippery, so don’t forget about that slipperiness when you track it around.

Note: make sure not too much gets on any one spot, or else things will start getting dirty instantly.

Warning: Don’t get TOO CLOSE; those fumes might irritate the skin, especially near the eyes/nose areas, etc. No one tells you how strong the fumes are; they are strong. You owe yourself and your house to open up the windows and air it out. 

4. Let it sit for 5 minutes or longer.
5. Use a toothbrush, brush, or silicon scrub gloves(see featured product above) to scrub into those pesky grout lines.

6. The best way to clean up after using toilet bowl cleaner is with paper towels or a cloth.

7. Next, Wash Away any Surplus Cleaner; you can use a microfiber cloth to wipe up the extra cleaner. You want your floor as clean and slippery-free as possible so it can stay in good shape for years!

8. Finally, mop the floor; you can use a microfiber O’Cedar (see featured link above). The whole selling point of this product is how you can wring out the mop with your feet and get it dry without touching any dirty parts! Plus, there is no need for messy buckets; remove them from the floor attachment and put them in the wash. The best way to get the mop right is 10 quick spins of the O’Cedar microfiber mop. It brings you the right level of dampness to mop your floor.

Our verdict and thoughts

After seeing the results, Lysol’s cleanliness did a better job overall compared to Clorox, and this method left the floor looking amazing!

However and there are show-stoppers:

• Breathing is difficult with the fumes coming out of the product. You need to be careful and take breaks while cleaning; these fumes are not good for you!
• There is also a lot more work involved than just spraying on the product. Before using anything like this yourself, consider how much effort and any other possible negative consequences to yourself, your family, friends, and guests.
• Lastly, the acid can damage or eat away at your grout. Keep an eye on them if you clean them regularly; your grout may need resealing after a few years. If you only clean your grout occasionally, there should be enough protection from dirt accumulation, though, if done right.

Alternative method

We prefer steam cleaning rather than trying out these methods; we even made a video about “How to Clean Grout with a Steam Cleaner.” Steaming is a good alternative if toilet bowl cleaner is not for you and you are looking for another way to get the job done.