Can Vinegar Ruin Grout?

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Does Vinegar Damage Grout?

Grout helps to fill the gaps, voids, and sealing joints in the tile flooring. Vinegar is a great cleaning and disinfecting agent for most hard surfaces flooring due to its acidity level. But, does vinegar damage grout?

Vinegar does penetrate the air gaps in the grout weakening and deteriorating it over time. It causes some corroding in the grim of the grout, which leads to loosening and wearing off of the grout.  However, dilute vinegar is a great cleaning and disinfectant agent for the sealed tile floor.

Can Apple Cider Vinegar Clean Grout?

Apple cider vinegar is a type of vinegar used to clean and disinfect hard surfaces, grout can be cleaned by use of apple cider vinegar. The use of apple cider vinegar on grout is effective as it leaves the grout shining and kills all the germs. Apple cider vinegar does not cause any corrode on the grout due to its less acidity level. The use of apple cider vinegar does not react with the compounds on the grout, it maintains the firmness and the shape of the grout.

Does Vinegar Damage Grout?

How to use apple cider vinegar to remove grout haze

Grout haze is hard to clean when dry up for a long period. To remove grout haze on the grout or tile, use apple cider vinegar, warm water into equal parts in the bucket. Pour the solution on the grout surface and leave it to stay for 5 to 10 minutes. Scrub the grout surface using a brush to remove the hard haze. Use a wet cloth to clean away the haze residue from the grout. To make sure all the haze residue and the apple cider vinegar solution do not remain on the grout, rinse the grout surface with clean water.

Steps on how to clean grout haze using vinegar

When grout changes color from white to brown it is an indication that they need to be cleaned to avoid corrode and stains. Below are steps on how you can use vinegar to clean grout haze.

  • Use of vinegar

Specialized vinegar or distilled white vinegar are recommended for this step. Use a vinegar-soaked cloth and coat the grout that you intend to clean. After applying the vinegar on the grout leave it for 10 minutes, scrub the grout using a toothbrush after the 10minutes to loosen the haze. Remove the loosened grout haze using a dry cloth to allow the grout to stay clean.

  • Use of baking soda and vinegar

Baking soda is slightly alkaline making it easy to dissolve grease and grime in water. Use the baking soda paste which is a mixture of baking soda and water in equal part, on the grout to be cleaned. Use a sponge or figure to apply the paste on the grout. Mix warm water and vinegar on the other hand on an equal ratio, to cut down the acidity level. Spray the vinegar mixture on top of the baking soda paste on the grout and leave it for 5 minutes to react.

Scrub the grout after the paste becomes fizzy

  • Use of vinegar sprays

Use distilled vinegar in a spraying bottle alongside the grout lines, leave the vinegar to stay on the grout for 15minutes.use clean water to rinse off the vinegar solution, then dry off your grout using a dry cloth.

Can you use vinegar to clean tile and grout?

Vinegar is a natural, non-toxic product that effectively cleans, disinfect, and removes the unpleasant smell from most of the hard surfaces. Vinegar can be used to clean the tile without any harm. Applying vinegar directly on the tile removes all tough stains and bad odor. Vinegar is great to clean ceramic tile floors.

Vinegar can effectively clean grout when applied at full strength or when diluted with water. When applied on the grout then left to dissolve it removes the heavier dirt and tough stains .vinegar leave the grout shining after cleaning, the acidity level helps in removing the tough stains and heavier dirt. When using vinegar as a cleaner, make sure to use water to cut down the acidity level. This is to prevent corrode on the tile surface and damage of the grout.

Will vinegar remove grout sealer?

Grout sealer protects the grout from damages and prevents moistures, from penetrating in the grout that causes stain. vinegar has acetic acid that can penetrate through the seal due to its ph level. when vinegar penetrates the grout with a sealer, it triggers a reversal reaction process used during sealing. Thereby leaving the sealer in its raw material, and when you rinse them with water the entire grout remains unsealed.

Conclusion

For better preservation of grout, avoid regular use of vinegar on cleaning your grout.instead use specialized or alkaline-based cleaners.

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AUTHOR

Joe McGuinty
I’ve been working with floors for over 12 years. I started as a flooring contractor, primarily in materials selection. Then, I switched careers into accounting, so my wife and I began buying, renovating, and re-selling homes on the side. You’d be surprised how much value you can add to a home simply by adding new floors.

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