WWTBAM Bored

Have you concocted anything to rewhiten my grout yet?

Chop! Chop!

I know I'm not Christie, but the Clorox bleach pen worked wonders on the grout in my shower!!

sunflower wrote:I know I'm not Christie, but the Clorox bleach pen worked wonders on the grout in my shower!!

I've done the same thing.

Don't laugh, but this also works:

That's a really good idea, same concept really...any gel with bleach would probably do the trick!

I actually thought about this a little.

What is your actual issue? Mold, discoloration?

You said you sealed it, is it the sealant that has the issue, or the grout itself?

You said you tried bleach. What happened? Did it discolor more?

Have you tried other things? Effect? Like you said the peroxide didn't help. No effect?

I want to find out if it is the grout or the sealant that is the problem.

Actually, bleach was the problem. Years ago I bleached each and every section of grout between the ceramic tiles. We have a lot of ceramic tile. It looked lovely. However, bleach yellows as time goes on and that's why I had to resort to a paintlike sealant which is disappearing and allowing the yellowed grout to re-emerge in all its, um, yellowness.

NEVER bleach the grout, unless you're able to move before you have to look at it turn yellow.

See, this confuses me. I don't think the grout should turn yellow when you bleach it.

Was it originally white grout?

sunflower wrote:That's a really good idea, same concept really...any gel with bleach would probably do the trick!

I think that the toilet bowl cleaner is cheaper by the ounce than the gel pen.

christie1111 wrote:See, this confuses me. I don't think the grout should turn yellow when you bleach it.

Was it originally white grout?

I bleached mine for the first time 6 years ago and it never turned yellow, I agree with Christie that it shouldn't turn yellow if it was white grout. I just have to re-do it from time to time because we have a lot of iron in our water (I think?) that leaves a red residue. The first time I did it, the bleach pen didn't exist. Now it does. Although I love PSM's idea for the toilet cleaner, it is way cheaper than the bleach pen!! Thanks for the tip!!

sunflower wrote:

christie1111 wrote:See, this confuses me. I don't think the grout should turn yellow when you bleach it.

Was it originally white grout?

I bleached mine for the first time 6 years ago and it never turned yellow, I agree with Christie that it shouldn't turn yellow if it was white grout. I just have to re-do it from time to time because we have a lot of iron in our water (I think?) that leaves a red residue. The first time I did it, the bleach pen didn't exist. Now it does. Although I love PSM's idea for the toilet cleaner, it is way cheaper than the bleach pen!! Thanks for the tip!!

It was white grout. Maybe I should just rebleach it? I just about died from the fumes the first time. Hmmm. Maybe I'm just an idiot.
Although I do remember a floor guy telling me, after I'd done it, not to do it. So, sigh.

Beebs52 wrote:

sunflower wrote:

christie1111 wrote:See, this confuses me. I don't think the grout should turn yellow when you bleach it.

Was it originally white grout?

I bleached mine for the first time 6 years ago and it never turned yellow, I agree with Christie that it shouldn't turn yellow if it was white grout. I just have to re-do it from time to time because we have a lot of iron in our water (I think?) that leaves a red residue. The first time I did it, the bleach pen didn't exist. Now it does. Although I love PSM's idea for the toilet cleaner, it is way cheaper than the bleach pen!! Thanks for the tip!!

It was white grout. Maybe I should just rebleach it? I just about died from the fumes the first time. Hmmm. Maybe I'm just an idiot.
Although I do remember a floor guy telling me, after I'd done it, not to do it. So, sigh.

Well, if you are willing to try to toilet bowl cleaner concept (by the one with bleach) and then report back, if it doesn't work we will continue the experiment.

And as they always say, try an area that won't be obvious first. Leave it on for a bit, like 5-10 minutes and then rinse.

And use a toothbrush, or some other little scrubby brush that will get in that space.

Sometime I'll dip the toothbrush in baking soda first to give it a little grit to scrub the surface.

sunflower wrote:That's a really good idea, same concept really...any gel with bleach would probably do the trick!

When I sold my house a few years back, it was my mission to get a 60 year old bathtub to look like a new bathtub. After trying anything and everything, it was toilet bowl cleaner that did the trick!

I swear by the cheap, Dollar Store General toilet cleaner (I think I've even posted a picture of Fanny cavorting around a bottle of it). So much so that whenever my brother is coming from Nebraska or someone here is going to, they are in charge of bringing back a new supply (we have no Dollar Generals in Colorado). But I don't think it has bleach in it.