Knowing how to remove grout haze will make finishing up any tiling project so much easier. Here’s a simple trick to get it done that really works!
I really do love a good DIY tiling project. You can create such a beautiful effect in your home and it’s really not that hard once you get started! The thing that drives me nuts though, is that grout haze that you have to clean away at the end of a project. You’re all excited to see how your tiles look and you can’t see a darn thing because of all that dusty residue that just won’t. come. clean. If you need to know how to remove grout haze, read on!
Related: Everything You Need to Know Before Installing 12×24 Tile
We’ve been working in the bathroom and after we grouted the floor a couple of weeks ago, we had grout haze and we had it bad. After about a bazillion mopping attempts, (and yes, I did it the right way!) there was still a really significant amout of unpleasantness happening, so I had to do some experimenting. I’ve got the results for you today!
First, here’s what we were dealing with:
What I’m showing you here is how it looked after Chris cleaned it really well quite a few times. Then I came in with my special mopping technique and pulled up a whole bunch more of the haze. Believe it or not, it really did look much better than it did before, but as you can tell, this wasn’t the usual floor dirt that we were dealing with, so we needed to try something a little different. Here’s the method we used to get rid of that grout haze. It worked like a charm!
How to Remove Grout Haze
First, I got a dry sponge. I used one of the sponges that you can find in the tiling section. It had a softer side and a side that was a bit rougher. I used the rougher side to basically sand away most of the grout. You need to do this dry, because if you wet the surface, the grout dust will just re-stick itself. Also, make sure you’re using something abrasive-but-not-that abrasive like the sponge. Sandpaper or even those green pot scrubbers will be too rough and will scratch the surface of your tile, even if you have really raw stone tile like we have. The sponge should be gentle enough to use on even a glossy tile. Test it first though in case you have some incredibly delicate tiles!
After sanding, take your vacuum and clean up the dust really really well!
This will make a really big difference and you will see that most of your streaks and blotches are gone just from doing this, but now here’s my magic final step!
The Trick to Remove Grout Haze Quickly and Easily
Baby wipes! Seriously! What is it about these things that makes them be able to clean away just about anything? Anyway, I was desperate to make this a quick job, so I thought I’d give these a try and they worked like magic! Any leftover bits of dust and haze just melted away! I probably used 1 wipe for every 4 or 5 of our giant tiles, so not too many really. When I was done, we were ready to go ahead with the sealer! If I hadn’t changed my tactics, I’m sure I would have had to mop at least 7 or 8 thousand more times. Here you can see just how well this worked:
Not too shabby at all, right? I’m noticing now in the picture that there was still a bit of dampness on the grout when I took this and it looks darker on my test patch there, but the grout dried back to its normal color just fine.
I absolutely love my new floor and I’m loving how the rest of the bathroom is coming together even more! We’re making really good progress now so I should have more than just a few floor tiles to show you really soon! 🙂
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Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.