Is Grout Steam Cleaning Good?

Can I Have Grout Floors Steam Cleaned to Remove Stains

Yes, and what we want to point out is there is a technical difference between the common phrase people use of “steam cleaning” and actually using a steamer to clean grout. Most improvement stores nowadays will sell small steamers that can be used to clean grout.

These are great for homeowners and cleaning contractors trying to clean small areas, mostly in heavily stained areas in front of stoves, fridge, and eating areas in general.

The reason is pretty simple, grout is porous and beverage, food stains can drip down into the pores but we can’t physically reach them. Steam can reach down into those tiny little crevices that a liquid or us scrubbing cannot. The steam can loosen up the soil, clean it or bring it up to the top to be removed with a shop vac or even a damp cloth if not too much.

The downside is this process is very slow, tedious and only practical for very small areas.

Using Hot Water Extraction for Grout Floor Cleaning

This is a far more common process that a professional tile and grout cleaning service would use. We often still use the phrase “steam cleaning’ even though we are not technically using water that is hot enough to turn into steam. It’s hot water that by the time it reaches the floor might be closer to 180-200 degrees, hot enough for sanitizing and removing stubborn stains but won’t get as far down into the grout pores as an actual steamer.

The major benefit of this method of cleaning is the large areas that can do completed in an economical way.

With this method we would attach a floor tool that suctions to the floor, the tool uses high pressured water to flush out the crevices of grout and extracts simultaneously. One of the challenges with cleaning grout is the second you liquify the spill/stain, it needs to be removed immediately or just soaks right back in.

The soiled water is then vacuumed back to either a portable waste tank or a large van-based tank to be disposed of later.