cleaning-grout-with-baking-soda-and-lemon-juice

Got Dingy Dirty Grout? This Product Will Clean It Like New (It’s Just $1.25)

Dingy, dirty tile grout. It’s a vexing problem. I know. I have a lot of tile and grout in my home, all of it white or light-colored grout. No matter how diligent I am to clean it, that grout appears hopelessly stained. It is a problem for me. And for my readers, it’s up in the questions I am often asked.

 

cleaning-grout-with-baking-soda-and-lemon-juice

I’ve made a remarkable discovery—a product powerful enough to clean dirty, dingy-looking grout. It’s super cheap, readily available, and contains no acid, bleach, or ammonia. How cheap? I just bought a 20 oz. bottle of it for $1.25. Not on sale, not a loss leader. That’s the regular price.

First, a story

One Saturday, at least 20 years ago the doorbell rang (how weird that I remember this so clearly). There stood a young man bursting with enthusiasm. He held a bottle of his “miracle cleaner” moving right into demonstration mode to prove just how awesome it was.

Like some kind of whirling dervish, he sprayed the door frame, wiping it clean to show me all the dirt on the cloth. He sprayed the welcome mat and the mailbox. He went to work on the steps and before I knew what was happening, he walked right into the house, ready to clean everything in sight.

I looked at what he was holding; sure enough, it was awesome. That was the name of it! Awesome.

I bought a 16 oz. bottle on the spot for way-too-much-money for one reason: To get him to stop talking and leave before I became rude and insulting.

He was so annoying, but trying so hard to successful, I just couldn’t discourage his spirit. So I paid the guy and ended up with a bottle of his snake oil, which I suspected was nothing more than colored water.

I put that bottle on a shelf in the laundry room and completely forgot about it. Until now.

awesome all purpose cleaner then and now

Search, Research

Over the years, I’ve spent a lot of money to test commercial grout cleaners (they can be pricey!). And I’ve made and tested a lot of DIY recipes using everything from baking soda and lemon juice to Cream of Tartar, salt, and lime juice. Some things have worked somewhat to clean dirty grout a little—some better than others—but nothing so far has given results I would be enthusiastic to share with you. It’s been so frustrating! Then, this happened:

In deciding whether to try yet another commercial product that promised to be The One, I was reading Amazon reviews, which were all over the place. However, one review stood out to me as being authentic and helpful. The reviewer said she’d tried the subject product and found it way too expensive, giving disappointing results.

She said, “So, I decided to use what I already have, a bottle of Awesome. I sprayed it full strength on the grout and five minutes later scrubbed it with a brush, wiped it away, and rinsed with water. The dirt just disappeared!”

Eureka?

And that’s when it is me. Awesome. In a bottle. That guy. What are the chances I still have it? I found it in the first place I looked.

I have no recollection of packing and moving it from California to Colorado, but apparently I did because well, here it is. I couldn’t wait to give this 20-year old $20 bottle of cleaner a try.

I took a picture of a new grout test area—white porcelain tile with supposed-to-be-white grout. I sprayed Awesome on the dark dirty-looking grout, waited 5 minutes, scrubbed it with a stiff brush, wiped it off with microfiber, and rinsed the area with water. Wow!

tile floor before and after cleaning the grout

I’ll let these before and after photos speak for themselves, taken by me, a very terrible photographer. Rather than the shadows and off color-balance, pay attention to the contrast between “before” and “after” grout lines. 

This sent me into even deeper research mode on this Awesome product. I easily found the company’s website and learned the cleaner is alive and well, with a slight name change to LA’s Totally Awesome Concentrated Cleaner Degreaser and Spot Remover. Made in the USA in Buena Park, Calif., since 1983—the company is located only a few miles from where we lived. A young man selling door-to-door now makes a lot of sense.

Next, I was anxious to learn where LA’s Totally Awesome is sold. Are you ready? At Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Family Dollar, 99 Cents Only, Big Lots, and a number of grocery chains like Food4Less and Unified Grocers. It’s a regular in nearly every dollar store (and online with minimum requirements) in the country!

 

Dollar stores

I couldn’t get to my local Dollar Tree fast enough. I wanted to see for myself if indeed it is a regular product there. But more than that, I wanted to see the going price. I easily found LA’s Totally Awesome All-Purpose Concentrated Cleaner, Degreaser, Spot Remover, in the 20 oz. size for $1. Not kidding. One dollar.

By the way, LA’s Totally Awesome Concentrated Cleaner Degreaser and Spot Remover is available at Amazon, but many times more expensive.

Perfect stiff brush for grout

A friend gave me this handy brush set years ago. Since then I’ve purchased another so I can keep them handy. I’ve also given them as gifts! Perfect or grout cleaning, and every other household crack and crevice.

Straight up or diluted?

The labeling suggests diluting Awesome 5:1 (five parts water to one part Awesome) for cleaning grout. Call my wasteful, but I do use it straight up. I am going to experiment with a dilution in the future as soon as the grout starts looking dirty. If you beat me to it, be sure to tell us your experience in the comments below.

Strong stuff

I predict with a lot of confidence that Awesome will not be your favorite fragrance. It’s strong, and if you are sensitive you need to wear a mask or open a window; turn on a fan. Me? No problem. Doesn’t both me in the least. Even so, you’ve been warned.

No guarantees

I can’t predict nor guarantee what your results might be should you decide to give Awesome a try. The bathroom where I tested turned out fabulous results (see above). But my laundry room? The first attempt showed only slight improvement. It took a second cleaning to bring it back to like-new.

In the meantime, I’m testing Awesome on everything washable, as promised right there on the bottle. Maybe even the front door frame and welcome mat. This stuff really is … Awesome!

Update

I was nervous walking into Family Dollar recently, to check up on Awesome. With the way the price of everything is skyrocketing, I expected to find it still on the shelf but with a horrible new inflated price. And I was shocked—not by a high price, but a very reasonable $1.25. Not bad! Actually, very good. Thanks LA’s Awesome. One 25-cent bump in 20 years? Quite awesome.

 

LA's Totally Awesome in 20 oz and 64 oz. size

 


Everyday Cheapskate participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn from qualifying purchases, at no cost to you.

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

More from Everyday Cheapskate

Amazon Big Spring Sale Teaser with Question Marks
important documents every family should keep stack desk home office bright
DIY muffin liner homemade tulip baking lavender cutting board shadows
quick dinner recipe italian cheesy meatball bake casserole dish
spring cleaning creative bright concept. tools, bottles, flowers, chalkboard with words hello spring
chalkboard with hot deals march 2024 piece of chalk best deals
newspaper headline daily news man reading with coffee mug
Unrecognizable woman cleaning with vinegar
wood floor with area rug


Please keep your comments positive, encouraging, helpful, brief,
and on-topic in keeping with EC Commenting Guidelines



Last update on 2024-03-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Caught yourself reading all the way 'til the end? Why not share with a friend.

30 replies
« Older Comments
  1. Jodi White says:

    I just found your site today in my quest to find non bleach alternatives to cleaning since we now have septic system instead of city waste system. I am learning so much & love that your effective tips are also bargains!
    Thank you so much

    Reply
  2. Rose says:

    I bought the Awesome cleaner at Dollar Tree yesterday (1-20-23) and didn’t notice until the next day that it doesn’t say concentrate (already in a spray bottle) AND it says “with bleach”. It is disappointing that I got the wrong thing, but I”m sure it will be useful. I’ll keep looking for the product you wrote about. Thanks for all the great info!

    Reply
  3. Sandra C Wegmann says:

    There is an easier way to clean the grout on floors. I use Awesome, also, but I spray it on and scrub the grout with a long handled grout brush – then I go over the area with my Bissell vaccum that sprays water and sucks up the dirt on the floor. Just enough water to loosen up the dirty stuff in the grout and the vacuum feature, pulls up the dirty water for an almost dry floor. It works pretty well. I have light tile and grout from front door to back door on the main floor of the house and the grout in the traffic areas needs to be done about once a year!

    Reply
  4. Kaki says:

    I’ve used Awesome for years so I’m glad to read it works on grout! The thing I’ve used it for is lamps that use lamp oil. The oil was getting stuck to the bottom of the lamp and I couldn’t get it out of the lamp. I poured Awesome in the lamp and it dissolved it immediately!

    Reply
  5. Jennifer Tregembo says:

    Awesome is awesome! I cleaned out the home of relatives who had lived there for 50 years. I used diluted Awesome to clean grime off 30 year old oak kitchen cabinets before using Old English on them. The handles were dirty so I wanted to replace them. Unfortunately the wood had changed color over the years so the large imprint was visible even after I cleaned the cupboards. I soaked the handles in full strength Awesome and they came out looking like new. I met the mom of the new owners and she said how happy she was that the kitchen wasn’t old and didn’t need any work. Awesome!

    Reply
  6. robert says:

    I’ve been using it for several years. I’ll have to try the grout! It is amazing on nicotine covered items. my Mom was a very heavy smoker. When she passed I was left with the cleaning. Glass, cereamic, wood, appliances just sprayed it on and rinsed. Nicotine just washed away. I have gallons of this now I use it when cleaning rental properties too.

    Reply
  7. Janet says:

    Can you recommend a good brush to use? Years ago I purchased one that looked like a toothbrush but was much stiffer and lasted a long time. I can never find one that is stiff enough to hold up to extended scrubbing and compact enough to hit tight crevices. Love your articles, thanks for sharing the wisdom!

    Reply
    • Mary Hunt says:

      Yes! A friend gave me this set years ago. Oxo Cleaning Brush Set Since then I’ve purchased another so I can keep them handy and have also given them as gifts, myself. Perfect or grout cleaning, and every other household crack and crevice.

      Reply
      • Jeannie says:

        I tried to get stains out of bathroom floor grout a while back and noticed that the vigorous scrubbing seemed to actually remove some of the grout (and the stains are still there). Does grout need to be sealed to use the brush you are recommending? (I don’t know if mine is sealed or not). Thoughts on this, Mary? Thanks for all you do, I love and appreciate your work!

      • Mary Hunt says:

        If scrubbing removes your grout, it’s time to replace the grout. I can’t be sure but sounds like the grout has not been resealed properly (at least annually) and over time it has deteriorated. Search “how to remove grout” online to find the tools and technique you’ll need to do that. Then make sure your new grout is applied well, and that you use a good sealer (home improvement store), clean it regularly with non-harsh cleaner and reseal at least once a year. Six months is better.

« Older Comments

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *