How To Clean Bathroom Tiles
Grubby grout and dull tiles come back to life with the right cleaner and a bit of elbow grease.
The short answer
To clean bathroom tiles, start with the grout using a grout cleaner and an old toothbrush, then rinse it off with clean water. Wash ceramic wall tiles with a bathroom cleaner or diluted white vinegar and a scouring pad, swap to a sponge on printed tiles, and dry them with a window vac or microfibre cloth so they don't streak.
Wall and floor tiles lose their shine surprisingly quickly in a busy bathroom. Soap scum dulls the glaze, splashes dry into marks and the grout lines slowly turn from white to grey, which makes the whole room look tired even when it's been wiped down.
We look after bathrooms in our own homes and the rentals and Airbnbs we manage, and this is the method we use to bring tiles back without harming the glaze or the grout. Most of the effort goes into the grout. Once that's clean, the tiles themselves are quick.
Kit And Prep For Cleaning Bathroom Tiles
Run a hot shower for a few minutes before you start. The steam softens soap scum and grime on the tiles, so less of it needs scrubbing off by hand. Open a window or put the extractor fan on once you get going so the cleaner fumes have somewhere to go.
Gather this lot together first so you aren't hunting for things halfway through:
- An old toothbrush or a small stiff grout brush
- A grout cleaner, or bicarbonate of soda and white vinegar for coloured grout
- A bathroom or multi-purpose cleaner
- A non-scratch scouring pad and a soft sponge
- Clean microfibre cloths
- A steam cleaner for floor tiles (optional)
- A window vac for drying (optional)
Wear rubber gloves as well. Grout cleaner is strong stuff and will dry your hands out over a long session.
How To Clean Bathroom Tiles
Clean The Grout First
Grout holds far more dirt than the tile face, and scrubbing it splashes grime onto the tiles around it. Doing the grout first means you only clean the tiles once.
Apply a good grout cleaner along the joints, give it a few minutes to work, then scrub each line with an old toothbrush. Work along the joint rather than across it so the bristles stay in the line. Rinse the residue away with clean water and a cloth, and go over any stubborn lines a second time.
The photo below shows a wall we cleaned this way. The left side is the grout as we found it, and the right side is after a few passes with the toothbrush and grout cleaner.
Coloured or dark grout needs a gentler approach, because harsh cleaners and bleach can lighten it unevenly. For these joints, mix bicarbonate of soda with a splash of white vinegar into a paste, work it in with the toothbrush and rinse it off well.
If the grout is still stained after a good clean, a grout pen will freshen up the colour. Grout that's crumbling, cracked or black with mould right through is past cleaning, and our guide to raking out and replacing old grout covers that job.
Wash The Wall Tiles
Plain glazed ceramic tiles are the easiest to clean. Spray them with a bathroom cleaner or diluted white vinegar, leave it on for a short while to loosen the soap scum, then scrub gently with a non-scratch scouring pad before rinsing clean.
Printed and patterned tiles are a different matter, as the pattern can sit on the surface and wear away under a scouring pad. Use a soft sponge or microfibre cloth on these, and test any cleaner on a hidden tile or a spare from the original batch before you do the whole wall.
Drying is what gets rid of streaks. A cordless window vac like the one in the photo at the top of this guide pulls the rinse water off the wall tiles before it can dry into marks. A dry microfibre cloth does the same job if you don't own one, it just takes longer.
Clean The Floor Tiles
Floor tiles go quicker, as there's no reaching into the corners above the bath. Sweep or vacuum first so you aren't pushing grit around, then clean with the same bathroom cleaner or vinegar solution and a scouring pad on the dirtiest areas.
A handheld steam cleaner is handy on floors, as the heat lifts grime from textured tiles and grout without any chemicals. Dry the floor afterwards so nobody slips on it.
Natural Stone And Patterned Tiles Need More Care
Marble, limestone and travertine react with acid, so white vinegar and descaling cleaners will dull and etch the surface. Stick to a pH neutral cleaner made for stone on these tiles and dry them straight away.
Printed and decorative tiles deserve the same caution. A damaged tile is hard to match years later, so a few minutes trying the cleaner on a hidden corner is time well spent.
Keeping Bathroom Tiles Cleaner Between Deep Cleans
A quick squeegee of the shower wall after each use stops water drying into marks and slows the build up of soap scum. Ventilation matters just as much, since damp grout is where mould gets a foothold, so keep the extractor fan working and leave a window open after a shower.
If black spots keep appearing in the grout or along the sealant, getting rid of the mould at the source is a better fix than scrubbing it every week. Shower glass picks up the same soap scum and limescale as the tiles around it, so it makes sense to do both in one go, and our shower glass cleaning methods use most of the same kit.
Other Questions We Get Asked
What is the best thing to clean bathroom tiles with?
A bathroom cleaner or diluted white vinegar with a non-scratch scouring pad works on most glazed ceramic tiles. Use a dedicated grout cleaner and a toothbrush on the joints, and dry the tiles with a window vac or microfibre cloth to stop streaks. Natural stone is the exception, as it needs a pH neutral stone cleaner instead of vinegar.
How do you get grout white again?
White grout comes back with a grout cleaner, an old toothbrush and some patience. Apply the cleaner, leave it for a few minutes, scrub along each joint and rinse well. Grout that stays stained after two or three cleans can be recoloured with a grout pen, and grout that's cracked or deeply mouldy is best raked out and replaced.
Can you use bleach on bathroom tiles?
Diluted bleach is fine on plain white glazed tiles and white grout, but keep it away from coloured grout, which it can lighten in patches. Never mix bleach with vinegar or other cleaners, as the combination gives off harmful fumes. Rinse thoroughly afterwards and keep the room ventilated while you work.
How frequently should you clean bathroom tiles?
A weekly wipe and dry of the shower area keeps soap scum and limescale from building up, and a deeper clean of the grout every month or two stops it discolouring. Bathrooms that get heavy use, such as a family bathroom or a busy holiday let, need the deeper clean more frequently than an en suite used by one person.
Why clean the grout before the tiles?
The joints are the dirtiest part of the wall, and scrubbing them flicks grime onto the tiles either side. Get the grout scrubbed and rinsed first, then wash and dry the tile faces, and you'll only have to do the tiles once.
Is a steam cleaner worth buying just for bathroom tiles?
A steam cleaner is optional for bathroom tiles. It earns its place on the floor, where the heat lifts grime from textured tiles and grout without any chemicals. On the walls, a bathroom cleaner and a scouring pad do the job, so don't buy one for the walls alone.
Can I clean printed or patterned tiles the same way as plain ones?
Not with a scouring pad. The design on a printed tile can sit on top of the glaze and rub off, so stick to a soft sponge or microfibre cloth. Try your cleaner on a spare or a tile tucked out of sight before going over the whole wall.
How do I stop black spots coming back in the grout?
Cut down the damp that feeds them. A quick squeegee after each shower, with the extractor fan running and a window open, lets the grout dry out between uses. If the spots keep coming back along the grout or sealant, the mould needs treating at its source instead of scrubbing every week.
Richard has spent years renovating properties and turning them into rentals and Airbnbs. Like a lot of people he started out as a beginner, and these days there isn't much DIY he won't take on.