Today I’ve got a special treat for you.
One of our community members, Ashley, sent me an email explaining how she built what she affectionally calls the Grout GrimeBuster 3000 (thanks Ashley, you ROCK).
The cool part is that Ashley also sent some before and after pictures of her grout — and needless to say I was impressed.
Now I know that cleaning grout is a super popular topic and there are loads of suggestions on how to do it best.
Some work and some don’t.
Let me tell you, I wasn’t sure if this $5 project would have positive results.
But after using the Grout GrimeBuster 3000 along with a unique formula made from water and OxiClean I can’t wait to share my tutorial with you.
Best Way to Clean Grout (This Tool Rocks!)
The real reason you should watch my video is that you’ll be able to shorten your cleaning time and the results will be out of this world
In addition to learning how to build the Grout GrimeBuster 3000, you’ll see several areas where it might come in handy around the house.
If this isn’t the best way to clean grout then I don’t know what is.
Let’s just say that your friends will think you’re a cleaning genius for sharing this idea with them.
Here’s the printable supply list for the Grout GrimeBuster 3000 that you can take to Lowe’s and Target, the total cost should be something like $5.
Grout GrimeBuster 3000 Shopping List
I’d love to know if you’ve developed your own unique way to clean like Ashley — who by the way was 9 months pregnant when she came up with her superb idea.
What’s Next
One of the best ways to keep shower grout clean is Wet and Forget – I tested it and was very impressed with the results.
If you’re doing a bathroom remodel and need help, join one of our online courses – they’ll make your bathroom renovation much easier!
Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll do my best to help.
Thanks as always for reading, watching, and being part of our awesome community.
Cheers,
Jeff
The idea is a great one. I just have one suggestion, if you could list the material used it would be a great idea.
Thank you
Hi Ron,
Thanks and you’re in luck. At the end of the post there’s a hyperlink. Click on it and you’ll get a printable PDF of the supply list-which is like 5 items 🙂
Let me know how you make out and what results you get.
Jeff
I love this idea!!
It took me over 6 weeks on my hands and knees to clean the grout the last time I did it.
I’m off to Target!
Hi Beckie,
I feel your pain!! Knee pads are typically a must with floor & grout cleaning. But this little buddy will totally help shorten the pain of cleaning.
Leg me know if you have any questions 🙂
Jeff
Thank you!!
Hi Janette,
You’re super welcome. Please, pretty please, let me know how it works for you 🙂
Jeff
Great idea! I might try that with a longer piece of threaded rod and see if it works. The added benefit would be less knee and back strain/pain. Either way, awesome idea as is.
PS Jeff, I hope you cleaned your kitchen sink with that BEFORE using it to clean the toilet, LOL.
Hi John,
I was thinking the same thing with regard to the longer rod. Send some of your tips my way.
Fortunately I did clean the sinks and everything else before the toilet-LOL!!
Jeff
You can get threaded rod in long lengths at Lowes / Home Depot.
Great idea. Would it be appropriate to consider it an upgrade to a GGB4K by using a metal bristle brish and a hammer-drill? Perhaps for outdoor use…
John,
That’s a fantastic idea, I could see this being used for all kinds of stuff. Paint removal, rust elimination, etc. And the name change is cool, too.
Jeff
EXCELLENT!!! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Leida,
All the credit goes to Ashley. She had a super idea and was generous to share it.
Jeff
I’m unable to open shopping list for some reason. Is anyone willing to share with me? Thanking in advance!
Hi Ann,
Sorry about that. I can send it to you via email if you’d like. Here’s what you need:
One 5/16 flat washer
Two 5/16 split lock washers
One 5/16 by 5 inch hex bolt
One soap dispenser refill
Let me know if you have any more questions 😉
Jeff
I’ll bet this would work great on window & sliding door tracks too!
Hi Lynn,
That’s a good idea, I bet you’re right!!
Jeff
Oooo… shower door tracks!! =D For that matter… the shower doors themselves! You & Ashley are starting a whole GrimBuster revolution!! ;-p
You know whats funny Kiki is that I totally use the brush on our tracks. Way better to clean them with the brush than by hand, lol.
This thing really is awesome! I will never hand scrub tile again! My tub and tile looked really gross. This little number made a huge difference. You still have to spend time on it, but the drill does most of the work. Thanks Ashley (or whoever first came up with this idea!)
Awesome Bill. Thanks for letting us know you had success. It’s a great device for anyone with arthritis, too.
Purchased the grout buster supplies April 28,2014. The 5/16 -5″ hex bolt is too large for the soap refill dispenser brush (the manufacturer may have made the hole smaller). Will a smaller hex bolt size. Perhap 1/4- 4″ or 5″ hex bolt. Any suggestions?
The other thing you could do Othell is to drill out the hole in the brush. This would make it bigger and able to accept the bolt. You could also use the 1/4″ bolt and see if that fits.
Let me know how it works out and if you have more questions.
Ashley,
You should PATENT this!! You could make millions! I can just see it now on an infomercial. 😉
I know, right. Someone told me about a product that’s similar to it but who knows if someone has the patent.
Great idea! It would take a women to figure out an easier way! Thanks Ashley! I clean my grout tub and sink with a paste made from peroxide and baking soda! Works great!
I totally agree Debbie, Ashley came up with a good one. I’ve heard good things about peroxide and haven’t tried it yet. Thanks for your tip 🙂
Hi, Jeff,
Will you marry me? Oh….oops. Got a little carried away with my happiness over this idea.. You and I are both married to other lovely people. Can’t wait to try this on grout and shower floor. Many thanks to Ashley and you for sharing!
Judie S
Lol, you cracked me up Judie.
Let me know how it turns out on your shower floor and if you discover another solution that’s better. Keep me posted 🙂
I came across your site while searching :”best way to clean grout”. We already had two battery powered drills so I sent my husband out the door to to pick up the the goodies to make this fantastic tool. (BTW, thank you for the list of items needed!)
Tried this miracle tool as soon as hubby finished. GREAT, FANTASTIC! Looked as good as new! I’ve signed up for your newsletter and now need to add your Facebook page.
Thanks so much Karen, I love to hear success stories like yours.
If you tweaked the cleaning or brush to improve your results let me know. Sharing these ideas helps us all save a ton of time.
Jeff,
Do I have to have a battery powered drill to make this successful?? I do not have a cordless drill.
Thanks Jeff and Ashley! I’ve finally cleaned my shower above like, the 10th row of tiles and it’s squeaky clean. Awesome tip!
Fantastic Rosa, glad it helped you. Please keep me posted on any additional cleaning tips you might have. I love great cleaning ideas 🙂
It is all great, but the corner of the shower door! Most aggravating trying [unsuccessfully] to get in there—but with this WOW. Thank you to Ashley, and to you for your easy ‘how to’!
Thanks Char, yep that shower door is a pain in the tush. The brush helps a ton with this.
My biggest concern, right now is cleaning the wall tile in the shower. A little difficult to leave the liquid solution ‘on the wall or ceiling, in my case, before using the cleaning tool. I would also recommend using safety goggles, wouldn’t want any of the cleaning solution to get into your eyes. Be surprised how many folks would not think about that.
Bob
Thanks Bob for your recommendation on the goggles.
One cleaning solution you could try is Max Force by OxiClean. I recently used it and saw my grout get cleaner than ever before. But test it first on a small spot.
The best thing for cleaning grout is a product sold by Tim Carter @ Ask The Builder.Com, product is called Stain-Solver, bucket of Hot water add Stain solver and stir to dissolve then with sponge or rag put mixture on tiles and let stand 15 to 20 minutes and rinse. Your drill tool might help if there is a couple places that need additional. This product is a oxy type product, far better then you buy in store. Comes in many sizes. My wife uses it to wash cloths, I’ve used it on roof to clean stained shingles, deck cleaning, you name it, this stuff works. Garver
Thanks Garver, I’ve seen Tim’s product and wondered how well it works. With your results in mind I think it’s a great option for all of us. The only reason I didn’t get it was because of the price.
I purchased a house with a travertine tile shower and shower floor. I understand this is a natural yet somewhat soft tile that can etch if the wrong cleaner is used. Any ideas on not only keeping the tile clean but the grout too?
Yes Kami, you should look at Custom Building Products’ cleaner for Travertine. Go to their website and search for “Aqua Mix Marble, Travertine, Limestone & Slate Cleaner and Sealer”.
This is safe for travertine and could really help you.
This is a good idea, try using a paste made of peroxide and baking soda and see how clean you can get your grout and white tile, toilet, sinks, chrome and many other items. This is a small likeness of the powerball!
It is Debbie. The PowerBall is soft and great for quick cleaning of surfaces that need a tender touch. This is more for those really touch stains or cleaning situations
I made 3 of these, one for me, one for my sister, and one for my friend. I took mine over to my 87-year old father’s house and cleaned the grout in both bathrooms. I forgot the exact Oxyclean recipe and it turns out I diluted it too much. However, it still did a tremendous job whitening the grout. This is a tool that really works!
Thanks Linda for helping your father and being great sister, daughter, and friend.
The recipe is 2 cups of OxyClean to 1 gallon of water. But, I’ve also been using the OxyClean Max Force with LOTS of success. It’s in the laundry aisle at the grocery store 😀
Jeff, check out drillbrush.com they stole your idea.
Haha, I think it’s widely known that this idea is used by a lot of different companies. But at least you can build one way cheaper 😀
A really great tool but some suggestions to make the cleaning more effective. First, have something like small pieces of cardboard to baffle the spray that finds baseboards, carpets, cabinets, etc; hold the drill in one hand, the baffle in the other. Second, do only a small area at once because the dirt, if it’s been years, does resettle, which defeats the effort; I suggest about a square foot if it’s a dirty bathroom, using a sponge and clean bucket of water as you work.
Third, OxiClean does work but you will not find the ingredients on the box. From their website, it’s a mild base with some other agents that will dry your skin readily. If you use this, I suggest gloves and other precautions. And because it is very soapy or basic, the floor should be washed with clean water afterwards.
Finally, and this is a big question/suggestion, does this sort of cleaning require a resealing of the grout and tile??? I’m fairly certain it does. If you obliterate the original seal and then have any issues with moisture, pressure, etc, you soon will be admiring your clean, but cracking, tiled floor.
What do you think, Jeff?
Rob
I bought all the ingredients to the groutbuster 3000. the 5/16 the hex bolt was to big to fit into the soap brush, also make sure you specify the bolt should be threaded all the way. Mine was threaded only about an inch.
I tried the 5/16, had to go back and get 1/4 inch all the way around. 5/16 was too big to fit in the hole of the OXO Softworks Soap Dispensing Palm Brush refill. !/4 in works great. Don’t know what the difference would be, i got the Oxo brush refill “B”
After cleaning be sure to use grout sealer, (Home depot, etc.)
That way the dirt will be kept out of the grout cracks as well as the moisture. Resealing should be done every year.
Thanks Ken for the great tip, I totally agree…but always forget, lol
I love this idea and bought a 7/16-14 x 3 1/2 Hex Cap bolt instead of the suggested fully threaded Hex Tap bolt. Does it matter? Also, what about the length? Thanks, in advance, for your help. I appreciate several of the other suggestions and feedback.
I watched the video today and went to my local Home Depot to get the parts but the part sizes were not mentioned in the video so I guessed and got the 3/8 set. I then drove to target to get the scrub brushes and realized that the 3/8 were going to be too big. I went back to Home Depot and got the 5/16 set but when I got out to the car I tried it and it was not fitting through the hole in the palm scrub refill at all. I went back into Home Depot and returned that and got the 1/4 set. That was still a tight fit and I had to end up screwing the scrub refill brush onto the hex bolt but it screwed on perfectly. Can’t wait to try it out but figured I would leave this comment incase someone else has the same difficulty, our brushes here at the Michigan stores must be made different, I bought the same exact brand and model though
Thanks Kelly for mentioning this. If the hole in brush is too small you can always drill it out with a larger drill bit. Keep me posted on your success 🙂
This looks like a great idea, but I have a friend who uses Wet And Forget and it works miracles without scrubbing at all and it is safe on most surfaces. Just wondering if anyone has tried that product….thanks.
Having read this I thought it was very informative.
I appreciate you finding the time and energy to put this short article together.
I once again find myself personally spending a lot of
time both reading and posting comments. But so what, it was still worthwhile!
OMG! We just made the grimebuster 3000 and used toilet bowl cleaner with bleach (let sit 5 to 10 mins). Whoa. I will never clean any other way! Thanks !!!!! (Helpful hints: none of the five hardware stores carry the 5 inch hex bolt with threads all the way down we’re displayed WITH the other bolts; they keep them with the screws!)
Do you know if Oxy is safe to use on marble? Thx!
Good question Allena, I’m not sure. Always good to do a test on a piece of scrap or small area.
Looking forward to more ideas. Thanks!
Thanks!
You’ve been recommending Oxyclean’s Max Force, but it looks like all the formulations are for laundry use.
Which Max Force product are you using for grout?
Hey Jeff- Change the shopping list to state “5/16 x 5 inch FULLY THREADED hex bolt”. I made the mistake of giving my husband the shopping list and he bought a 5/16 x 5 inch hex bolt but the threads don’t go far enough– woe is me! Thanks for the idea, I’ve often wondered why somebody doesn’t manufacture a line of Power Tools for Cleaning for us basic boring humans tired of using elbow grease!
Has anyone succesfully tried using a longer bolt so that you can scrub with the drill while standing? I am wondring if a longer bolt (30-35 inches long) would make the brushing process wobbly?
BECKY
Jeff,
Do I have to have a battery powered drill to make this successful?? I do not have a cordless drill.
Becky, using an electric power drill is not a safe idea in wet conditions, the electrical shock hazard is too great.
No drill required, but probably not quiet as powerful – I use an old electric toothbrush and used heads.