Cleaning shower tiles and grout takes a vastly different approach then cleaning ordinary floor tiles and grout.  Soap scum, mold, mildew and dealing with damaged grout and caulk make shower tile cleaning a difficult task.

 

 

Before you begin cleaning your tile shower you should first asses what exactly needs to be done to clean and restore your tile shower. Many showers that have not been properly cleaned and maintained will have mold and mildew in the caulk and grout.

Cleaning the mold and mildew from the caulk is never an option since the mold and mildew is actually growing inside the caulk.  Therefore in many cases you must recaulk your shower in addition to cleaning the tiles and grout. 

Also many showers have extremely dirty, moldy or cracked and damaged grout.  In these cases it is best to clean the shower tiles and then you will need to regrout your shower to restore the shower back to like new condition.

Almost all showers will have some degree of soap scum that must also be cleaned up on the tiles and grout.  It is impossible to achieve any type of successful shower cleaning results without first cleaning up the soap scum. Cleaning up soap scum is never an easy process. It does help to have a quality soap scum remover product to loosen up the soap scum so it can be scrubbed away.

The hands down best soap scum remover on the market today is MB-3 from MB stone restoration.  It is non acidic and is safe to use on all ceramic and stone tile surfaces.  It is also extremely effective at cleaning up and removing soap scum in shower tile installations.  Professional tile cleaning and stone restoration contractors have been using MB3 for years and it is now available to consumers through Amazon.  You should not use any type of consumer level soap scum removers especially on stone tile surfaces.  Many consumer soap scum removers are acidic or contain harsh cleaning products that can damage and dull the finish on stone tile shower installations.

 

 

When cleaning a ceramic or porcelain tile shower you can generally use an extremely aggressive scrub pad to scrub away the soap scum on the tile and grout.  Most ceramic tiles will not get scratched with an aggressive scrub pad so you can just spray on the soap scum remover and scrub the tiles and grout with the aggressive scrub pad until all of the soap scum has been removed.

 

 

When using the MB-3 soap scum remover you should always thoroughly rinse away all of the excess MB-3 cleaning solution from the shower tiles.  Also if you have delicate shower tiles that can be easily scratched then you should use a soft scrub pad to clean off the soap scum without scratching the shower tiles.

 

 

When there is an extremely thick layer of soap scum on the ceramic tiles then it may help to use a razor blade tool to help scrape away the soap scum on the ceramic tile surfaces. Then you can go back over the ceramic tiles with the scrub pad to remove any of the remaining soap scum. 

You should definitely not use any type of aggressive scrub pads on stone tile showers like travertine or marble.  You can also read more information about how to clean the various stone tile showers and how to clean a travertine shower and the proper techniques for cleaning a marble shower and cleaning and restoring a limestone shower.

Cleaning soap scum off of any type of stone tiles can be even more difficult. You can not use any type of extremely aggressive scrub pad on the softer stone tiles such as marble or travertine as this type of scrub pad will scratch the tile surface. You generally need to a soft scrub pad combined with a non-acidic soap scum remover to scrub away the soap scum from the stone tiles and grout. It is important to not use any type of acidic product on acid sensitive Marble tiles as the acidic cleaning product will permanently etch the marble tile surface. You can also go here for more detailed information about travertine shower cleaning.

The process to remove all of the soap scum from stone tiles generally takes longer due to not being able to use an aggressive scrub pad then cleaning up the soap scum from ceramic tiles. Whether you have ceramic, porcelain or some type of stone tiles cleaning up and removing the soap scum is the most important step to cleaning and restoring your tile shower. 

After you have cleaned up all the soap scum then you will probably notice that the grout lines still look dirty and may look black from mold or red from mildew.  It is a lot easier to clean up the mold and mildew in ceramic and porcelain tile grout then it is for most stone tiles. This is because you can use an acidic cleaner to clean up the mold and mildew in the ceramic tile grout lines. You should never use any type of acidic cleaner on marble shower tiles. You can test some types of slate, travertine and granite tiles to determine if these tiles are acid resistant before using an acidic cleaner on the grout lines.

Apply the acidic cleaner with a spray bottle or you can also apply it on with a scrubbing sponge.  The acidic cleaner will kill the mold and mildew in the grout lines. You can then scrub the grout lines using the acidic cleaner to remove the old mold, mildew, dirt and contaminates from the grout lines. You should keep scrubbing the grout lines using the acidic cleaner until the grout lines are as clean as they are going to get. You should not leave the grout lines in an acidic state so it is best to re clean all of the grout lines with an alkaline cleaning solution to neutralize the acid in the grout lines. If you are cleaning the grout lines in an acid sensitive stone then you should only use the alkaline cleaning solution on the grout lines to get them to their cleanest state possible.

You can read more about our recommended alkaline and acidic tile cleaners here.

When doing this type of intense shower cleaning it is always a good idea to seal the tiles and grout after you have finished cleaning the shower tiles.  Using strong acidic and alkaline cleaning solutions will break down most tile and grout sealers. Also most showers need periodic resealing of the tile and grout lines and after cleaning your shower you do not want the tile and grout to get dirty or grow any more mold and mildew in the grout lines.

If you notice that the grout lines are still dirty or have missing and cracked grout then there are some more involved options available to get your grout lines looking new again.  For narrow grout lines 1/16 inch or smaller with unsanded grout you should consider replacing the grout with a shower regrouting procedure. Many showers require regrouting as this is the only way to restore the shower grout back to its original appearance. Also when there is cracked or missing grout water can get into your walls and cause your tiles to come loose. Also cracked and missing grout can cause even larger problems to develop due to water damage in your walls and mold growing in the walls of your home.  Cleaning the mold in your shower is extremely important for the safety of your home.  You can read more detailed information about removing shower mold here.

If you have wider grout joints 1/8 inch or greater with sanded grout that will not come clean then you should consider sealing the grout with a grout colorant.   The grout colorant will restore the original appearance to the grout lines making them all look new. Additionally the grout colorant will permanently seal all the pores of the grout making it impossible for mold and mildew to grow inside of the porous grout.  You can read more information about grout colorants in our grout colorant section.

If cleaning, sealing, regrouting and recaulking your shower seems like too much trouble to do yourself then you might want to hire a professional tile restoration contractor to do the work for you. 

You can read some valuable information and tips on how to hire a tile, grout and stone cleaning and restoration contractor at our contractor information page here. Shower Tile Cleaning.