Grout Pen Grout Restorer

I am not a big fan of tile and grout. Inevitably the grout gets messed up by time, water damage, or mold in general. It hardly matters what you do to mitigate it. And it is impossible to clean. So before we call someone to completely tear the grout out and start all over, we began to look for alternate options. I found a bathroom grout pen on Amazon that got great reviews. Since I wasn’t sure of an exact match I ordered one light winter grey and one light grey pen along with replacement tips - just in case. They come in two top sizes - skinny and wider. The pens remind me of the wood furniture pens we have for touch ups that generally do the job. The instructions are simple - shake the pen, press down on the tip to get the paint going, and work your way along the grout. I have to say the tips got pretty mangled and I changed them twice - especially since you are working on a wall rather than a floor - but it was well worth the time. A second coat was added in some spots, but the end result was quite impressive. The shower actually looked clean and brand new! You can also use it on the floor tiles which we may try later on, but the shower tiles really needed the attention. The big test will come after we use the shower and see if the same spots dry or stay wet. Then we will know if the mold and mildew was related to a consistent problem or not. So let’s keep our fingers crossed. Wouldn’t that be amazing if it worked? 

Baking Soda and Vinegar

Tile is hard to keep looking new regardless of whatever you use daily to keep it that way. And white grout anywhere is a bad idea. That is something we learned very early on with a white tile bathroom floor in Milwaukee. When we moved here we didn't have a choice because the condo was already updated. Yes, we use the after shower spray and routinely clean the place but the mildew just comes back. I found a recipe that promised great results. My husband was eager to try it. Mix that baking soda and white vinegar in to a paste; apply to the affected area; use a tub brush or something like it; rinse clean... And voila! Yay, right. And we both believed it because we wanted to. I don't think it made a big difference on any of the tile we tried it in. Does anyone out there have a better solution?