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The best way to clean tile and grout in your home is going to vary. It will depend on everything from the kind of stain you’re removing to the material your grout is made of. That makes it nearly impossible to find one cleaning solution that will work in all cases—without damaging your bathroom walls. But once you identify what you’re dealing with, you can be more effective and targeted when cleaning.

The first thing to remember is that, as with a lot of cleaning situations, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. You’re better off protecting your tile and grout than trying to rescue it.

“The best way to clean heavily stained or aged grout is to maintain a cleaning schedule. Do not allow stains and soils to build up over time,” said David Mowery, a business manager of Tile and Stone Installation Systems for the MAPEI Corporation, in an email. “The sooner you address grout stains, the better.”

For my apartment’s full-size shower, the entire process took about 15 minutes. But the time it takes will vary, depending on how much tile you’re trying to clean and the severity of the stains.

Bathroom tile and grout stains have a few common causes, starting with mold or mildew. These organic stains thrive in the damp corners of a bathroom shower and the porous, concrete-based grouts that are commonly found in between bathroom tiles.

These stains are best handled with alkaline or high-pH cleaners, according to Mowery. Tilex Mold & Mildew, Scrubbing Bubbles: Bathroom Grime Fighter, and StoneTech Mold & Mildew will all work in this case.

If you’re tackling a light stain, or you want to avoid working with hasher commercial chemicals, you can mix equal parts baking soda and water to form a very mild alkaline cleaner that can handle small amounts of mold or mildew.

The other common source of staining in a shower is rust or lime buildup. It’s usually caused by hard water—which has higher levels of dissolved calcium or iron—and these stains are common when your water is drawn from a well or other groundwater sources. These deposits can gain footing in the porous tile and grout of a bathroom and leave a discolored stain. Rust has a reddish-brown tint, while limescale usually has a chalky-white or pale green color.

To deal with these kinds of markings, Mowery recommends using a cleaner with a lower pH. Bar Keepers Friend More Spray and Foam, Zep Grout Cleaner and Brightener, and CLR Brilliant Bath will all work in this case.

For any of these common stains, the cleaning process is the same. Apply the cleaner by directly spraying it on the wall or onto a damp sponge, cloth, or brush. Let the solution sit for a short period, and then scrub with the brush, making sure to get the bristles into the grout itself. Rinse thoroughly and let the area dry.

If your tile grout is still discolored or grimy after a few attempts, it may just be old instead of stained. In this case you may want to look into applying a grout colorant and sealer, which is a more in-depth and careful process.

Grout is pivotal in keeping tile fresh and safe, so anything that may degrade or remove it should be avoided. Wire brushes or steel wool should not be used. And the same goes for abrasive cleaners like Borax or Comet. Those tools can scratch tiles, and the chemicals can damage grout.

James Austin is an updates writer who has worked on everything Wirecutter covers, from board games to umbrellas, and after being here for a few years he has gained approximate knowledge of many things. In his free time he enjoys taking photos, listening to podcasts, and volunteering for a youth robotics competition.

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