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Why Is My Bathroom Grout Turning Yellow or Orange?

It is important to clean your bathroom tiles frequently. Otherwise, the discoloration of the tiles and grout can make the bathroom look horrible.

Well, you might be spending a fortune on making the bathroom look modern and stylish. Yet, a simple mistake can ruin all your effort.

Following below information regarding bathroom grout turning yellow or orange and the tips to solve this problem that might give you relief.

Why is my bathroom grout turning yellow or orange?

There are plenty of reasons which are responsible for turning the bathroom grout yellow or orange. It can be due to the faulty process in mixing the grout or iron in the water, chemicals of soaps and shampoo, body oils, bleach, and many more. You need to do proper cleaning to get rid of this.

Decorating a bathroom with beautiful tiles and making it look stylish is a common desire of anyone. Bathroom tiles can be colorful or plain.

You can tile the whole place or just some specific spaces. After so much effort, you can also get disappointed. The grouts can turn yellow or orange and make the appearance unclean.

Well, frequent cleaning is needed to ensure that the grouts are not getting discolored. The change of the color of the grout can be caused by several reasons including below.

Iron in the water:

Water is irreplaceable in our life. Water contains iron too. Well, the amount of iron may vary. The percentage of iron is not always the same.

The iron can cause a reaction with the grout and cause the color to change. Continuous water application can make it even worse.

The faulty mixture of grout:

Mixing grout requires water. If the water you are using contains too much iron, with time the grout can change its color. The grout can turn into a yellowish color. Proper mixing of grout with water is needed to prevent this discoloration.

Soaps and shampoos:

Soaps and shampoos contain chemical components. Leaving the residues on the floor can cause the grout to lose its color. Well, do not leave any residues.

Bacteria:

The growth of bacteria in the bathroom is not impossible. Well, it is a place filled with bacteria. The bacteria over the grout can turn the color into yellow or orange. Grout can become a living place for bacteria if not cleaned properly. 

Body oils:

Body oils contain chemicals like shampoos and soaps. These chemicals can act on the grout and cause discoloration. That’s why you should clean the bathroom frequently to clean the mess up.

Bleach:

Bleach is a cleaning agent. Cleaning agents indeed help to clean. Yet, the excess amount of cleaning agent can cause discoloration.

If you by chance leave bleach residues on the grout, with time it will affect the grout. The result would be devastating too.

Plugged air fresheners:

You should not plug air fresheners in the bathroom. Plugged air fresheners can release gas. This gas or smoke can also turn the color of the grout to yellow or orange. Avoid smoking in the bathroom too.

Grout type:

Some grout mixture is not reliable at all. Well, it may fill up the space, yet with time it does no good. Instead, grout can absorb water and change color. Choose the grout which is not easily affected by water or other factors.

Not cleaning:

Unhygienic places are living materials for mold, bacteria. The molds can stay over the grout if not cleaned. The layer on the grout would create discoloration.

What is the orange stain on my shower grout?

Plenty of reasons can cause orange stains on the shower grout. It can be due to the residue of shampoos and soaps, molds, iron in water, and many more.

The orange stain is different from yellow stains. Orange stains also give off a bad odor. It would be impossible for you to stand the odor.

Well, the orange stain on the shower is mainly caused by molds and bacteria. When molds grow and cover the grout, it would create an orange stain.

A layer of molds actually. Apart from that, excess residues of shampoo and soaps can also cover up the grout.

The rotting smell of the orange stain on grouts is also horrible. You need to focus on proper cleansing to get rid of the problem.

How do I keep my bathroom grout from turning yellow?

The bathroom should always remain clean. Grout turning its color to yellow can cause the bathroom to look unclean. Well, it will become unhygienic too.

Sometimes, it is not even easy to clean the yellow stains. Even though you rub for hours, it might not help.

To get rid of the problem you should do frequent cleaning. You can use the below methods to clean the bathroom grout.

Baking powder mixture:

The most common remedy is to use baking soda paste over the grout. Well, you can mix the same ratio of baking soda and warm water to create a lap.

Put layers of the mixture on the grout. Use a brush to rub the grout with the paste. After some time, wipe the place with warm water. Warm water keeps the germs away.

Bleaching:

Bleach can help to clean the grout. Yet the excess application of bleach can worsen the case. Use bleach over the grout to clean the stain.

Vinegar:

You can use vinegar solution over the grout to clean it up. To clean, you would need the same amount of vinegar and warm water.

Lastly, mix them and pour the mixture into a bottle. You can spray the mixture over the grout and later clean it. You can try rubbing the grout while applying the spray. It can help too.

Deep cleaning:

You can try doing deep cleaning to remove the yellow stains. Well, sometimes the remedy may not work and you need to replace the grout. That can be a permanent solution too.

How do you get orange mold out of grout?

Grouts can get orange stains due to molds. When layers of molds cover up the grout, it can cause the grout to create an orange color.

The orange color also gives off a bad smell. You need to get rid of the stains to keep the place hygienic. You can get the orange mold out of the grout by following the below steps in order.

Prepare mixture:

You can prepare different mixtures or follow certain remedies to clean the orange mold. You can make the mixture of baking powder with water by adding a spoon of lemon to it.

Apart from that, you can create a vinegar and water mixture. Well, bleaching also helps to clean the grout. Prepare your preferred one.

Applying the mixture:

Well, if you are using a vinegar mixture, you can spray it over the grout and leave it for 30 minutes.

In case of using baking soda mixture, you should put it over the grout with a brush. You can leave the paste for hours or a night. If the stains are horrible, leave it for a night.

Removing the mixture:

After waiting for hours, it is time to wipe the mixture off. You can use a scrub and warm water to wipe off the grouts. Do not rub just after applying the mixture. Let the mixture do its work on the grout.

Is there a white grout that doesn’t stain?

Epoxy white grout does not create a stain with time. The type of grout also matters as with time the grout loses its effectiveness. Low-quality grouts can create a huge mess and get ruined in a few days. Epoxy white grout is not the ordinary grout.

It can endure moisture, unlike other grouts. It is a water-resistant grout. With time, the white color of the epoxy grout doesn’t get affected by moisture or chemicals.

But you need to seal it. If you do not seal the epoxy grout, there is no guarantee that it will not turn yellow.

Well, sometimes, sealing can also cause discoloration. That’s why many would not suggest you seal the grout. Well, the best solution is to clean the grouts from time to time. It can solve the discoloration in no time.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the yellow or orange color on the grout is caused by a variety of reasons. The discoloration is caused by reasons like iron in the water, molds, bacteria, bleaching, smoke, dirt, cleaning agents, and more. You can take after actions yet frequently cleaning the grouts can help the most.