Dirty Grout and a Nail Brush

Several years ago we replaced our vinyl kitchen floor with tile. My more experienced friends, like a Greek chorus, tried to warn me of the impending doom. 

“Noooo!” they cried. “Don’t do it! You will be fighting filthy grout for the rest of your life.”

But we did it anyway. Tile just seemed so sturdy, impervious to damage. Surely the grout thing couldn’t be that bad.

But within weeks the lovely tan-colored grout (Notice the second mistake I made—choosing light-colored grout) was turning dark. A few months later anyone walking into my kitchen would think my light brown tiles were fashionably accented with black grout. Except that the black grout was only in the traffic areas; the lighter grout remained by the wall and in some corners, mocking me, and clearly showing that the grout was not black but filthy.

Sure, I mopped the floor and tried to keep it clean. But the grout remained black. Once I even hired a steam cleaning company to work their magic. But no magic ensued. “Hmm.” The befuddled cleaner mused, “Guess it’s not going to come up.”

So I figured this was just my punishment for not listening to my wise friends. I was stuck--filthy grout for the rest of my life or until I replaced the tile with wood flooring or vinyl. Years went by.  I kept telling myself that no one noticed the black grout was really filth.

Then, just last week I was talking on the phone when I noticed a spill on the floor. I grabbed a rag to wipe it up and in my scrubbing I happened to scrub extra hard on the grout.

Guess what? Some of the dirt came up. I was amazed.

My phone call ended and I grabbed a bucket, spray cleaner, a micro-fiber rag, and a nail brush. You know, one of those little scrub brushes you use for getting dirt out from under your finger nails when you’ve been gardening? I sprayed the grout, let it sit a minute, then scrubbed. Years of dirt pooled in the water around the grout. I scrubbed some more, then wiped with the rag, and—hallelujah! The original tan grout appeared.

I put an audible book on my phone and set to work. In a couple of hours, my arms felt like I’d been lifting weights, but most of my floor looked like it did when it was installed: beige tile, tan grout, clean floor.

I was amazed. All those years I suffered every time I looked at that floor. All those years of being embarrassed. All those years of thinking I had no control over this situation.

All I needed to do was listen to a few chapters of a book and work out my upper body. All I needed to do was take control and try. All I needed to do was know that I was not helpless.

Makes me wonder how many other seemingly impossible problems I can actually solve, if I try.

“Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed” (D&C 123: 17).