Zep

Zep grout cleaner is for homeowners whose tile grout has gone gray in the kitchen, the bath or the entry that takes a Montana winter’s worth of sand and slush off everybody’s boots. The Home Pro foaming version sits a few minutes, needs no rinse, and leaves an invisible barrier that helps grout resist the next round of grime. That is professional cleaning chemistry in a spray bottle, and it saves a weekend on your knees with a toothbrush.

Zep, Inc. is a cleaning products maker based in Atlanta, Georgia. Mandle Zaban, William Eplan and Saul Powell founded it in 1937. It built its name on industrial and janitorial cleaners made with its own chemistry and backed by technical support, and later brought professional-strength formulas into homes with the Home Pro line. Truelink Capital Management, a Los Angeles private equity firm, has owned Zep since July 2025.

Two grout cleaners for two different jobs

The Home Pro Foaming Miracle Grout Cleaner & Protectant is the everyday cleaner. Spray the foam on the grout lines, let it sit 2 to 5 minutes to loosen the dirt, then wipe it off. You don’t rinse it. Its XtraGuard barrier adds a little protection every time you use it, which helps grout resist spills and stains between cleanings. It works on white and tinted grout, and it’s safe on ceramic and porcelain tile, granite and quartz, so a backsplash over a stone counter is no problem. It’s made for kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms and tiled walls.

Zep Grout Cleaner and Brightener is the scrub-and-rinse product for grout that’s been neglected. Work in small sections. Apply it to the grout lines, let it sit 2 to 3 minutes, scrub the stubborn stains with a grout brush, then rinse thoroughly and let the grout dry completely. Use the Brightener once to bring the grout back, then keep it clean with the no-rinse foam.

With either one, clean the grout before the tile so the loosened dirt doesn’t get spread across the whole floor. Keep vinegar off grout, because its acid wears down the grout and the sealer over time.

Mold and mildew stains without the brush

How much scrubbing you’ll do depends on what’s in the grout. Dark spots in a shower are usually mildew, and that calls for the Home Pro Mold & Mildew Stain Remover. It’s a bleach-based formula that removes mold and mildew stains from common household surfaces without scrubbing. Everyday grime comes off with the foaming grout cleaner and a wipe. Of the three products, only the Brightener needs a brush, and only on stubborn stains.

The stain remover is ready to use, with nothing to mix, and it brightens as it cleans. It’s made for caulk, grout, tile, tubs, showers, sinks and plastic trash cans. Because it’s bleach, run the bath fan. Never use it in the same session as an acid cleaner, such as Zep’s Acidic Toilet Bowl Cleaner or an acid-based bathroom cleaner: bleach and acid together give off chlorine gas. If the black is under the caulk instead of on its surface, cut the caulk out and recaulk.

Sealing and crumbling grout

Both grout cleaners are for cleaning and upkeep. Reseal grout every 6 to 12 months, and the foam’s barrier protects the grout between sealings. Cracking or crumbling grout is a structural problem, and no cleaner fixes it. Rake out that section, regrout it and seal it before you clean around it.

Zep Neutral pH Floor Cleaner

This one is a concentrate. Dilute it by the label, weaker for light cleaning and stronger for heavy dirt. A neutral cleaner is gentle on grout sealer, which makes it the right match for a floor you’ve just sealed. Mop it on without soaking the floor, because standing water works down into the grout lines. Use a soft-bristle brush or a cloth on tile, and use a steam cleaner for one stubborn spot. When a floor also needs disinfecting, do that as a separate step with one of Zep’s disinfectants, such as Quick Clean Disinfectant, which is EPA-registered for hard non-porous surfaces. Let the tile air dry completely before anyone walks on it.

Sprayers and the rest of the shelf

The Zep Professional Sprayer is the bottle to mix concentrates into. Keep one strength per bottle and write the product and the mix on it. Zep also makes professional-strength degreasers for the shop and garage. On the house side, the rest of the line covers the toilet with a toilet bowl cleaner, the drain with a crystal drain cleaner, and the outside of the house with the All-In-One Pressure Wash. Use the drain crystals exactly as the label says, never on top of another drain product, and keep your face back from the drain while it works, because the reaction heats up and can splash. The pressure wash goes in the washer’s detergent tank or siphon and goes on with the low-pressure soap nozzle; let it sit a few minutes out of direct sun, then rinse from the top down.

Zep products at a glance

Product	Size	Form
Home Pro Foaming Miracle Grout Cleaner & Protectant	32 oz	Ready-to-use foam, no rinse
Home Pro Mold & Mildew Stain Remover	32 oz	Ready-to-use, bleach-based
Concentrated Neutral pH Floor Cleaner	1 gallon	Concentrate, diluted by label
Acidic Toilet Bowl Cleaner	32 oz	Acidic formula
Professional Sprayer	32 oz and 48 oz	Spray bottle
Crystal Drain Cleaner	18 oz	Crystals

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Zep a good cleaner?

Yes, and it’s been a professional cleaner since 1937, long before the Home Pro line brought the same strength into houses. A dedicated R&D team formulates every Zep product, and its cleaning solutions are made in the USA. For gray grout and shower mildew, the Home Pro foam and the Mold & Mildew Stain Remover do the work that usually takes a brush.

Does Zep Neutral Floor Cleaner disinfect?

Zep sells it as a floor cleaner, and it doesn’t carry a germ-kill claim. For disinfecting, Zep’s Quick Clean Disinfectant cleans and disinfects in one step and kills 99.9% of bacteria, including cold and flu viruses, in five seconds on hard non-porous surfaces that water doesn’t harm.