I'm getting dirty with that grout machine again today, folks. Thing was totally clogged up and useless. Buying that special cleaner stuff? Way too expensive, honestly ridiculous. So I figured, screw it, I'm making my own cleaner at home. Here's exactly how I messed around and actually got it to work.

The Basic Stuff I Found in My Garage

Started simple. Looked under the kitchen sink first: White vinegar? Got a big bottle. Baking soda? Plenty. Then headed to the garage. Found some liquid dish soap – that green kind. Hot water straight from the tap, obviously. Didn't wanna go crazy mixing weird chemicals right off the bat. Keeping it basic seemed smarter.

The Messy Mixing Process

Alright, grabbed an old spray bottle that used to have window cleaner in it. Emptied and rinsed it out really good with water – didn't want no leftover blue junk messing this up. Here’s what I dumped in there:

• Half the bottle filled with the hottest water I could get from the tap. Steam was rising!
• A whole big cup of white vinegar. Poured slow 'cause that smell hits ya.
• A fat squirt of the dish soap. Maybe a couple tablespoons? Didn't measure, just squeezed hard.
• A few big spoonfuls of baking soda. This fizzed up wild inside the bottle! Had to cap it quick.

Gave the bottle a real gentle shake. Mostly sloshed it around – didn't wanna build up pressure with that baking soda fizz action. Ended up with a cloudy, kinda goopy liquid. Smelled... weirdly clean and sour at the same time.

Letting It Sit (And Trying to Be Patient)

Okay, confession: I hate waiting. But I know this stuff needs time to work on dried grout gunk. Sprayed it all over the worst parts of the machine, the hopper, the pipes – everywhere I saw crusty buildup. Real soaked it good until it was dripping. Left it alone for maybe 30 minutes? Made some coffee, checked emails. Stared at the damn machine a few times.

Scrubbing Like Crazy

Time for the satisfying part! Grabbed an old toothbrush I'd saved just for nasty jobs like this. Started scrubbing where I sprayed the mixture. The baking soda felt gritty, which I think helped a lot. Soap made it slippery. Wasn't magic, took some elbow grease. That white vinegar smell got stronger as I scrubbed – definitely working though! Gunk was turning from hard brown crusts into a gray sludge. Used a small screwdriver wrapped in an old rag to poke into the tiny spray holes where the cleaner had been stuck real bad. More sludge came out.

The Final Rinse Test (Held My Breath)

Scared part: Would it actually WORK? Hosed everything down with clean water like crazy. Ran fresh water through the machine. Water flowed smooth out the spray tip! No sputters! Could even see the spray pattern changing back to how it's supposed to be. That stubborn grout mess was almost completely gone! Still had to wipe down the outside with a wet rag to get the last greasy film off (that dish soap leaves a bit of a feel behind). But inside? Clean! Felt stupidly proud. Cost me literally pennies.

So yeah, my messy experiment worked. Vinegar broke up the crust, baking soda scoured it, soap helped the mix stick and slide. Hot water sped it up. Beats paying twenty bucks for a tiny bottle any day. My hands smell like pickles and my garage smells like cleaning day, but hey – machine runs!