Tile is nearly indestructible; grout is not. Almost every "tired backsplash" we're asked to demo is really tired grout — stained behind the range, cracked at the countertop joint, darkened around the sink. Grout care is unglamorous, but it's the difference between a backsplash that looks fresh at year ten and one that gets torn out at year six.

Know which grout you have

Cement-based grout (most installations) is porous — it absorbs grease, coffee, and wine, and it needs periodic sealing.
Epoxy grout is non-porous and never needs sealing. It costs more and is fussier to install, but it removes the biggest maintenance chore from the list. If you're planning a new backsplash and hate upkeep, this is the one upgrade we'd point you at first.

Not sure which you have? Flick water at a grout line. If it absorbs and darkens, you've got unsealed (or worn-sealed) cement grout.

Sealing: exposure sets the schedule, not the calendar

Sealing advice ranges from every six months to every couple of decades, and honestly, both extremes are right — for different walls. The splash zone behind a range or sink takes grease and water daily and rewards annual sealing; a decorative wall that never catches a splash can genuinely go many years. Use the water-bead test and reseal the zones that fail it.

Apply penetrating grout sealer to clean, dry grout — sealing over stains locks them in — and wipe the tile faces before the sealer hazes.

Cleaning: gentle chemistry wins

Weekly, wash the cooking splash zone with warm water and dish soap so grease never builds into varnish. Monthly, scrub the grout lines with a paste of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide plus a drop of dish soap and a soft nylon brush.

Two popular products earn a hard no from us on cement grout:

Vinegar (and other acidic cleaners): acid slowly dissolves cement grout, especially unsealed grout, leaving it pitted and crumbly.
Straight bleach on colored grout: it blotches the pigment unevenly.

One caveat by tile type: alkaline degreasers are fine on glazed ceramic and porcelain, but a natural-stone tile backsplash (marble, travertine) wants pH-neutral cleaner and its own annual sealing — the vinegar spray that's harmless on ceramic will etch stone on contact.

The joint that is not grout

Where the backsplash meets the countertop is a movement joint, and it must be flexible caulk, not grout — grout there will always crack. We run that bead on every top we install, and we inspect it whenever we're back in a kitchen. Check yours yearly: if it's cracked or shrunken, cut it out and re-run kitchen-and-bath silicone. An open joint quietly feeds dishwater into the wall and behind the cabinets, which is how a $10 tube of caulk prevents a mold-and-drywall repair.

When cleaning stops working: regrout

If the grout lines stay dingy after a proper deep clean, the staining has penetrated and no chemistry will fix it. Regrouting — grinding out the top layer and packing in fresh grout — typically runs $150-400 for a kitchen backsplash as a Chicago-market benchmark (as of mid-2026), far cheaper than retiling. It's also the moment to upgrade: have the new grout done in epoxy, or seal the fresh cement grout on day one, and the ten-year clock restarts.

Sources

How Much Does Regrouting Tile Cost? — HomeGuide
How Often Should You Seal Grout? — The Grout Medic
Stone Care — Consumer Resources — Natural Stone Institute

Backsplash Grout Care: Sealing, Cleaning, and Knowing When to Regrout