I have ceramic tile counter tops in my back around the BBQ. The tiles are really dull now and the grout seems to be getting a little "sandy"... Can anybody recommend some kind of sealer / cleaner I can put on to bring it back to life? Really the color of the grout I'm ok with. We've been in the house now for close to 6 years now and nothing has been done to maintain the tile and the SoCal sun beats it all day.

I did a brief bit of research and thought a process could be:
- Make a mild bleach mixture and lightly clean the counters / grout, I saw some guy using acid mixture too but I think that's a bit much for my needs - how long do I need to let this dry?
- Get a sealer with a wheel and run thru all the lines
- Not sure what do do about cleaning and bringing the color back to the tile though. Their not real dirty, just light in color.

 

Sounds like the tiles have faded in the sun, not much you can do about that.

What do you mean by the grout becoming 'sandy?' This sounds to me more like it's failing than needs to be cleaned.

 

yeah maybe cleaned isn't the right description...

The grout overall seems to be ok. But, and this could be lack of some basic understanding, if I put some pressure on my finger and rub it a bit it gets gritty...

I've done tile work twice in my place and am by no means an expert... So this could all be as expected.. As we're going to be using the outside more and more I'm trying to stay ahead of the curve.. And I thought there was some preventative maintenance that could be done.

Is there anything I can put on the tile that will make some of the color come back? I just see all these adds where companies say they can "restore" the tile... Was hoping I could do something like that on my own and save a few $$