I have just the right thing for you ...i brought in a good tile man a few month ago but the finishing touch and cleaning was neglected so i needed to do myself

i`ll send you the link to the cleaner i used

Here is a link that might be useful: grout cleaner

That link is to a phosphoric acid cleaner. I would get some professional advice before using it on granite. You would be better off calling the contractor back in to clean up the mess he made.

Thank you both. I read all the fine print on the grout cleaner Mosesco mentioned, but I have to admit, it made me too nervous to use on sealed granite. I also tried to get the contractor back in to clean his mess, but he wouldn't do it. Instead he suggested I get some muriatic acid and a stiff scrubbing brush and gloves and scrub it off. That, too, gave me pause. Thus, my post in the first instance as I was hoping there was another solution. Of course, if the contractor isn't off base with the muriatic acid recommendation, then the solution posed by Mosesco probably would work in the same manner.

How much grout are we talking about? Can you post some photos?

You might consider calling in someone else to do the work and then sue the contractor in small claims court. But first call him and tell him this is your plan.

A picture won't show the grout. It's just a thin invisible layer in various parts of the granite near the base of the backsplash that you can't really see but can feel in that the granite isn't cool and/or smooth there. I have no desire to sue the contractor in small claims court because in all other respects I was happy with his work.

Same thing happened to me on my lovely new granite counters. I sprayed it with my daily granite cleaner and scraped the thin layer grout it off with a plastic store card/credit card. It worked and did not scratch or damage the counter! Win! :)