I wipe my BS grates down with a damp sponge when something spills or splashes on them. I let them season themselves naturally. I spill and splatter enough olive oil and other greasy stuff that they are naturally seasoned. I have decided I cannot possibly keep them sparkling clean. I just don't have enough time or the inclination to clean them that much. They take on a nice dark patina over time and they look well used like a cast iron skillet. I've never had any issues with rust at all. I washed the grates in the dishwasher a few times when the range was new but I discovered a different problem with that. There were little black particles and little black greasy blobs all over my dishes and dishwasher after that. I don't recommend washing the grates in the dishwasher because of that, not because of damaging the grates. You have to decide what you're willing to live with in your kitchen and if you want to scrub them down after every use. I prefer a more lived in look.

They aren't plain cast iron. They have been coated with a rough enamel and are about as durable a material as any you will find on the planet. It is, I think, an overreaction to fear putting something you could bounce cannonballs off of into a household dishwasher.

In any case, I do it all the time, or to be more precise, about once a month. I pull the grates, bowls, unplug the ignitors and remove the burners from the range. Then I shove them all, meaning burners with the ignitors still affixed to them, bowls, and grates, and array them in my dishwasher, which is about as heavy a load as I would ever consider putting into the poor thing. Then I run a potscrubber cycle. When they come out of the dishwasher, they are hotter than heck. I use my ove-gloves to pull them out of the DW and put the range back together. I take the opportunity, while the dishwasher is running, to clean up the drip tray and reline it if necessary.

If I have really bad stains on a bowl or something, I will use some easy off or maybe soak it in oxyclean for a little while before running the dishwasher, but I don't get anal about everything coming out perfect. Over time, the top is going to blacken and that is fine with me.

Like mojavean states, the grates are coated with a porcelain enamel, almost a glass like substance. It will wear, and it might be susceptible to attack by "some" of the stronger dishwashing detergents that have potassium or sodium hydroxide in them. I quote one sentence from Wikipedia under the topic 'dishwasher'-"glass dissolves slowly in alkaline aqueous solution."... you can read the article yourself. I mentioned before, it's like the porcelain coating on French cast iron ovens, such as Le Creuset and Staub.

Having said that, it would probably take years to have much of an effect. Still, I would rather have the bottom of my pans wear out this coating.

The grates will take a seasoning, you just wipe them with the smallest amount of oil, and turn the burner back on. Some oils smoke less than others, refined light olive oil is good, this seasoning may burn off and stick to the bottom of your expensive copper pan, especially if it's a fresh seasoning....otherwise, not a problem, and in fact it probably protects the porcelain from wear.

The big thing with cast iron, even porcelain cast iron, is to keep it dry. Sometimes you'll see a light 'bloom' of rust on it, just wipe it off. But if rust gets under the porcelain, it will lift it off and chip it.

To clean, I use an almost dry scrubby sponge, and leave the bowls on the cooktop. If I spill a mess of flour, or manage to make a complete mess, I do take the bowls to the sink and rinse them there.

I have a DCS - not one of the brands specified, but its grates are cast iron. I just scour them as needed with a plastic scrubbie, and they look just fine. My friend who has a Miele says they look much better than hers, but I think the main secret is I don't have many boil-overs - everything stays in their pans so much better with this gas range than it did when I had a smooth top electric. It has been suggested that I put them in the dishwasher, but as they are continuous two-burner-sized, I don't think they will fit.

I treat them like cast iron and they look beautiful. Water soluble spots/spills get wiped up with a damp sponge. Oil gets wiped off with a paper towel.

End of story. Couldn't be easier. If you're OCD get a glass induction cooktop! :)

-Stooxie

Thanks for the replies! I'm hardly OCD--I keep my barn cleaner than my kitchen. (My barn is reasonably clean though!) The DH is laughing thinking anyone has me confusd with someone who has OCD about a clean kithchen.

On cleaning the thing I'm trying to fgure out is not what gets it the cleanest, just how to get it the cleanest with the least amount effort endind with the best (and quickest) old patina. I have a new home built with old floors, doors, beams, etc. Some stuff still has the original peeling/rusted/oxidized finish or it's been painted/treated to match the old finish, so I am ALL about patina. The things people don't like astectically about the BS are why it looks so great in my house--but of course I bought it for function!

I am a little curious about the enamel finish. Does this make them similar to the Le Creuset cookware that is also cast iron w/ enamel? I know they have a clean product for those. Has anyone tried it?

Hi Subk3,

No, the enamel on the BS grates is not like Le Creuset. Think more like enamel coated cast iron grates you'd find in a grill. It's still a rough surface. That's a good thing, otherwise we'd be worrying about chipping it. They did not sacrifice any workability with this coating.

-Stooxie

I beg to differ, it's very similar to Le Creuset, only not as smooth, more like the black insides of all Staub and some Le Creuset fry pans. It is a true porcelain coating and should be treated much the same.

Alexr,

Ok, you're talking apples and oranges. The INSIDE coating of a Le Creuset fry pan is very different from the nice smooth coating on the outside. The thicker coatings will chip much more easily then the thinner inside ones.

-Stooxie