It's personal preference. If you can accept that the sink will get scratched and develop a patina over time, then you don't need the grid. If you want the sink to look pristine, then yes a grid may help.

I don't think it's even close but that is JMHO. :) I'm cracking up remembering sitting on my couch as a child with plastic on the cushions and walking on the floor runners ALL through out the house. My mom even made us keep the plastic on our mattress's so when you rolled over at night it made so much noise. Ahhh memories. :)

I was devestated after I installed my beautiful new sink and realized after the first washing of my crockpot I had scratched the crap out of the bottom. I bought a silicone (I think) mat that goes in the bottom and I LOVE it! It is easy to throw around and clean. When people come over I dry it off and put it in a drawer to show off only my shiny sink. It's even dishwasher safe. It came in all different colors and shapes even clear and it was $3.99 at Home Goods. Love it! :)

We have a sink grid and absolutely love it. It sits in a double sink on the side that does not have the garbage disposer. I pretty much use it as a dish drainer for stuff I don't want to put in the dishwasher. It goes into the dishwasher once a week or so for a good cleaning. I'm not sure I would use one if I had a single bowl sink though.

Jodi-

I don't think a nice SS sink grid looks like plastic on furniture at all - and yeah, I had that stuff growing up! (My old Rubbermaid one, maybe... "dusty rose." ;-))

I like the sink grid because it makes it quieter when I put dishes in the sink; the dishes don't sit right on the bottom in the dirty water; if I *need* the sink to be deeper for some reason, I can always take it out, but meanwhile the sink is the perfect depth with it; and finally - I LIKE the way it looks! I think it makes it look more finished...

My reasons for having a grid have nothing to do with scratches. I grew up with unprotected furniture and I have the same attitude toward my sink :)

I prefer the function of the sink with a grid. I can drain a pot into the sink without affecting anything sitting in the sink since the water runs underneath. I can drain pasta or veggies in a colander and the water goes straight down instead of around the colander. I do sometimes peel items over the grid and removing the peels from the grid with my faucet sprayer is quite easy if I do it right away. The peels tend stick more if they dry out a little but they're still not difficult to remove with a sink brush or scrubbie.

I don't use the grid in our prep sink even though I purchased one for it. I'm not as likely to put a colander down on the bottom of the prep sink now that I've gotten used to the grid in the other sink. I've somehow gotten the idea that the sink is one of the germier places in the kitchen and the idea of water flowing around the sink and getting into my food isn't a pleasant one. I don't like using the grid as a dishdrainer for this same reason.

It took me a while to realize the benefits of the grid. I took them out of both sinks after a month and put them away for a year before giving them another try. The one in the main sink has now remained for 3+ years. If I had just one sink I'd still use the grid.

Our grid is too large for the dw. I clean it with a plastic scrubby or dish cloth every few days. The underside tends to get grubbier than the top.

In terms of depth I look at it this way -- I can get an overly deep sink and make it comfortable with a grid. BUT - I can have it be deeper for the times that I need a very deep sink. I can make a deep sink shallower with a grid but I can't make a shallow sink deeper with anything.

What Zelmar said!

Personally, I don't care about the scratches in my SS sink...I didn't care in my old 13-year old sink and I don't care now. What I do "enjoy" is not worrying about the water backing up into the colander when I drain the pasta, rinsing the sink w/o having to move stuff around that's in the sink, and having a "flat" bottom so things don't "fall into" the center when they're in the sink.

So, have you ever used a grid in a sink? I hadn't and I decided to try it b/f forming an opinion. I even waited to order one for my prep sink until I used the one in my main sink for awhile...I wanted to see if it was worth it...and it was! While the grids came w/my main sink, I did have to pay for the grid in my prep sink. I've lived with one & without one so I think I can give an informed review. But, as with all reviews, they're mostly opinions based on ones experience...and since experiences vary...your opinion may vary!

Ditto pretty much everything Zelmar said. Scratches really didn't even enter my mind as a reason for using my sink grid. I use them for all Zelmar's reasons and others, too.

Having never had a grid before, I might not have purchased them separately, but mine came free with my Ticor sinks, so I started using them as soon as the sinks were installed. I figured I could always stop using them if I didn't like them. Well, I will never stop using them, because I love them!

It is so much easier to use the sink with the grid in there. I don't worry about plopping dishes in the sink any more--not because the sink is protected, but because the dishes are. The grid gives a bit, so dishes are far less likely to break when they hit it versus when they hit the bare sink. I don't have dirty water accumulating around anything, so I don't mind leaving a few dishes in the sink over night any more.

I do use the one in my prep sink, too. I find it easier to wash veggies when I can spread them out on the grid to rinse. It also seems more sanitary. It's easier to rinse things down the drain, so less gunk stays in there to accumulate germs.

I find the grids very easy to clean. I scrub mine with a scrubby pad right in place, and flip them over in place to scrub the bottom.

I'm not a fan of the coated grids--possibly for the plastic furniture cover feel--but the stainless grid just seems like part of the kitchen.

I love my grid and wonder how I ever lived without it! I don't have trouble with peels and such, but cornsilk is another story. I have learned to take it out when I'm de-silking corn on the cob! I actually think the sink looks better with the grid, unlike plastic covered furniture.

I love my sink grid for the same reason everyone else does!! It is easy to pick up and clean under, drains washed items that do not go in the dishwasher and I can drain pasta without water backing up!

I LOVE my sink grid! I probably would not have bought one, but since they came with my Ticor sinks, I started using them. I have not looked back. For all the reasons everyone else said...the grids are fantastic.

I had never even seen a sink grid before I got the ones that came with my ticor. I am sold for life. If I see a sink w/o a grid, I think it looks bare.

Ok. You've all convinced me. I now must have a grid! And I know who to blame if I don't like it:)

I think you'll find it useful.

I have a large single bowl sink and I keep a dishpan in it, all the time. The dishpan sits on a small grid so the water and "stuff" will drain. I've never needed one before, I always had a small sink and it wasn't an issue, but now, I wouldn't be without it. When I'm canning, I use a small rubbery mat next to the drain in case the pan hits the sink - I don't want the fireclay to get scratched.