i have them, and love them! mine are ok to put in dishwasher so i do that every time there is room, and I just set one on top of the other to wipe down bottom of sink

Modern sinks have worked for centuries without them. One more thing in our life of things, simplify, recycle them.

I don't care about protecting the stainless, which will weather as it will. But I really like that I can set something in there and not worry that the pasta water or the crud that gets scraped from plates will coat [the sitting thing] in grease on all sides. Similarly, that a few veggies could sit there without getting soapy when I clean a bowl. Yes, you have to rinse around it, but that's what the pull-out sprayer is for, right?

My first cast iron sink lasted 19 years without a grid. I moved that sink to the basement kitchenette because it was still in good shape. My present cast iron sink (Kohler Whitehaven) is doing fine without the grids. I am not sure why they are needed in stainless steel unless it is more prone to scratching than I thought.

I have one on one side, but not the side that has the "big dog" disposal. The other one helps keep rinsed dishes off of a surface that might be a bit dirty- and that allows me to use the shortest dishwasher cycle- saves water and energy.

Try removing the grid from the "workhorse"- where your disposal is, and leaving the other?

I just got done cleaning last night's salad scraps off these things. My family just dumps it in the sink. Then I started looking at them and realized how much crud was on it. They are too big to fit in the dishwasher without taking out the top shelf.

I agree that the water runs freely under the grid and it's easy to keep clean. My husband does the dishes and I would hate to see what our brand new stainless sink would look like if we didn't have one. He's not very gentle lol!

Not really sure of the purpose, I guess it would be nice occasionally to not have things sit on the bottom of the sink as acm says, but about protecting the sink - really? From what? I've had my current stainless steel sink for 10 yrs, and it looks just fine, and I don't do anything particular to protect it, or be gentle on it, I just use it, wipe it down, and scrub it every so often.

I have a 1.5 year old stainless sink. My husband and teen are anything but easy on it and it looks just fine to me. I clean with Bon Ami and rub in the direction of the grain.

That sink is big enough to not need them or maybe use just one for the drain and tell everyone to put their dishes on the side that does not have it(I know, I know, easier said than done).

I have a very large and deep Kohler S/S sink. It has a very large S/S grid in it too. I love the grid because it keeps the dirty dishes above the sink so the water can drain. Also, the grid is great for when I'm draining pasta in a colander...the grid keeps the colander above any "backwash" in the sink getting on the pasta!!! I put the grid in the dishwasher on occasion. I have to pull out the top rack first. When I do, I also put in the metal filters from my stove hood. The dishwasher gets the rack beautifully clean as well as those little white feet that are on the grid. I was worried about scratches when the sink was new, but, hey, it's a kitchen sink! As someone else suggested, just use one grid and see if that helps.

Stainless gets scratch no matter what in my experience.

I had one and tossed it. It was in the way. Stainless steel sink. If it is scratched, I don't see it.

Never have understood the point of these

My DD has them.....I find them very annoying!

Clean them & post on eBay. Dumbest things ever.

i cant believe this is controversial, i adore mine. it's a big world.

even tho we have a garbage disposal we scrape food waste into the trash. the only thing that gets 'hung up' on the grid is the last bits of citrus pulp from the juicer, so i stand the grid up in the back of the sink to deal with the juicer parts.

I use these in my shower niche to keep the bottom of my shampoo bottles, etc, from getting slimy.

I have a Stainless steel sink ..never use anything ..they survived years

I'm done with mine. I have one very large undercounter mounted stainless sink and think the single large grid that sits on the bottom makes it much harder to rinse the bits down into the disposal - I live in a drought-prone area and that's a total waste of water. And, in order to clean the bottom of the sink I have to find a place to put the grid. I might like it if there was a pair of matching grids at the bottom so I could stack them to one side when cleaning the sink and then switch sides. It's nice to be able to set something on the grid without it being on the sink bottom, but the minuses heavily outweigh the pluses for me.

Since my earlier response I have got the grills for my Whitehaven:) I was worried about dropping my heavy pans in the sink and chipping it.

I really like having the grills. I rarely need to remove scratches from my sink now, so I rarely use anything the least bit harsh when cleaning, and this will help the sink look better longer. I like that the grills raise the bottom of the sink an inch - it is a deep sink. I can scrub a pot on the grills without scratching the sink. I don't have trouble with food stuck to the grills, but it might be the design. There is a a large open area around the drain. Also, for my sink size there are two smaller grills - easier to pick up and clean than one large grill. While the grills do occasionally need to be cleaned, they reduce the time I spend cleaning the sink, so I don't see that as extra cleaning time.

glad its working out for you jhmarie, i still love mine to pieces.

jhmarie, it makes sense to use them in a chip-able sink. I think they then started to make them for all sinks because of people thinking if that porcelain sink has them, why doesn't mine? I've never seen the need in a stainless steel sink. I have never needed them and won't be getting them in my new kitchen.

For those who don't like them, how will you repurpose yours? I still need one that's 5 x 17 for a shower niche. Maybe they can be used under flower pots? Or even under hot or cold dishes if your have stone counter tops, because that stone leaches out all the heat (or cold if it's a frozen dish) and brings your food to room temperature quickly. Maybe mounted on a wall to hang jewelry. Or use S hooks to hang grilling tools ...

Lordy, wish my life was simple enough to have a problem like this!

Apparently your life is simple enough that you have time to dig up dead threads from a year ago and bump current issues off the front page. So there's that.

I have them in both sides of my sink. I pick one up in my left hand and whiz around the sink with my sink-cleaning sponge in my right hand, then run the sponge quickly over both sides of the SS grid racks, which have never gotten yucky. Once they are wiped I use my spray gizmo to rinse down everything. My garbage for the disposal fits right into the round opening and thru the rubber gasket, which I take out for cleaning once a day. Easy Peasy. Clean!

Have to say never seen these before, always had stainless steel sinks and the last just fine.

It’s now been a whole year since I got them when we remodeled our kitchen.... at first I didn’t like them because I never had them. But now I actually love it!

:.......so true......so true....):):).

My new Bosch dishwasher has a top shelf slide that works prefect for washing the two grids that I bought for the Kohler sink [fifty bucks a piece] At first I wasn't sure about the grids but I have come to like them. They are kind of a small deal anyway in the big scheme.

I still have them and I still hate them. Mine get so gross that dishwashing won't clean it. I have to scrub it with a brush. Its really disgusting on the bottom. My husband wants them gone.

As I was just once again cleaning this large disgusting grid, think I’m finally ready to ditch it

Have ‘em. Like ‘em. Good for draining a few hand-washed items. The hole is big enough to put stuff in the disposal. No yuk collects under my grids.
Dishwasher safe.