Stainless steel is quite soft and does scratch easliy. Use a washing up bowl, never wash up directly in the sink without the bowl. We also have a rubber drainer on top of the draining board part.

Never use a bowl. The bottom of the bowl isn't smooth and scratches the sink. Wash direct in the sink.

I agree with Daisy. Never use a washing up bowl, it'll scratch it. Wash directly in the sink, accept that scratches are a thing. The more scratches there are, the less worse they look

Thanks for all the replies, I'm very used to just washing directly in the sink. I've seen Lakelend doing a cushion mat sort of thing online, which claims to prevent scratches and breaking of dishes should they fall. Are they any good?

I guess it does make sense to just use it and the scratches will sort of just look the part but doesn't that dull the shine? We have one of those smooth sinks with no ridges and therfore very easy to notice scratches, etc...

Thanks once again for the responses.

Also, there is a linen finish sink available (a bit late now I know as you already have the sink). The finish is as the word says 'like linen' so this doesn't show the scratches up as much as a smooth finish. There are different grades of stainless steel and you'll probably find that the cheaper sinks might mark easier.

Ahh, that should explain it even though the Cost of this sink was greater than the previous one. Our previous sink was of very good quality and you could tell just by looking at it that it was solid. But the makes also vary according to brands so that could be another explanation. This time I think, because we tried to go for the modern sleek look,we compromised on quality maybe and didn't look into the quality of the sink greatly.

Hey, ho, Not to worry, it's done now, lesson learnt, will use for now and look to changing it after a year or two if it Isnt too good.

You can get a stainless steel 'basket' that sits in the sink on rubber legs to avoid scratches & chips - we have one for our ceramic sink. Been using it for a year & the sink still looks great. Think we got it from Amazon. Only downside is that you do need to use more water to fill the sink enough for washing the dishes with the basket in place.

Then use the ceramic sink instead,it's easy to clean and no need to be afraid of the scratch.

stainless steel will scratch but form a patina in time. if you really dislike scratches get a bottle of barkeeper's friend and buffnup the steel.