I love, love mine. I also hated the plastic, never had one, but my mom did and I didn't like it at all. This is not the same animal at all. I even ordered one for my mom. I love that when DH leaves a pot in the sink it is not on the sink, but the grid, so it doesn't leave a mark like in my old kitchen sink. I have a large single fireclay sink. The grid lets me wash and scrub away on pots and pans with abandon without the worry of scratching or leaving marks on the sink. Things can dry in the sink without a dish drainer for a few cups or bowls. I like that I can wash veggies without them lying inside the sink. It just feels a whole lot cleaner. When I'm cleaning up, I just run the scrubbie over the grid and rinse out the sink and I'm done with it. I would definitely do it again. I even have one in the prep sink and the laundry sink.

Ditto la jan. I don't usually like gadgets, nor extra things to clean. I do like that things can sit in the sink without being on the bottom where all of the yucky water is swirling around. It is something extra to clean, but I like it. My Franke sink actually has an inner lip that allows for a 2nd wire grid to sit about half way up on one side of the sink. I love that one too, because it elevates the level of the sink for resting large pots before rinsing or washing and less bending forward for me. I also use it to kind of divide dishes into dw or hand wash, and sometimes like a shelf for vegetables to be washed. ( potatoes, for example)

I love mine as well. In addition to the reasons mentioned above, when I drain pasta, the water no longer backs up into the colander (yes, that used to happen in my old sink w/o grids even though all my colanders have "feet"). Also, dishes aren't sitting on the bottom of the sink in the way when I want to rinse the sink nor do they block the drain.

I was skeptical as well since I had also seen those plastic mats and hated them. But, the grids were included with my Ticor sink so I figured I'd give them a try. I liked them so much that I ordered one for my prep sink as well (grids don't come included w/Kohler sinks).

If you have a choice, get a stainless steel grid rather than one that's vinyl-coated. That's all that was/is available for my prep sink and I've noticed that it's a little stained. Oh, and I don't put a hot pot directly on the vinyl coated one b/c I'm afraid I'll melt the coating. Not a worry/problem with stainless steel, though!

Yep Buehl, that is another reason, the pasta draining! Just thought I would mention that my stainless steel one is coated, so I usually do not set a steaming hot pan directly from the range onto it. Either I allow it to cool, or I run some water over it. I don't baby it, but I do protect it somewhat.

Wasn't sure I'd need or like one; who knew it would become one of my favorite items in my kitchen? Ditto all above comments!

Julie-I have the same sink and got the ss sink grid from Blanco due to all the positive posts I had read and it was one of the best decisions I made. I have calphalon cokware so I hand wash all those pots and pans. I can bang them around and not worry about hurting the sink. It makes the sink look even nicer than it is. It's a much cooler sink protector than those rubber mats. For cleaning I just sponge dry it at night when I'm wiping down the sink. Once a month, you could use a little soapy water and clean it-especially the little black rubber legs. If you decide to get it, you won't regret it.

O.K I 've decided to get one. Are they expensive?

Blanco's are expensive, about $100 five years ago. I find it annoying to clean, and I don't really need it to protect my sink since I think stainless steel is fairly indestructible. Nonetheless, I would buy it again in a heartbeat. I like keeping stuff above the muck.

I love mine too.

The sink grid for our Franke was highly recommended by our KD. It is quite heavy and one of the best things in the kitchen. Protects the SS bottom from knives, etc. dropping and allows water to drain around and under things when you are washing pots, pans, oranges, potatoes, etc. I did not realize ours had a vinyl coating until I read one of Buehl's posts, so I am a little more careful about putting hot pots directly on it.

With Franke you can also get a grid for the ledge that is halfway up. Ours cost about $100. It was money well spent and I recommend it to everyone.

LOVEd mine for all the reasons mentioned above and another--you can sit wine glasses on it without having them tumble. Had one in reno'd kitchen in previous home. Came with my Tricor sink, but after living with it can say for sure I would spend $100 on it in a heartbeat. And I'm like the OP--no time/patience for things that need extra upkeep. Very easy to keep clean, and keeps sink cleaner than without. Can't wait to add one here when we do mini-remodel.

After reading this thread I decided to try the grids, then found that Kohler doesn't make them for my sink. So I thought I might try to find a generic grid that would fit, since my sink has two standard rectangular bowls. But the drains aren't in the center, so I have been having a tough time locating something that will work. I decided to give the plastic grid a try in the meantime. They were pretty cheap, so I figured they could be a great bandaid until I can locate the right grid. I HATE it! First time DH cleaned the pot from spaghetti sauce it stained the whole grid. And a total pain to clean. It will keep pots from dinging up the bottom of the sink, but every tiny scrap of food or liquid poured in the sink hangs up so you have to wash the grid every time something goes down the drain.

Where can you find aftermarket grids?

To follow up on jreuter's post, is there such a thing as a standard US sink grid for common sizes like a 30" single bowl sink with a center hole? Or do you need a custom grid for each sink? I saw a sink I like on Ebay at a very good price. However the sink does not come with a grate and I definitely want one that fits the sink.

I love mine. Definitely helps with scratches.

I found a couple of options at Ace Hardware while I was picking up something else - there were a few roughly 11x13 with either center hole or no hole (you can cut your own hole) including one stainless grid with a center hole. There were also some larger ones - probably for a large single bowl sink, but I didn't pay much attention to them. I have been searching online - I haven't found anything just right yet. I would like to have the hole over the drain, particularly on the side with the GD. Lowes does sell some grids online for a few of the sinks they carry, as do many of the online plumbing supply places. Center holes seem much more common except on grids designed for sinks with unique shapes where the mfctr needs to make a grid for that particular sink.

I like mine quite a bit for keeping things above the muck and for draining pasta/hot water. And I can warmly recommend getting the uncoated stainless version.

But one thing that does annoy me is the way utensils can get stuck under it. Seems there's always a dirty fork lying down there that I have to unearth by taking the entire grid out, not always the handiest thing if you have larger items sitting on it.

I actually decided I like mine enough to get extras. :)

circuspeanut...try just pushing the fork (or whatever) toward the hole...maybe w/a spoon or something. No need to remove the grid.

jrueter...that's the problem w/plastic grids, they stain. SS grids are better. Even my vinyl-coated one is slightly stained. I don't pour tomato sauce over it though, so it isn't as bad. I think it's more the raspberries & blueberries that are staining mine...but it's not that bad. You might try an "almond" or off-white color if you try again.

As to food constantly getting caught, what's the spacing b/w spokes (or whatever they're called)? If the spacing is too small, I can see that might be a problem.