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rococogurl

Who Loves/Hates the Sink Grid?

rococogurl
13 years ago

I've got a deep sink which is comfortable. So far, the $5 Lowe's clear rubber grid that sits on one side has worked just fine. But it's wearing and food bits get caught on it so I'm wondering about a stainless sink grid with the little legs. One is made for my sink (Julien 16 x 28).

In the past when I've encountered these I tend to remove them as the silverware slips underneath and things seemed less stable than on the rubber mat. I don't need spoons in the disposer.

Do food bits stick? Hard to clean? Anyone think these are a waste of money?

I'm not concerned about scratching just wondering about the general sink-grid need-to-have/not consensus.

Comments (24)

  • plllog
    13 years ago

    My flatware doesn't slip underneath mine, but it has acrylic handles so maybe that makes a difference. I like my Kohler grid a lot. Sometimes. Sometimes I take it out. Great thing about these things is that they move! I got spares so I'll be set for the next 20-30 years.

  • doraville
    13 years ago

    I never had one before, but now can't imagine living without one. It holds dishes above the water, acts as a good drain, is easy to clean (just soak in sink), can protect my sink from my barbeques grill, etc.

  • chris45ny
    13 years ago

    I have the Blanco ss sink grid for the super single sink. It's one of the best decisions I made for the kitchen. Like pp said, it's not hard to keep clean. At the end of the evening when I wipe down the sink I use the faucet sprayer function to rinse the grid. Since I hand wash all my pots and pans it's also great protection for the sink.

  • rjr220
    13 years ago

    I've had one for all of 3 days -- like it thus far. Like washing dishes and then putting them on rack to dry . . .

  • cat_mom
    13 years ago

    I've always used a sink grid (at least for as long as i can remember!). When we got our Julien sink it was worth it to us to pay the $$$ for the "matching" grid. Once in a rare while (less often than happened with other grids we'd used in our previous sinks), a knife or something will slip between the bars of the grid.

    The rubber feet have left "rub" marks on the bottom of the sink. Since the grid is always in the sink, unless the sink or it is in the process of being cleaned, it's not an in your face sort of thing.

  • charlikin
    13 years ago

    I splurged on the Blanco grid that went with my Blanco SS sink. (I'm sure I could have gotten a third-party grid for less money, but it wouldn't have been as precise a fit.)

    Love, love, love it. I'm someone who grew up with the Rubbermaid rubber-coated grids that always got slimy. Don't have that problem with the SS grid. Silverware never gets caught underneath - the grid is too tight. Easy to clean - I basically just blast it with the sprayer from my faucet (also Blanco ;-)). And as other people have mentioned, I love that it keeps the dishes above the dirty water.

    Will never not have a grid.

  • rococogurl
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Wow, so positive. catmom, I know you are very particular about the sink -- wondering if the "rub" marks are permanent over time in those spots or do they come off when the sink is scrubbed down? My rubber grid leaves a little pattern but it quickly disappears. Found that Mrs. Meyer's cleans it beautifully (go figure).

    Also sounds like most went for the matching grid and spent a bit more. Now I have some thinking to do.

  • idrive65
    13 years ago

    Love my grid. If you have deep a sink it effectively brings the bottom up nearly an inch, so less reaching if you are tall. I give it the occasional scrub with my sink brush to keep it clean.

  • carecooks
    13 years ago

    I've never used a sink grid before. Has anyone ever used it with a soapstone sink?

  • cat_mom
    13 years ago

    The rub marks seem pretty permanent. They might be the opposite of rub marks. Maybe they are "pristine" marks LOL--areas that are covered (by the rubber feet), and therefore are un-patina'd. :-)

    As I said, they're really not visible until you lift the grid out of the sink and since the grid is in the sink 99.9% of the time, is not on my radar.

  • Circus Peanut
    13 years ago

    We're neutral about our sink grid and use it about 30% of the time. Whitehaus fireclay farm sink, rear drain, stainless grid. I dislike how silverware is always sliding through and getting lodged underneath it, and you have to lift everything out of the sink (wet dirty pans, etc) to get the utensils out.

    This might be a grid design issue? Mine is made of long narrow wires, leaving lots of room for things to fall through and under. I wonder if a tighter grid design might solve this issue? In any case I'd recommend finding one that has more crosswires than mine:

  • idrive65
    13 years ago

    I can see how yours would allow more flatware to fall through. My grid has wires in both directions and a circular drain opening no bigger than the sink drain.

  • kitchenaddict
    13 years ago

    I asked this same question about 6 weeks ago, and got pretty much the same responses. People seem to love them, so I ordered 2 for my Blanco 60/40 silgranit sink.

    They look really sharp in the sink:) As far as function, It's nice because you can rinse the sink without moving them, (as oppossed to lifting up the slimy rubber mat). And I agree with what the others said as well. So far I like them. The only thing I found that I was not expecting was that I have to add more water in the washing side of the sink for soaking the dirty dishes because the grid lifts the dishes up higher. Not a big deal, but I like to conserve water, living in "always drought season" California.

  • emknc
    13 years ago

    We love our sink grids. Never a problem with flatware slipping through or food bits sticking. They are rinsed constantly by the pull-down, and to deep clean them, simply add them to a load in the dishwasher (as we do about once per month). They allow better drainage of things awaiting hand wash, and they keep the bottom of the sink (SS, in our case) in pristine, scratch-free condition. Would never want to go without them!

  • Buehl
    13 years ago

    To add to everyone else's comments....

    I agree w/all the positives that have been said above plus the biggie for me: When I drain pasta, I no longer have a "backwash" of water surging up into the colander (and pasta)! Even w/footed colanders, I used to have to very, very slowly dump the water to prevent the backwash. Now...I just dump and go...quick & easy!

    KitchenAddict...you could remove the grids when washing dishes.

  • rococogurl
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Could this be a sign?????

    The edge of current mat was just melted by a hot pot placed in the sink. LOL

    Any comments on this design? It's the one for my sink.

    BTW I've complained about cleaning this sink but I'm cooking for a party tomorrow and 3 pounds of pasta in 2 12-quart pots just fit side by side.

    Here is a link that might be useful: sink grid

  • rococogurl
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    tap, tap, tap. That's me, waiting for the sink grid which was ordered weeks ago and no delivery date in sight. Ah, the joys of a Julien sink.

  • drkw
    4 months ago

    I hate the sink grid- this really nice one and the previous one. I hate the extra cleaning, the slime that grows so quickly on the feet, how inconvenient it is to take it out and clean under it....does it really make a positive difference to the sink? Why have we had stainless steel sinks for decades and didn't worry about scratching them? I have a 16 ga sink. I am taking my grid out to experiment. I can easily wash the debris out from under it, but the underside gets gross quickly.

  • Buehl
    4 months ago
    last modified: 4 months ago

    "...the underside gets gross quickly."

    When you wipe down your sink, simply turn the grid upside down and wipe it down just like you do the top of the grid and the sink - it takes only a few seconds if it's done regularly.

    If you wipe it down every couple of days, there's no buildup and it doesn't get "gross".

    13 years later (that's how old this thread is!), and I still love and use my sink grids.

  • vinmarks
    4 months ago
    last modified: 4 months ago

    Love my sink grids. My sinks came with grids. I wasn't sure how I would like them so figured I'd try them out and if I didn't like them i would get rid of them. I have one in my cleanup sink and one in my prep sink. I wipe them down with a soapy sponge after dinner every night. Takes all of 1 minute tops. It is easy to flip up to clean under it. I do not clean the underside every time but that too is easy to just flip it over in the sink and wipe with soapy sponge. I have had grids for 6 years now and would definitely not want sinks without them.

  • mxk3 z5b_MI
    4 months ago

    I have one in my fireclay-type sink. I'm lax about flipping it over and cleaning the underside, but I do do that when I scrub the sink (with Bon Ami -- gentle, doesn't scratch). I wouldn't bother with one if I had a stainless sink, but for a fireclay sink they're a must.

  • snappity
    4 months ago

    My sink came with a grid and I really like it - food bits get swept beneath the actual dishes, and it raises up stuff just enough to make it more comfortable for hand washing dishes.

    I came from a small, shallow, center drain sink that would constantly get plugged by a plate sitting on top and creating a seal, or a plugged strainer basket, and I’d have to reach into the murk to get everythign flowing again. I now have a garbage disposal for the singular reason of never having to dump a strainer basket again - we scrape dishes and such into the trash but those little bits that end up in the sink now get swept into the disposal, and the sink never accidentally seals/plugs, and the dishes have those bits swept away from them, not piled up on them.

  • mxk3 z5b_MI
    4 months ago

    ^^ You know, I never all realized that until you posted. You are right!