Have you tried wiping them down while they're still hot? I wipe mine down with a damp paper towel or sponge while they're still hot. Spills and grease wipe off easily. For deeper cleaning, put them in the dishwasher. Is your range new? Once the grates are seasoned after a little use, spills wipe up easier.

I don't have mine yet, but from the video it looks like you're supposed to treat them like a cast iron skillet. They're supposed to get seasoned - Won't washing them in the dishwasher cause them to rust? Do you oil them after the dishwasher? They're supposed to blacken.
Lisa

I only have cast iron grates on my Wolf, but they are now the best looking thing on it, as you know the aggravation I've felt with the shiny black pans under the grates. I have often wondered if I should have bought the BlueStar because of the cast iron components. I think the problem is, yours are too new, and too clean. :-) After awhile all the spots, etc. will blend and become the nice seasoned coating. I, too, would fear dishwasher cleaning would interfere. Meanwhile, my best advice, and I know how it sounds, but I mean it, because it's similar to the advice I got 18 months ago, is don't look so close. It's a major piece of stove and should look like you use it. :-)

I use a damp Dobie pad for small wipe-ups and every month or so, I put them in the dishwasher. No, they don't rust and I don't oil them. When they come out of the DW, they look like new.

I agree with rhome410--this is a STOVE, not your dining room table!

FWIW - on our brand new BS range having just cooked our very first meal (hooray!) I pretty much followed Trevor's video and did a quick wipe/scrub with a scrubby sponge. Yes, a few pieces of the sponge we left behind but no big deal really, I just picked them up. There were oil splatters from some seared pork chops but really it doesn't look all bad after a very quick and easy cleaning (MUCH easier than any previous cooktop I've owned by far) and I expect it to look better as it ages and more oils get on the iron, etc. Remember that part of the beauty of the cast iron is it doesn't ever look (or need to be) spit polish clean, even when new. I'm tickled with our new range.

lisalists2000- the grates and bowls are porcelain coated. They shouldn't rust, although you may see a little after you've had them for a while. At that point, oiling takes care of the problem.

I'll admit that my range is cleaned only lightly. One of these days, I'll pop the grates and burner bowls off and clean underneath. And be more careful than the folks who show up with the sheet metal beneath as why the BS isn't as good as Brand X.

We clean the grates most of the time with a scotch bright yellow/green scrubby sponge and warm water. A regular sponge or cloth will leave pills and fibers behind, so we just use the scrubby side. Sometimes I use soap, but usually not. Sometimes I actually lift them out bowls and all and scrub them in the sink with dish soap. After Thanksgiving dinner we threw them all in the dishwasher. They came out perfectly clean. We love our Blue Star range!!!! I find it incredibly easy to keep clean--way easier than a top that is enameled our "stainless" steel.

The oven had its maiden voyage with the turkey and I still haven't cleaned it. It needs it badly and I'm just researching here the best way to do it. I have to admit that I'm dreading it.......

I've had my 6 burner cook top for 12 years. Cleaning is a challenge as I cook a lot and for many people. I use the dishwasher about once a month. I wipe down the burners and bowls almost every time I use them. I clean underneath all the rails and tubes and every surface I can get my hands on - mostly soapy water with a toothbrush, paper towels and a scrubby sponges. It is a lot of work but must be done and I do that while the top parts are in the dishwasher. Grease goes everywhere. My question is how to remove the actual star where the flame comes out to clean. I often end up fighting with it to restart the burners - and of course balancing the burners afterwards is also fun. I love the cook top but I have to be able to get the whole thing clean - not just the part you see. I don'e want a fire in my kitchen. Any takers?

BS grates clean up super easy, basically just wipe them off. They do sometimes get a little spotty. I put them in the DW about once a month. They do definitely wear, which shows on the surface the pans rub on. I use cast iron (mostly) and like to wok and move my pans a lot, I'm more a shaker than a stirrer so the surface of the grate the pans contact looks worn and is a slightly different color (I think mostly due to the pans wearing off on the burner), I have a couple copper bottom pans and there's a slight coppery color where the pans sit on the grates. I think the 1st impression people have when they see a BS in someones kitchen is 'this is a cooks kitchen', cooks cook, things wear and get 'patina'd'. If the tops of my cooking grates appear somewhat scuffed, my griddle is beautifully seasoned and my SS hi back-guard has heat discoloration near the burners so be it. When you eat at my home you'll taste the love of cooking in our meals and our kitchen shows it's 'the' place in the house where the action is. You can't hide honest wear, I'd rather embrace it than worry about it.

Paula , just unplug the wires at the connector and the star burners come right out. They have two pegs that line up with two holes on the support underneath. If you're taking them out you'll probably want to clean them over a cutting board. Be careful of the igniters and wires, they are like mini-spark plugs and can crack easily. They also can be cleaned with a bit of baking soda and a toothbrush. Even removed. That screw often rusts and some folks replace it with one made out of 302-304 stainless.,

And the igniters take forever to dry and continue to spark when back together- even if you clean your grates on the stove ... I suppose a person could dry them with a hair dryer. Sometimes I get lucky and the burner lights but the igniter still sparks., usually a few minutes later it will dry out - particularly if there's a pan on the grate to reflect the heat down.

Grates can be cleaned in the dishwasher, but some stronger dishwashing detergents will etch the enamel porcelain if washed too often that way. A rinse of vinegar and water will help neutralized the alkaline of the detergent.

And to the original poster, yes you can get those dark splatters off but most people just let it season over time, or wipe it lightly will a high smoking oil . T However, if you want to try getting it off the process is similar to cleaning enamel cast iron pots. Usually a weak base like baking soda, or stronger would be dishwashing detergent (for machines). Sodium carbonate. Stronger still would be Easy off oven cleaner inside a plastic bag left for a fewl hours. Remember to rinse with water, then vinegar, then water Also there are petroleum products like "Carbon Off". that also work. (They use it in commercial kitchens).

These parts come apart so easily and are no problem to keep looking nice. Soap and water and keep everything seasoned, don't let water sit on the grates or cast iron for too long and it will just look better over time.

I've had my BS about 6 years and the burners look terrible. I put them in the dishwasher - no more than 1x month - and they are rusting like crazy. How does one season them? Would this help with the rusting?

Water and cast iron don't mix. Over time water will rust the grates if it sits on them. When you do use soapy water (or a dishwasher) to wash the bowls and grates, dry them by putting them back on the stove top and turn on the burners for a few minutes to dry out the grates. Never let them air dry. Season them with oil to keep looking good. The more oil and grease that splatter on my grates the more seasoned they get and the better they look. I use a damp sponge after cooking to mop up any excess oil and wipe the rest into the grates. A stove like a BS needs a lot of attention, it doesn't necessarily take a lot of time if you keep up a daily regiment. I take 5-10 minutes daily after cooking on my stovetop to keep up the appearance. How bad is your rust problem? You could try using an abrasive pad to clean off the rust then add some veg oil to season them. That should bring them back to life. The oil will create a barrier with use and keep the rust from forming on the cast iron....

I'm surprised at how many of you put your cast iron in the dishwasher! As kfunky says water and cast iron don't mix. I've had my Bluestar just over two years, and have NEVER even used soap and water on the grates, bowls, or burners, let alone put them in the DW!

Let them season just as you would your grandmothers classic vintage cast iron skillets. My stovetop is easier to keep looking good than any I've ever owned or cooked on. I use my burners and griddle several times a day, often cooking quite grease splattering foods. A quick wipe with a paper towel or perhaps sponge, and the cast iron is beautiful and ready to go for the next meal.

Peanut oil is great for a first seasoning, after that any oil you cook with continues to add to the richness and effectiveness of the seasoned patina. Chris

I would no more put my cast iron grates into a dishwasher than I would put my great, great, grandmother's iron skillet into the dishwasher.

Care and feeding of your cast iron: Wash by hand in soapy water; do not soak, ever, dry immediately; smear a coating of the oil of you choice on them; fire them up on the cooktop until they are dry.

I'm going to fly in the face of the recently-offered conventional wisdom- I put mine in the DW and have had no issues. We have had our range for 9 years.

1) They are porcelain-coated cast iron, so the comparison to your grandma's (rest her soul) skillet isn't entirely apples to apples. There isn't seasoning on them, unless the coating comes off via wear-and-tear and then you season them, and then you're probably onto more careful means of cleaning.

2) These pretty much fill up our dishwasher, between the bowls and the grates. I make sure to try to position the bowls upside down or in a way they'll drain if right side up. This doesn't really matter for the grates.

3) I run them on a hot cycle and make sure I open the DW up when it's finished. All that heat in the cast iron generally makes them dry by themselves without much effort on my part. I could be fussy and oil any chipped spots afterward, but there aren't that many.

4) This probably gets done 3 or 4 times a year. We rely on cleaning by hand the rest of the time.

As fellow longer term Bluestar owner, I echo what @thull said: These aren't cast iron pans. Also, Bluestar advises, or at least used to, washing the grates and burner bowls in the dishwasher so if it's "crazy" to do so, blame the company, not its customers.

Bottom line: they're not enamel coated, like Le Crueset, but whatever they are coated with is something that makes traditional cast iron "seasoning" impossible. How do I know this? Well, I listened to (well intentioned, but ultimately bad) advice from this forum, and from a repairperson (I know! Dumb!), long ago and tried to season my grates, as I do my cast iron pan, after having several spots quickly rust from the uneven coating my grates had/have. What I ended up with was a big 'ole, sticky, yucky mess that took a long, LONG soak and several further scrubbing and cleanings to rectify. Mistake made. Never again.

So, now, I don't wash them in the dishwasher, because of the unevenly coated bits that tend to rust, but when needed I wash them with soapy water and dry completely, and then also use the burner flame to make sure they're REALLY dry. And occasionally I'll go at them with a plastic scrubby to eliminate any rusty spots and maybe dab those bits with oil afterwards. (Yes, paper towels and most rags leave white bits because the grates are rough.)

Mostly I just wipe them down when they get dirty, scrubbing a bit in place if needed.

So, they're always clean, but they never look perfect at this point (8 years of ownership).

To sum up: If you take nothing else from this post please do NOT try to season your cast iron Bluestar grates as you would a cast iron pan. The coated grates will NOT accept the seasoning like raw cast iron. I'm only trying to save you the hassle I endured from my own stupidity.

The confusion is in the word seasoning in this application. OK it's not a wok or a cast iron pan that needs to be properly seasoned but here's Bluestar's recommendation: This is from the BS web site..."Your ring grates, top grates and burner heads may darken over time with use. This is normal.
TIP: To prevent your burners from darkening at an uneven rate, rotate the ring grate and top grates between more and
less active burners.
BURNER CLEANING
Ring Grates and Top Grates
TIP: Clean spills as soon as possible to prevent sticking and build up.
 When burner is cool, remove the ring grate, top grate and center filler grate (30” models only).
 Wash in hot, soapy water. Rinse well and dry thoroughly to prevent rusting.
 Handle gently to prevent nicks/chips, which can lead to rusting
TIP: If you have a nick or chip you can season the area to prevent rusting. Nicks or chips are not covered under warranty.
 Put corn oil or other high smoke point oil on a paper towel and rub onto rusted area.
 Wipe away excess oil and replace the part on the range.
Do not submerge the burner grates in water for extended periods of time. Prolonged exposure to moisture
may cause rusting.
 For heavy soiling, use a commercially available oven cleaner. Follow the cleaner manufacturer’s instructions.
Make sure the cleaning chemicals do not contact any stainless steel or painted surface on your
appliance.
 Reinstall grates in cooktop and make sure they are seated properly, and do not move unsteadily from side to side".

So, BS says it's OK to hand wash or DW and they also use the word "season" so this is maybe why it's a bit confusing to some. It's not seasoning in the traditional sense but oil on these grates will keep them looking good over the life of the grates, IMHO. This isn't that different from keeping your backyard BBQ grates from rusting, same principle.... Here's a tutorial for cleaning, this is just informational.... cleaning your bluestar grates

Any advise how to clean tough grease on the grates? Hot soapy water will not work anymore.

Dishwasher. See previous comments.