Hey!! What are you doing posting this morning??
Isn't today your big day? (or am I wrong......)

I've been using Barkeepers Friend since the early 1980s, and it is great stuff. I use BKF and SOS pads to clean the cast iron grates on my outdoor grill.

My all-time favorite cleaning supplies are "Awesome", Magic Erasers, Barkeepers Friend, and White Vinegar.

BKF is amazing. Even with the best, most expensive brass cleaner it used to take me the better part of an hour to polish my brass handrail. Once I discovered BKF, the job is down to under 10 minutes!

It's great for scouring the sink, polishing the faucets, cleaning the bathtub and tile.

But the cast iron range grates? Even using that good of a product is too much work for me. I just toss them into the self-cleaning oven when I run it, and they come out looking brand new. That's probably not recommended by any manufacturer, and I'm not telling you to do it, just saying what I do.

And for the outside grill, we just lay a piece of foil, shiney side down (this is one place the finish does make a difference) on the grill, shut the lid and crank it up to high for 5-10 minutes. Burns everything off the grates, no scrubbing needed at all.

Best stuff in the kitchen! I use it on my stainless pots all the time! I burned stew in my Dutch oven a couple weeks back, the fire alarms were going off! The pot looked like it was beyond help, took 2 days of soaking just to get the charred remains loose but I. Figures iPad nothing to lose. The pot cost me nearly $300. So I tried BKF.....it. Worked!!!!! Between that and Awesome I can handle most anything!

Some of you have mentioned using "Awesome" cleaner. Is this only available online? Which one(s) of them are you using?

Thanks,
Shirley

Bar Keepers Friend is the best thing I have found for stainless steel sinks and cookware. Another product I really like is Greased Lightening but I could no longer find it. I found it at Lowe's the other day and it was less than $2 for a large spray bottle.

I LOVE BKF! I just discovered it, I use it on my white porcelain sink to get off those black marks! IT IS THE BOMB!!!!! LOVE IT!

Arkansas--better than BKF (and cheaper) for those porcelain marks and stains? Just scour with a little baking soda. It's also a very good choice for scouring porcelain-coated cast iron, for getting those burned on speckles from the bottom of frying pans. While, as I said, I do find BKF an excellant product, it's the SECOND thing I reach for in the kitchen--baking soda is first. I buy it in 5 pound bags.

Bar Keepers Friend has been around a very long time, since 1882 according to their website. I have used it since 1953. It is made in Indianapolis, Indiana. I don't have any iron grates so I can't tell you how it works on those. It is very good though.

Sue in Indiana

Shirley, Awesome is available at Dollar Tree for $1 for a large bottle. I use the regular (all-purpose) cleaner.

BKF takes every single mark off my porcelain sink without any elbow effort at all. Couldn't live without it.

BKF, magic eraser, and Hanna's Helper which I can't find any more. It looked like a little square of window screen - it completely eliminated my toiled rings. Sad it's unavailable any more.

azzalea, I beg to differ! I have a huge box of baking soda to use for cleaning and the black marks didn't come up with that but BKF they just vanish!

I've used BKF before and it's ok but I prefer baking soda, as azzalea said above.

Wanda:

Thanks so much for the info. I have it on my 'grocery' list for when I go to WalMart. There's a Dollar Tree right across the street from the WM I go to.

Shirley

Try Dawn power dissolver for the grates and baked or burned on messes it is great stuff.
I have used bar keepers for as long as I can remember so did my mom.

Here is a link that might be useful: power dissolver

Found out something about Bar Keepers. Had some spots on my Rubbermaid dish pan, as we have really crazy water, high in iron etc. Tried bleach, nothing, so sprinkled BK powder and poof, came right off. Not sure what the difference is, but who cares!! It worked.

BKF is the only cleanser I use. Cleans copper pots with only gentle rubbing.

I use BKF on all of my stainless pots and pans...they look almost brand new after 15 years.
I also started using it on my glass top range instead of the expensive cooktop products...read it on the front of the container just recently.
Love the Bar Keepers Friend âÂÂ¥

even my dreadfully old container still works..took some yellow staining (think from bleach) on my bathroom counter...

havn't thought about my gas stove grates...usually those i can spray with oven cleaner...thanks for the heads up!

I usually put my stove grates in the DW :-)

btw bought myself new container at wal mart today..

Love it!

I was waiting for someone to say copper!!! BKF is a miracle worker on copper bottom pans. Wet the surface, sprinkle on BKF, wipe away the tarnish. Absolutely magical.

I use it also for my ceramic top range. I threw away the special cleaner than came with the stove - it was useless. BKF works like a charm - wet the surface, sprinkle on BKF, and scrub gently with a wet paper towel.

I haven't read the rest of the posts, but I love it! It works great on ss cook ware, ss sinks, rust spots on stuff, anything it says it will do that I have tried it on worked!

Thanks. I'll be sure to check it out as well as the Dawn Power Dissolver.

Jasdip, yep it was the 25th and yes we did and yes I got pictures that I'll attempt to post soon.

Thanks for checking in Steve!! Very much looking forward to the pics.

AWESOME! is also available at WalMart.

We have cast iron grates on our gas cooktop. I buy BKF when I can find it in Toronto - both liquid and powder. Depending on what has stained your stove iron grates, it will not remove the stains if say milk, tomato sauce - anything acidic has spilled and not immediately been wiped up - as per the information supplied by the manufacturer. Note our grates are "dull" cast iron - 10 years old - not the shiny ones I see now. I did read the instructions - my husband - as usual - did not - and left said acidic items on the grates deciding they would burn off - they didn't and won't. Of course when an igniter went I was yelled at by the service man. Of course you also have to be very careful around the igniters - I expect you know they are the full round piece where your pot sits. Our instructions clearly read to NOT put the removable grates into the self-cleaning oven (some people have done so successfully - there are horror stories from others who have not been successful). I saw some Weiman Gas Range Cleaner and Degreaser so bought 3. It works only to the extent of removing new, non-acidic spills - not the acidic stains - they are here to stay. My husband also used the new washer to hold open the Duct tape - and then tried to hide where the enamel was peeled off with a jug. Then he hit the cupboards and took out a chunk - just reaching for the sugar - so I think you get the picture. Re BKF - it is great for cleaning white porcelain sinks - which we have. I have many allergies so use a lot of baking soda - the baking soda just doesn't clean the yellowing in the porcelain skin no matter how hard I try. The manufacturer said to use Mr. Clean - that doesn't work. Plan B was Bon Ami (the original) - but it is not sold in Canada - only the window washer. My understanding is that people in the U.S. do not like the new formulation of Bon Ami so I have stopped worrying about it - can't put it in my suitcase and take on a plane anyway. My husband has done his best to stain the sink, too. Good luck with your grates - but you can spend hours and nothing will happen. All of ours are a mess - and the stainless steel part is a scratched mess. If instructions read "DO NOT DO THIS" my husband will immediately do it - and then blame everyone except himself. He would be a prime candidate for the DH Disasters thread.