While it protects my beautiful Kohler cast iron sink  my dishes from breaking against it (the moment its removed, glass seems to suddenly graze the sink  instantly shatter), it does get ganked up, so its something extra to clean, its slightly irritating to clean (no dishwasher! Itll just get worse.), but its necessary. Im not sure how to improve upon it short of a scum  mineral repellent metal. 

*Photos 1 12 yrs later  right out of the box.