I have one of these critters for sharpening, and it does a decent job for sharpening.

After the move and with these used knives coming in, besides relatives and other folk's blades, the rod get dirty fast with metal leavings. Been having a problem getting the metal off the ceramic rods lately, and wondering if there's maybe a better method?
Been using either a non-abrasive powdered cleanser to even Tide laundry detergent + a green scouring pad. Yet metal still gets left behind. Am I doing something wrong?