topic Re: Dish drainers in Home

Dish drainers

Ditzydori — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 06:14:38 GMT

Does anyone still use dish drainers. Most of my fiends have new kitchens with granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances. Non of them use a drain board. It takes away from the beauty of the kitchen.

They use a drying mat or only the rubber mat that goes under the drain board. They dry the dishes and then put the mat away.

Their kitchens are beautiful. My kitchen is upgraded also, but, try as I may, I can't get used to having no dish drainers. We cook a lot and rarely eat out. I have a constant flow of dishes, even though we are only the 2 of us.

I probably should use the dishwasher, but I'm a creature of habit, and I just wash by hand. It's not so much the dishes, per se, it's the pots, cutting board and stuff like that that dry so much quicker in the drainer. Then I could just dry by hand, but that's too much work. 😳😳

Oh the perils of a housewife😩

Re: Dish drainers

sissel — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 07:41:21 GMT

I have granite and use dish drainer for pots & cutting boards but use the dishwasher for dishes. I put the pots away after they dry and the drainer goes back under the sink. I don't like the drainer sitting on the counter all the time. My DD loves the drain mats, wonder if they are better than the drainer. I like the drainer because the air can get under the pots.

Re: Dish drainers

Kachina624 — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 07:41:35 GMT

I have a double sink and always have had a dish drainer on one side. I'm not sure I could adjust to the granite counter top method.

Re: Dish drainers

shaggygirl — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 10:00:43 GMT

Mine is a permanent fixture on the countertop, always has been. The water on washed things has to drip somewhere, the mats just don't seem sanitary to me with no air getting under things and just sitting there on dampness. I wouldn't use a mat unless it was just untill I finished washing the things that were not going in the dishwasher and then dried them right away. Plus it seems those mats would smell funky after awhile from being damp.

Re: Dish drainers

qualitygal — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 10:22:18 GMT

I do 2-3 times a day. I didn't want a dishwasher, neither did my sister as it turns out. Air drying is very good.

Re: Dish drainers

ID2 — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 10:36:29 GMT

Oh YUK a dish drainer?? No way! I love the clean unclutterred look. Theres no way I would ever have dishes lined up drying all over my beautiful kitchen!

Re: Dish drainers

Sweetbay magnolia — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 10:54:53 GMT

I would use a dish drainer, if I had one. Regrettably, I got rid of ours when we moved a few years ago. I hand wash my stainless steel pots and my little Ninja, and then let them dry on my cotton dish towel du jour. The cloth absorbs the moisture and then can be used to wipe and shine the counter, which happens to be bullet proof laminate.

When I'm preparing food I think it's OK to use it (the kitchen).

Re: Dish drainers

Desertdi — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 11:27:34 GMT

@qualitygal wrote:
I do 2-3 times a day. I didn't want a dishwasher, neither did my sister as it turns out. Air drying is very good.

I agree. Although a dishwasher "came with the house", I never use it. One old lady plus cat.........would take a month to fill the dishwasher. I wash as I go.........

...

debic — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 12:54:12 GMT

@Desertdi wrote:
@qualitygal wrote:
I do 2-3 times a day. I didn't want a dishwasher, neither did my sister as it turns out. Air drying is very good.
I agree. Although a dishwasher "came with the house", I never use it. One old lady plus cat.........would take a month to fill the dishwasher. I wash as I go.........

LOL, my dishwasher is my dish drainer. I too like washing by hand.

I've never had one on the counter, I've had small ones in the sink tho.

Re: Dish drainers

Peaches McPhee — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 12:59:11 GMT

@Ditzydori wrote:
It takes away from the beauty of the kitchen.

See, here's the problem. I am 100% for a beautiful kitchen, but if you start to worry about the function taking away from the beauty, you've gone too far.

Re: Dish drainers

Mominohio — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 13:13:23 GMT

I haven't used a dish drainer since the early 80's.

Never had a dishwasher (as an adult, but we did have one at home), so all dishes are hand washed, dried immediately and put away.

I think a kitchen looks messy and unkept if there are dishes (dirty or clean) on counters or in the sink or on a drainer. And dishes spot horribly if left to air dry, so I always towel dry and put away right away.

I don't have dish soap, or sponges or drainers or anything that pertains to dish washing showing in my kitchen between washings. The kitchen just isn't cleaned up if dishes and their washing/drying equipment is left out.

Re: Dish drainers

ValuSkr — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 13:43:32 GMT

We have so few dishes that I hand-wash most of the time. I don't mind it. And if one hand-washes, one has to use a drainer and mat, right? I even let the dishes air-dry. I don't think there's anything wrong with it - it's the kitchen after all, not the living room.

Re: Dish drainers

KentuckyWoman — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 14:52:24 GMT

I hand wash everything. I use a mat and dish drainer but I don't let things air dry. I wash the dishes and then tidy up the kitchen. After that, I immediately dry the dishes and put them away. I can't stand a cluttered kitchen so I dry the mat and put the drainer away as well. If my kitchen is messy, I feel like the whole house is a wreck.

Re: Dish drainers

proudlyfromNJ — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 14:58:07 GMT

For my kitchen, I prefer no drainer sitting on the counter. I use my dishwasher or as a previous poster said, if I wash by hand, I use the dishwasher as a drainer.

Re: Dish drainers

Sunshine Kate — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 15:03:36 GMT

I only use my dishwasher. If there is something that is not dishwasher safe, I wash by hand, place on the dish mat and immediately dry and put away.

Re: Dish drainers

momtochloe — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 15:06:12 GMT

It's just me and since I have an old, in dearly need of remodeling kitchen I found a nice little dish drainer at Target that permanently sits in the second sink . . . I use just a few dishes so I have chosen pretty plates of various sizes that sit in the drainer all day.

Re: Dish drainers

JeanLouiseFinch — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 15:08:24 GMT

We've always kept a dish drainer on one side of our split sink. Last spring we redid the kitchen and now we have a 60/40 sink. I had to get a new drainer for the "40" side and chose one that's essentially only a bottom so that it's not so obvious. I also bought a drying mat for the counter when I have a lot of dishes or pots & pans, but that comes out temporarily and then gets put away.

Re: Dish drainers

vermint — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 15:47:11 GMT

@Peaches McPhee wrote:
@Ditzydori wrote:
It takes away from the beauty of the kitchen.

See, here's the problem. I am 100% for a beautiful kitchen, but if you start to worry about the function taking away from the beauty, you've gone too far.

I have to agree with you @Peaches McPhee ! I have absolutely gorgeous granite countertops, and my dish drainer stays out all the time--unless I am having company. I found one that is semi-transparent, so it's not real noticeable unless it's stacked with dishes. There is usually something sitting on it, because I refuse to use my limited time at home hand drying dishes! I didn't get the "rack" part, only the drain board.

Re: Dish drainers

Fressa — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 16:13:52 GMT

I still have the need for a dish drainer but not the space. I found stainless steel ones that fit over the sink portion and rest on the sink frame. They are space savers so it drains right into the sink which really works for me. I have limited counter space and an average size kitchen. I still have items every day that I hand wash and both of my drainers are always in use. I found what I use at Bed & Bath.

Re: Dish drainers

GCR18 — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 16:24:49 GMT

Don't use a dish drainer. If I had something to hand wash, I'd wash/dry/put away after using it. I don't leave anything sitting in the sink.