No, too much clutter - towel on the counter... most everything goes in the dishwasher, but for the few things, we leave on a towel, most dry's pretty quickly... drying racks get so nasty and then you have to clean them and that's too much work.

It's funny you should bring this up because just last night I was moaning to myself about how many dishes I have to wash. I live alone and cook plain, not elaborate, meals. But still I have at least two pans and lids plus other odds and ends to hand wash every evening. What I do is spread a dishtowel on the counter for the stuff to drip dry. Before I go to bed at night I put the stuff away. A lot of times it needs drying with a towel because they don't dry completely.

That is difficult. I can offer two poor choices. Try a small dish drainer basket that sits inside of the sink that is elevated off the bottom of the sink (you'll have to move your sponge). Or drain them above the counter to the right of the sink. If you don't want a drain rack interfering with your tubs of Cytomax, perhaps you can suspend a drying rack (or shallow draining board) from below the bottom of your cabinet- 5 inches - just enough for a plate or two and couple of coffee mugs...(but not enough for tall glasses etc).

I know that makes no sense, but if done right it might be very nice. And no, I haven't seen something like what I'm trying to describe...

Paper towels on the counter next to the sink.

We bought a clear plastic thing that the rack sits on without the actual rack. We get it out when we need it, and put it under the sink when we're done. It only takes two inches of vertical space for storage, and 5 seconds to clean.

You might have enough room for the Ikea flip-down stainless rack- I can't remember how big it is.

Ah--life is too short, and counter space too small, for hand washing and drying.

Rather than answer your original question, I'll be cheeky and ask a different question: Can they really not go in the dishwasher. Can you replace them with something that can?

:-)

francy

I'll start using our single sink soon and I agree with the above posters - towel on the counter to dry, then tidy them up shortly after. I want to banish that horrid drying rack...it gets all this scum on it!! The drying rack just facillitates leaving things in there rather then putting them away.

Oh boy....this is one of the reasons we have a 2-bowl sink. It sounds like the best compromise is the dish towel on a counter...dishes aren't in the sink but you don't have a dish rack contributing to countertop clutter. It's also more sanitary if you change the towel daily.

HTH!

I'm sorry if this is a dumb question. Why don't you just dry them and put them away? You could put down a towel or other rack as others have said, while you finish washing, and then dry the few things that are there, then put the towels or rack away. A few minutes, at best, since you said there are a small number of things. Even better, maybe one of you washes and the other dries - gets done in 1/2 time. Not trying to be wise, but am I missing something?

For the wood cutting board, knives and occasional pan that won't fit in the DW I put a towel on the counter while washing, dry the couple of items and put away immediately.

Yup . . . towel on the counter. Just before bed, I usually toss today's hand towel and dish cloth into the laundry, put away the dry dishes (taking care of any leftover dampness), smooth out the damp towel on the counter -- it becomes tomorrow's hand towel. After all, nothing has touched it but damp, clean dishes.

Ditto, towel on the counter. I clean up faster that way, and like redroze said - no scummy plastic drainer to keep clean and take up valuable storage space.

Spend the money you save on nicer dish towels. :-)

Underlining what Bayareafrancy said--simplify your lives and dispose of this disagreement with the stuff that can't go in the dishwasher. Put it up for special occasions, give it away, burn it in fireplace, give it to the dog to play with.

rosie - yup give your good knives to the dog to play with :-)

Thank you!
I like the simplicity of the towel suggestion. And suzieque, you are completely right, this really isn't a big deal if stuff gets turned around and dried up promptly. Getting DH to do stuff promptly is a whole 'nother post! My own 'drain stuff IN the sink' method works perfectly fine for me because I dry stuff up immediately, then tip out the dirty water from the bowl.

There really isn't too much stuff we are not putting in the dishwasher - mostly knives, can opener, etc, cutting boards .. things that we will need again frequently.

bayareafrancy: are you from the UK? I think I only know Brits who say 'cheeky' (one of my favourite terms!)

Thanks all.

Ah, the woulda-been inspiration kitchen. I'm with suzieque. I dry each item and put it away as I wash it - i.e., wine glasses too good to put in the dw, sterling silver flatware, or pots too big. The good stuff gets used a few times a year, no biggie. The pots take five minutes - also no biggie. I have never had dishes draining on my counter, even when I had no d.w. in 1963.

I am not a neat person - but I am compulsive about dishes in the sink or on the counter for more than 2 seconds.

The main things that I wash by hand are pots/pans and other very large items like bowls that would not fit in the dishwasher. These are set out to dry on my stove! For me the stove is perfect because the grates allow for good air circulation and my counter is then not cluttered with items set out to dry. It works for me.

Well I guess I'm in the minority here. I do a lot of hand washing as I don't put my knives, All-Clad, Le Creuset, etc. in the dishwasher. I have a dish rack that I place on the counter. I wash and rinse all the dishes, place in the rack, drain and wipe out my sink. By then the dishes in the rack are mostly dry and I put away/finish drying, wipe down the rack tray and place under the sink. I never, ever, leave it on the counter unless I'm using it. The dishes dry quick that way and it's a pretty easy process.

Not everything is dishwasher compatible. I love to serve with nice serving dishes and don't find it a bother to hand wash. It's very therapeutic, for me, to stick my hands in a sink of soapy water, stare out the window at my garden and hummingbirds, and wash. My quiet time, I guess!

My sink has a rim half way down, and I bought the ss rack that fits it for one side of the sink. I use it every day to dry things. Usually less than an hour because air circulates underneath so no humidity builds up in a glass as it does drying on a towel.

Can you buy an accessory for your sink? If not, I would use a rack in a color or finish to match your sink on one side inside the sink. I just can't spare the counter space and don't like or am too lazy to do dish drying.

One more time .... dishtowel on the counter. I leave them on the counter over night and put them away when I unload the dishwasher in the morning.

I do not use a bowl for hand washing. Dirty stuff goes beside the sink, I wash with a soapy sponge, then rinse under running water and leave clean things to dry on my sink grid. I find I can put clean stuff on one side of the sink grid (which covers the entire sink) and leave the rest of the sink for other uses. Liquids poured into the sink run under the sink grid and don't get the clean dishes dirty again. Occasionally I need to rinse yuk off the clean dishes from splashes in the rest of the sink, but I try to wait until last to hand wash.

The rare items that can't go in the DW get drained/dried on a towel next to the sink. I do keep a dishpan in my large single bowl sink, so rinsing, etc, is not a problem.

No, Weissman, the dogs did get those tatty foam drink koozies, though! My knives are mostly Victorinox with Fibrox handles, and they've been going in the dishwasher for years, positioned so my chief knifesharpener doesn't start lecturing me about it.

I use a lot of items that aren't to go in the DW. Hand blown glass, silver, crystal, knives, pots and pans, etc. Here's a crazy idea...IT'S A KITCHEN!!! I don't understand the issue with having a rack out :) Sorry but I just don't get it. It's a kitchen, it's for ummm doing stuff like washing and drying dishes. Having a rack out isn't such a big deal. In fact, to facilitate our future rack, I've added runnels in the stainless counter so where it sits I won't need a yucky wet dish towel :)

I actually love all these ideas about alternatives to the dish rack. (Well, the one prevailing idea of the dish towel. ;-)) In my tiny galley kitchen, I will have exactly 18" of countertop next to my sink. This is the same 18" I will have next to my refrigerator. I want to get rid of my dish drainer (old, Rubbermaid, "dusty rose" if that gives you any idea of vintage), and use the space as counter space!!! (Right now, I take things out of my refrigerator and put them *in* the dish drainer as a landing spot - really not ideal!!!)

All made possible by finally, finally having a dishwasher. Woo hoo! Can't wait. :-)

If I had a decent sized kitchen, however, I'd be with igloochic on this. It's a kitchen. It can have a visible dish drainer. (Preferably a nicer looking one than mine. :-))

I have a large sink too and what I do is put the few pots and pans or other hand washed items on a towel then dry them immediately and put them away. I had to laugh, DH and I are the opposite of you. I wanted a countertop drying rack and he didn't. He doesn't like clutter. I have a SS collapsable one under the sink but never use it because it is too much hassle to constantly take it out and put it away.

We use the towel on the counter method. I remember my Grandma, when she had the kids do the dishes, one washed and rinsed & one dried and put away. If you dont want them on the counter, just hand dry them after you hand wash them ;)

If it's just one or two items, like many here we just put them on a towel on the counter.

If it's a few items, we take out our rack. We have a dish rack that folds flat and is stored under the sink when not in use. Seems like getting one of these folding racks would be a good compromise for you and your DH.

When we had a rack in the old kitchen, stuff piled up in it. Especially when SO emptied the dishwasher, anything that he wasn't sure where it should go, went into the dishrack.

The towel on the counter that we use now works much better for me.

Once the rest of the kitchen is done, I towel off anything that is still wet and put them away and then use the wet towel that the dishes had been draining on to do a final wipe down of the counters and then toss it into the laundry room when I leave the kitchen.

Towel on the counter here too. I use a small bathmatt though as it absorbs any drips better that a dish towel and it holds more. I bought a utensil holder that matches my dishes to hold the silverware while it drains. I agree, it is a kitchen and as I do not have a working DW. This is the best method for me.

There was a similar thread some time back before we redid our kitchen. I started doing the towel on the counter thing then and would never go back to the rack! It takes no time to dry things and put them away immediately.

More importantly, though, is the issue of the sink grid. Never had one until now and love it!! Any water poured in runs underneath the dishes sitting on the grid, dirty or not. Seriously, get a sink grid!

Ditto for the towel-on-the-counter idea. I have a bunch of microfiber towels that wick away water and don't get soggy. I also keep a few wine corks around and stick them under the edge of things like bowls or pots, to get some air circulating underneath - seems to help things dry faster. In my old house, I had a rack and it was ugly and had water stains. And, of course, I never put it away because it took up too much room in the cabinet under the sink. The towel is so much easier!

This is like all those towel threads, lol. Igloo's right ... if it's a working kitchen set it up that way. I bought a stainless dish drainer for the small sink side. Every day I put something in it. Sometimes I dry the stuff right away, sometimes I let it sit for a few hours. And my hand drying towel hangs next to the sink where I can easily reach it ... not inside a cabinet or across the room.

We changed completely when we moved into our new home & kitchen a year ago.

The old: 2 bowl sink, one bigger than the other, plus drainboard & rack, which was always out on the countertop. (Yuk) We'd fill the bigger sink for washing & tried to use the smaller for rinsing, but usually ended up rinsing into the main sink. Prep was difficult. We had a separate bar sink but too far away & too dark to use--the second dishwasher was in the same too far away location.

Now: 36" single bowl main sink, flanked by Miele Excella DW on each side. There's very little that doesn't go into the Mieles. We rarely fill the sink except to soak big things; we wet, scrub, & rinse now. Little things go into a tub or large bowl. No more dish rack: we use a towel on the counter, or if the DW is empty & we want a clear counter, in there to air dry. We have a separate prep sink in the island, across from the range, ovens, & refrigerator.

The new way is so much easier & we have less clutter.

it's an expandable stainless dish rack that fits over the sink. great for a larger sink so you can still have access to the bowl when needed. i really like the idea of this, plus it looks as if it might do a good job drying as well as keeping things a bit neater.

Here is a link that might be useful: exandable dish rack

I'm in the minority too. Dish rack. I have way too many things that need hand washing and I don't mind the rack at all...we don't let things sit in there more than overnight so it's never full.

I dry things up as they go - on the very, very rare occasions it won't fit in the dishwasher.

Clearing up after dinner was a shared job, growing up, with my brother and sister - one washed, the other two dried. We got a chance to talk and laugh and spend time together. If a parent joined in, it was even more social and fun. I rather miss that.

First, again, I just love, love, love your kitchen. What a great space and look.

Second, another poster here gave me this idea (sorry, I don't remember who it was). Williams Sonoma has a glass mat (no, it is not made of glass but flexable plastic--however, it is difficult to find on-line and I think I had to enter glass mat to find it). It has little runnels in it for the water. I use that (when I don't use a towel on the counter). Drain it in the sink. Wipe it up with a towel and roll it up and store it away. I love that I can roll it up (again, small kitchen here with not a lot of space) and hide the thing so I don't have clutter on my counter tops and can see my wonderful granite.

I too have items I refuse to put in the DW; my All-Clad, my knives, Lenox china with the gold rim--got from my Mom (she was tired of handwashing it!), etc.

I generally clean up as I go (small kitchen too!--no space to cook otherwise), the clean-up at the end usually isn't too bad. Since I have my new Bosch DW, (which I absolutely LOVE), I use that and it cleans everything (yes, even caked on egg, etc.) Have I all told you today how much I LOVE my new dishwasher?

In Europe they have these amazing dish drying cabinets that hang above the sink. They have wire shelves and no bottom so they drip straight into the sink and you can just close the cabinet drawers and you would never know they were there. We finally got to use one in a apartment in Barcelona and I loved how clean it allowed the kitchen to stay. The only drawback is that you can't have a window in front of your sink, but many kitchens these days don't so perhaps it will finally catch on here in the states.

Here is a link that might be useful:

I do the same, drying on the counter, except instead of a dishtowel, I use a bath mat; it sbsorbs more.

Dish towel on the counter, I don't have enough counter space to give the dish rack a permanent home. Most stuff goes in the d/w except for wine glasses, knives, large pots and anything cast iron.

I'm overwhelmed with the ideas ... I think the marriage will be saved!

I love this from mustbnuts, the Williams Sonoma drying mat. Trust WS to do it with style. I'll show this to DH and see if we'll try this one. Decodilly, what a cool way to dry dishes! Thanks for the link. It's too late for me, but I hope others who are planning will find it useful.

Here is a link that might be useful: drying mat from Williams Sonoma

I let things air dry in various places:

everyday hand wash items (coffee pot, cat food dishes)
-- when the DW is not full, I let things air-dry on the upper rack
-- when the DW is full, I let things air-dry on a towel placed on the cooktop grates

delicate stuff (knives, barware, china, aerokat)
-- small quantities are hand dried
-- large quantities air-dry in the dish rack with drain board that normally stays under the sink

Then again, I don't live with anyone who cares where things dry out so long as they get their food, nibbles and treats.

A dish towel (love the bath mat idea) or a drying rack. It makes no difference to me. I have many hand washables as well, & have no problem having things out in my kitchen that say "this is a kitchen, where we wash & dry ".
I do have a scullery in new kitchen which keeps the washing area somewhat separate from the main area. Can't wait to put that unto use.

In our new kitchen I refused to use a dish rack. So whatever needs to be washed by hand I put on dish towels on side of the sink, then when done washing I dry them and put them away. I put our wine glasses in our prep sink to dry- that works great.

Like igloochic, I have no objection to having a dish drainer on the counter. You're right, it is a kitchen, and I don't mind if mine looks like a kitchen that is used. My objection is that I have never found a dish drainer that actually fits the things I need to drain, usually large pots/pans and lids, or large serving platters. I've had a few fragile things tip over and break in a dish drainer. I like to drain my stuff on a dishtowel (or two if necessary), because things fit and sit flat on the counter.

Very lovely kitchen, may I ask the dimensions of your sink and the size of your sink base cabinet. I am also wanting one large deep sink, and do some hand dish/pot washing.

cmpm, the sink is 28" x 16" x 7.5" and the base cabinet is 36". There are far deeper sinks you can find but be sure to test them out.