so send him the new dishes in a dishpan...lol lol...37? they're all our babies...

I don't own a dishpan. My kids probably wouldn't know what it was for either.

I like susanjif's suggestion! :) The son's kitchen doesn't have a sink?

Melamine ;-)

It has a sink that is small and old with one basin. So the dirty dishes sit in the sink, and they wash and rinse them under running water and then place them on the drying rack on the drain board. Remember those old style sinks? New York kitchens are the size of a closet, and so he does not have storage room for a dishpan. Heck, he doesn't even have a table.

The dishpan can double as a wash basin, or a large mixing bowl... or any other item one is imaginative about. LOL

Moni

I have a dishwasher, but when I wash by hand, I do it the way your son does. I own a dish pan, I use it to soak laundry. I think washing dishes in a basin of greasy, grimy water is rather gross. Only the first couple of dishes have the clean water, after that, blech. I'm sure I go through more soap and water, but I'm OK with that.

The friend is the one who breaks the dishes. Perhaps friend can mop and take out the trash, and your son can wash the dishes.

I have a collapsible dish pan! I love it. That's what you need to get him and a rubber mat to go in the bottom of the sink.

https://www.amazon.com/Prepworks-Progressive-Collapsible-Dish-Tub/dp/B003QP30S0

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000I1YI54/ref=mp_s_a_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1481681570&sr=8-18&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=sink+mat&dpPl=1&dpID=410pGlOVgqL&ref=plSrch

What a cute story! You're right, they are never too old to not be our babies in some way.

I wouldn't replace them with the same ones. I agree with Mimi. Get unbreakable!

That's funny! As long as he's not living at home in your basement....success!

I like the collapsible dish pan...that's clever! He could store it under his bed....or cot....or hammock. It sounds like a tiny apartment....lol

Raven, thanks for the info. I ordered one for under the tree. How many of us can say we got something as wonderful as a dishpan under the tree Christmas morning???? He may still insist that he doesn't have room. We'll see.

Nicole, it is a one bedroom bachelor pad. I have never seen kitchens as small as are typical in NYC apartments from when we lived there in the 1960s while DH was in training.

I could never imagine living without a dishwasher. Even my first apartment when I moved out had a dishwasher, and it was an apartment complex built in the 60s.

The only time I've ever used a dishpan was when I was camping and washing dishes with water heated over the campfire.

They don't have garbage disposals either. It is against city code.

Sheilajoyce, the disposal ban was lifted nearly 20 years ago. We just visited some friends and their coop apartment they own for part-time visits (admittedly a very nice one) and the kitchen was as modernly equipped as any anywhere. With a dishwasher and disposal. I have been in less upscale and more traditional NYC apartments and I agree, kitchens can be tiny and often with an interior, non-vented and no window nearby setting.

Garbage disposal rule in NYC

Is your son a technical type of some kind - an engineer, or working in IT or science, or ?

Wouldn't buy melamine, can't go in the microwave. What about Corelle?

No, Elmer. He is a lawyer with strong science abilities/interests as a student. Thanks for the info on disposals. I suppose he explained the law as relates to the very old building he lives in. But I will clue him in when we chat next.

Goodness gracious, ladies. Corelle? He is into cool, hip stuff from places like Crate and Barrel.

My new sink is one of the big single bowl stainless steel rectangular type . I love using the collapsible dish pan in the sink when I need it . Then I collapse it and tuck it under the sink or in the drawer . I bought it originally for the rv. I also have a matching collapsible dish drain tray .

I also bought my son a dishpan for his tiny apt sized sink without a dishwasher. I had to explain how to use it too! Modern conveniences!

But if he installs a disposer, there won't be room for the bottle of dish soap.

I agree with Nicole! If he's not in your basement your good :).

I use a dish pan every day. I just leave mine in the sink. Of course I have a double sink. I have a dishwasher also but not everything I use can go into a dishwasher. I have never washed dishes under just running water and soap. I have never known anyone that washed them that way.

Sue

Have never used a dishpan. I use a dishwasher now but previously I would just wash right in the sink. Why must you need another bulky item in your kitchen when you can wash right in the sink? Plus, the sink gets washed too!

In re garbage disposals - in Philadelphia it is now against code for new construction NOT to have garbage disposals! Apparently they want to encourage keeping food scraps out of the landfill and instead see it go toward the biogas facility. (New York doesn't have enough biogas capacity yet.) http://www.citylab.com/cityfixer/2016/01/philadelphia-garbage-disposals-biogas-building-code/423498/

I figured out that for me, water wise considering the number of items being washed (we use a dishwasher for most things) I can wash everything the way he does and finish before the sink would have even filled up. So, I use more soap, but less water. I am okay with that LOL! It is true, my DH has broken more things hand washing than I can count in that exact way....they slip out of his hands and hit the counter or the tap, or other items in the sink. Mostly glasses and small delicate pottery things though.

Dances.

When my oldest DD was about 16 we went to my Mother's for dinner and my DD offered to do the dishes. My daughter had never lived without a dishwasher and my Mother didn't have one. My daughter washed the dishes exactly as your son did and my Mother scolded her for not knowing how to wash dishes! My DD was rather ashamed and angry that my Mother scolded her.

Folded towel in the sink.

krmarchese- I can't believe your mother would be so rude! I don't blame your daughter for being angry.

I would never scold a guest in my home who offered to do the dishes, regardless of how they washed them.

We have a double sink (no dishwasher....unless you count hubby). The dishes always get rinsed and stacked for when we do dishes. No greasy, grimy dishes go in the dishwater. We've got a plastic drain rack that fits inside the second sink.

I live in the city (Manhattan) and yes, the kitchens are generally small.

We're lucky in that our building is one of the "newer" high rises so the kitchen is actually 10x5'5" with a dishwasher. To you guys, that must sound tiny, to us, that's huge.

But, I still break dishes and glasses in the sink ALL.THE.TIME.

I wash them just like your son if there's only a few. And considering how often we cook, we rarely use the dishwasher.

I had no idea what a dishpan was until I read this thread and googled it. So thanks for that! I'm also about to order one.

Learn something new every day. Cool that the internet helps even in ways that we don't anticipate.

It's still amazing to me!

Kill two birds with one stone: Paper plates. No problems washing and much harder to break.

From one mother to another mother - What's a dishpan? LOL, I had to look it up. How about suggesting Corelle? It works great for my family (the former chipped/broken plate family).

I don't use a dish pan either. I use Corelle dishes...... but when they do break you have 1,000's of pieces everywhere!

Insert plug into drainhole of sink.

Add folded cloth about size of bottom of sink, if desired (probably advisable, for males with minimal training).

Turn on hot water tap (add cold as necessary).

Squirt some soap into the accumulated water.

Proceed to the wash job.

(I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around the concept of a collapsible dishpan).

ole joyful

I used to have only one sink and I had to stack dirty dishes in it and wash them at same time and put them in the dishracks as had two of them on either side of the sink, yes, you use more water and soap to wash but they aren't sitting in the dirty water and keep changing it all the time. I agree buy dishes that aren't breakable.

I find that a dish pan protects your nice sink from many scratches. I did not have a dishwasher all during the years I had children at home. A towel folded only protects the bottom, not the sides. Many like to soak their dishes for a few minutes before washing them, you can do that in a sink or a dishpan. Years ago we also used a dishpan to rinse our dishes too as we did not have hot running water. Now I do not wash dishes usually in my sink, they go in the dishwasher, larger items like cooking kettles and big pans go into my sink with the dishpan in it. I have not seen the collapsible dishpan but do have the collapsible colander. Very handy.

Sue

He also needs a sink mat so that when a dish slips, it doesn't break. It's a must for porcelain sinks! I also wash dishes with a sponge with dish soap on it. Sometimes, if I have a bunch of dishes, I fill the sink, but I have a double sink.