Dish Drainer Decisions....

[xixstar]

Do you have a dish drainer that you love?

I plan to buy a stainless steel drain board to put next to the sink and need a dish drainer to set on it.

I've tried a couple different drainers over the years and just don't like most of them. 

I mostly use the dish drainer for pots/pans/knives/baking sheets/odd shaped items and then all the plastic that is still wet from the dishwasher gets thrown on top of everything in drainer too. So it needs to have some heft to it in order to not fall over. 

I don't really care much about the ability to put plates or bowls or glasses on it because those all go in the dishwasher for the most part.

I really prefer stainless steel or a very sturdy plastic if I have to. I don't like the wood/bamboo one we have right now and I ended up breaking it finally. 

Surely there is the most wonderful and perfect item out there somewhere and hopefully the hive can point me in that direction.

[xixstar]

This is the type of drain board I will probably get. It will be set up all the time, we're not the kind of people that put away clean dishes quickly. :)

https://www.cottagecraftworks.com/stainless-steel-kitchen-sink-drain-board

 

[8circles]

following.

 

I have a love/hate relationship with dish drainers in general. I have a collapsible plastic one now that's tolerable.

[AMJ]

This is the type of drain board I will probably get. It will be set up all the time, we're not the kind of people that put away clean dishes quickly. :)

 

https://www.cottagecraftworks.com/stainless-steel-kitchen-sink-drain-board

 

 

 

In the pictures at that link there's a wire drainer -- I'd recommend getting that.  It's the same configuration as the Rubbermaid drainers I have preferred in the past, but looks nicer.

 

Different people like different dish racks.  The typical Rubbermaid ones are the ones I have personally found to be most helpful when I had to do dishes for several people (not just myself).  They hold a lot and can handle different shapes and sizes quite readily due to their open configuration on top.  

[xixstar]

In the pictures at that link there's a wire drainer -- I'd recommend getting that.  It's the same configuration as the Rubbermaid drainers I have preferred in the past, but looks nicer.

 

Different people like different dish racks.  The typical Rubbermaid ones are the ones I have personally found to be most helpful when I had to do dishes for several people (not just myself).  They hold a lot and can handle different shapes and sizes quite readily due to their open configuration on top.  

 

Funny you mentioned the one in the photo - I thought I hated those too, but after looking at those photos I was rethinking that style, it might actually be the most versatile. 

 

lhttps://www.containerstore.com/catalogimages/105350/FoldingBambooDishRack_l.jpg

 

I have this one right now and really don't like it, it doesn't fit all the dishes very well, especially the larger ones. 

 

 

I do typically dry most the skillets and such right off, but larger mixing bowls, the vitamix carafe, and cutting boards all add up. 

[hornblower]

I have never owned one.

We just lay down terry cloth kitchen towels and put things on that to dry. 

Like you, we only use it for really oversize stuff or non dishwasher safe or things that didn't dry in the dishwasher.  

 

[Cosmos]

I have never owned one.

 

We just lay down terry cloth kitchen towels and put things on that to dry. 

 

Like you, we only use it for really oversize stuff or non dishwasher safe or things that didn't dry in the dishwasher.  

 

 

 

We have owned dish drainers in the past but years ago transitioned to the towel-on-the-counter method. In my experience, a dish drainers is useful if you are washing *dishes* -- plates, cups, and silverware. But now that we have a dishwasher, we're handwashing mostly pots and cutting boards and colanders and other random stuff. It's too big or irregularly shaped to fit in a dish drainer. For cutting boards, we lean them against our upper cabinet, which is right close by. Everything else just gets plonked down face down. We also use it for air drying tupperwares from the dishwasher. I put a new towel out each night and try toss the old one into the laundry room in the morning but sometimes it sits out all day.

 

The drainboard does look handy and is quite nice looking. Personally, I would try it just with the drainboard and see how that works. Could be you don't need anything.

 

[Carol in Cal.]

Since I don't handwash plates or most utensils, I opted out of one of those great plastic on metal permanent drainers and bought one that looks like a very large plastic tiny ice cube making tray.

 

It is about 12 X 15 or so, and it's plastic so it doesn't scratch things, and the dishes sit on a plastic grid and the drips go down into the little holes so they dry on the bottom as well as the top.  The great thing about this is that it is only about 3/4 inch deep, so I can put it away upright in the cabinet under the sink and it takes up almost no space.  Since I don't use it constantly, being able to store it out of sight compactly is a great feature.

[Alessandra]

This is what I have used for years (I just get same one again when one wears out).

 

https://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-3-Piece-Dish-Rack-Black/dp/B01LY2YIRZ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511817273&sr=8-1&keywords=dish+drainer+kitchen+aid

 

Our needs may be different. I wanted a drainer that held a lot, as I don't use a dishwasher. Earlier this year, I checked the Container Store and did not see anything I liked, so I re-ordered the Kitchen Aid.