Best way to dry dishes: Apparently, so many of us wash dishes, at least once a day. Noticing the necessity of clean dishes, the Kitchen Design Queen went on a mission to find the best methods, by asking friends and random strangers, for tips. Most people expressed dismay, specifically that this chore is time consuming, and, once the dishes are clean, there’s another chore in drying them.
So, what’s the best way to dry them? Some offered advice about towel drying, simply by laying a dish towel down and putting washed dishes on top of it to dry. Once they’re dry, you put the dishes away and hang the towel. But, then there’s the next load, and the cycle begins again. The Kitchen Design Queen thought this was no good way at all! A wet dish towel repeatedly on any surface is a sure way to ruin a countertop. Plus, silverware tends to get spotty and if there are a lot of dishes, the towel gets sopping wet, and what you have is a petri dish for bacteria growth. Another towel drying method is a double process, especially difficult if washing alone, if you wash and then towel dry each dish, and each dish away. If you’re washing dishes alone, without the help of another hand to put away clean dishes, the sink-to-cabinet process is usually interrupted by the drying process, at least an hour or two until the dishes dry in a dish rack, before you can put them away.
Another said she rests an oven rack on the top of her sink ledge. This however, prevents access to the sink until the dishes have dried and can be put away. Sadly, others said they don’t wait for the dishes to dry, and they use the towel to dry the dishes, and then put them away. This is not a lifestyle for a busy person, because it takes time to wipe down each item, and the towel may be damp and becomes ineffective. Essentially, that comes down to more time to do laundry, more detergent and energy, and time used to complete this task. Moreover, if more than one person is cleaning in the kitchen, you don’t know if that towel was used to wipe a counter, and the last thing you want is to wipe that grime all over your dishes.
When a beautiful kitchen has a dish rack, its design is sadly diminished, by the sight of a mass of clutter. The solution? Some said they use their dishwasher, not for washing, but only for drying. While this method may be convenient to hide drying dishes, it lacks ventilation, and that’s another source for bacteria. You or a family member could become seriously ill if you eat from a contaminated surface.
Ultimately, air drying is the best way to dry dishes, for hygiene and practicality. As a matter of fact, in Oregon, it is a law, that washed dishes must air dry. Once the dishes are washed, on a drying rack, you let nature and gravity take its course. This is usually done using a sink-side drying rack. Some people don’t like these racks because they take up valuable counter space and if that’s not the only dislike, people just say they don’t like the appearance of clutter.
The Kitchen Design Queen found a solution with the innovative DripDry cabinet dish rack installation kit. It mounts into a cabinet above a sink, or, alternatively, just above a sink with a few pieces of wood as a structure. Dishes go up and dry, and they are off the counter, and out of the way. It’s a practical, efficient, hygienic way, to save time and energy.
