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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Washing up bowl

236 replies

HerculesMorseShrank · 07/12/2022 00:51

Ladies and gentlemen, can I ask what may be a controversial question - do you use a washing up bowl or do you wash your dishes in the sink itself?

I personally think washing up bowls are pointless and inexplicable, but am interested in the Mumsnet consensus and willing to be educated on what the reason for using one is.

YABU - Washing up bowls serve some useful purpose
YANBU - Just use the sink that was designed for washing dishes

OP posts:
bridgetreilly · 07/12/2022 18:25
  1. Delicate things are less likely to break
  2. Really cruddy things can be soaked in it
  3. You can pour dregs down the side if you don’t have a double sink
  4. They use a lot less water than filling the whole sink
In short, it is idiotic not to use one.
bridgetreilly · 07/12/2022 18:29

But who doesn’t have a dishwasher these days?

Me. I would love one but there is no room for it in my tiny house, and believe me, I’ve tried.Not even room for a counter top one, because the height between base and wall units is too short. Because the ceilings are very low.

bridgetreilly · 07/12/2022 18:33

@bingoitsadingo , and others, what you are missing is how washing up liquid works. It removes dirt from surfaces and holds it in the water, so that you can, in fact, wash things in water and have them come out clean. This is also why baths work.

Nyedilemma · 07/12/2022 18:40

I use the sink, but there is a (several) sensible.purpsoe to washing up bowls:

  • Uses less hot water
  • A dropped glass is less likely to break
  • in the days when most kitchens had only a single sink, you could empty tea/gravy down the side of the washing up bowl whilst doing the washing up
bingoitsadingo · 07/12/2022 18:47

@bridgetreilly I understand that washing up liquid acts as a surfactant and helps fats dissolve in water. But when you take something you've washed out the bowl its still covered in soap suds (and sometimes small specks of food that were in the water). So I still want to rinse that off? The soap doesn't all stay in the bowl when you lift a wet item out?

The bath point is interesting because similarly I always have a rinse off under the shower before I get out of a bath, because I don't want dirty soapy residue left on my skin. The soap dissolves the dirt into the water, but I'm wet when I get out the bath - so the dirty water is still on me.

Yerroblemom1923 · 07/12/2022 18:47

Unhygienic and unnecessary.

Wheretheskyisblue · 07/12/2022 18:58

If people are pouring dregs down the side of the bowl whilst it is stored in the sink doesn't the underside of it get dirty? Doesn't this mean you are forever cleaning it?

bridgetreilly · 07/12/2022 18:58

@bingoitsadingo Yes, and that’s why a washing up bowl is helpful because you can rinse under the tap off to the side.

bridgetreilly · 07/12/2022 18:59

@Wheretheskyisblue Nope. You can put the bowl on its side, so the dregs don’t go near it. And then just wipe it down after you’ve finished the washing up.

psuedocream3 · 07/12/2022 19:00

Washing up bowls are disgusting 😒

bingoitsadingo · 07/12/2022 19:08

@bridgetreilly but if you're rinsing off the side why bother filling the bowl with water at all? Do you turn the tap on and off for every item or leave it running?

Winterscomingagain · 07/12/2022 19:08

The Joseph Joseph ones with the strainer drain in the bottom are excellent. They're the only basin I've ever had which are a logical design.

bridgetreilly · 07/12/2022 19:10

Because you need a lot less water for a quick rinse than to wash it properly! I don’t leave it running. And you can soak things in the water while you wash others.

justasking111 · 07/12/2022 19:10

Winterscomingagain · 07/12/2022 19:08

The Joseph Joseph ones with the strainer drain in the bottom are excellent. They're the only basin I've ever had which are a logical design.

Toddles off to look at Joseph Joseph site 😂

bingoitsadingo · 07/12/2022 19:12

Ah see I feel like if something is dirty enough that it needs to soak then its going to make the water in the bowl gross and then I wouldnt want to wash other things in that same water. And if it doesn't need soaking then it only takes a couple of seconds to scrub it under the tap and rinse straight off and
turning the tap on and off constantly would double how long the whole process takes

dawnfromgavinandstacey · 07/12/2022 19:20

I have one I rarely use it and put most things in the dishwasher.

It would look odd without a bowl though? Unless you have a fancy white sink I can't remember what they are called?

RampantIvy · 07/12/2022 19:20

The bath point is interesting because similarly I always have a rinse off under the shower before I get out of a bath, because I don't want dirty soapy residue left on my skin. The soap dissolves the dirt into the water, but I'm wet when I get out the bath - so the dirty water is still on me.

Just how dirty are you when you get in the bath? I find this view rather OTT unless you work down a pit.

and sometimes small specks of food that were in the water)

Anything that gets washed in my washing up bowl gets scraped and run under the tap before it goes in the bowl. Everyone I know washes up like this.

Unhygienic and unnecessary.

Wrong on both counts @Yerroblemom1923. A washing up bowl is only unhygienic if the user has unhygienic habits, and a bowl is necessary for many reasons already given upthread.

Washing up bowls are disgusting

No they aren't @psuedocream3. People are disgusting. A clean washing up bowl is no dirtier than a sink. Please can you explain why a clean washing up bowl is disgusting.

stuntbubbles · 07/12/2022 19:26

psuedocream3 · 07/12/2022 19:00

Washing up bowls are disgusting 😒

Washing up bowls voted for Brexit.

bingoitsadingo · 07/12/2022 19:27

@RampantIvy
Just how dirty are you when you get in the bath? I find this view rather OTT unless you work down a pit.
Not very dirty, but I have sensitive skin so I definitely don't want soap residue left on my skin

Anything that gets washed in my washing up bowl gets scraped and run under the tap before it goes in the bowl. Everyone I know washes up like this.
So you still run under the tap - you just do it before you scrub, and I do it whilst/after I scrub. So I still don't understand how it's water saving - I find the dirt comes off faster if I scrub it at the same time than if I just try and rinse it all off!

Delatron · 07/12/2022 19:36

So now we’re rinsing things before they go in said bowl. Then a rinse after because they’ve been in the water with all the other utensils etc. Yet they use less water than washing a few items such as pans under a tap? Ok.

If you don’t have a dishwasher I can kind of see your point if you like them. But I just think they are a bit manky and unsightly.

You must also have to wash the whole bowl after using it otherwise underneath is manky. So that’s more water used…

psuedocream3 · 07/12/2022 19:47

RampantIvy · 07/12/2022 19:20

The bath point is interesting because similarly I always have a rinse off under the shower before I get out of a bath, because I don't want dirty soapy residue left on my skin. The soap dissolves the dirt into the water, but I'm wet when I get out the bath - so the dirty water is still on me.

Just how dirty are you when you get in the bath? I find this view rather OTT unless you work down a pit.

and sometimes small specks of food that were in the water)

Anything that gets washed in my washing up bowl gets scraped and run under the tap before it goes in the bowl. Everyone I know washes up like this.

Unhygienic and unnecessary.

Wrong on both counts @Yerroblemom1923. A washing up bowl is only unhygienic if the user has unhygienic habits, and a bowl is necessary for many reasons already given upthread.

Washing up bowls are disgusting

No they aren't @psuedocream3. People are disgusting. A clean washing up bowl is no dirtier than a sink. Please can you explain why a clean washing up bowl is disgusting.

I don't think people are disgusting, I think washing up bowls are unnecessary, germ and grime magnets that trap stagnant water under them whilst just sat there.. Why not just use the sink which is easy to rinse and sanitise after use

psuedocream3 · 07/12/2022 19:48

Does that mean over half the population are unnecessary washing up bowls?

psuedocream3 · 07/12/2022 19:49

@stuntbubbles

Aquarius1234 · 07/12/2022 19:49

bridgetreilly · 07/12/2022 19:10

Because you need a lot less water for a quick rinse than to wash it properly! I don’t leave it running. And you can soak things in the water while you wash others.

Ah just as I thought. It's not proper washing up.

PurpleNebula84 · 07/12/2022 19:53

DuchessDandelion · 07/12/2022 01:08

I don't really understand the point of them. Why were they invented??

Me either - and they give me the ick when people pile stuff in them and get filled with part water from briefly running the tap and people emptying dregs down the sides but missing and filling up the bowl instead 🤢🤢 I much prefer just using the sink.
I also think dish cloths can be pretty rank too.