Air drying dishes - permanently wet drainer

[WhereToPutTheLaundry]

I air dry my dishes each night - I have a dishwasher and everything that can go in does but some things (baking trays, air fryer drawer, wooden board and utensils, coffee maker etc cant and have to be hand washed.

I have (inherited) wooden worktop with drainer grooves, and since it's almost always wet it it also black and disgusting.

I fully realise this is my own fault because I don't dry up the dishes and dry the drainer nightly.

I am the only adult in the house and the only washer upper (single parents, disabled kids), and I want to cut down my workload to maximise what little downtime I get.

Planning a new kitchen without wood around sink, but it will still be wet all the time - there's no time during the day that there isn't something in the drainer.

Am I missing something? How do others who air dry manage?

Drying rack with tray set up underneath (ours is Joseph Joseph). And always take dry stuff off before adding more wet stuff.

Those Belfast sinks I think you call them. They look unhygienic to me even with marble tops as lots of places germs can hide, IMO

So am I right in thinking the dish rack and draining board are getting black / mouldy and thi is because it's always wet?

I feel like ours is often wet even though we have a dishwasher. So we clean the drainer and board twice a week. It's not getting clean from the water from washing up. I think what you are missing perhaps is cleaning it? But honestly I think that's a small bit of it and as somone with wooden worktops, but a metal draining board, I think its the wood!

workwhat yes I know that's it. I just don't have the energy for twice weekly cleaning the bloody drainer grooves. I'm sure that sounds lazy to some but I'm just mentally and physically drained every day and it's all I can do to keep the basics under control.
My drainer grooves aren't even angled down towards the sink, they are just sunk in the surface but level inside each one so water doesn't actually drain out of them.
I also have a Belfast sink, which I love for its size and depth, but it definitely does have places for germs to lurk. I don't think it's mounted very well, or the cabinet has sunk perhaps over time. But that's not causing the drainer issue and we don't seem to get sick much so I'm ignoring that for now.

That's why the old fashioned sink with a built in drainer was the way it was.

How about a Finish drying cupboard? Seen on one of these threads before, seems like a great idea. The cupboard over the sink has wire racks in and doors to hide the stuff drying.

I was just going to say about this one. We've got this it's expensive but really good.

https://www.tapwarehouse.com/p/butler-and-rose-farmhouse-1-5-bowl-ceramic-sink?

@LuckyCharmz ooh, I've never seen those before. That's a very interesting idea for my new kitchen since my sink won't be under the window. Thanks!

Neighbour has yacht varnished his drainer. Probably revarnishes it if it needs it. I have a metal sink and drainer and annoyingly doesn’t have enough slope so pools.

yacht varnish is toxic - I wouldn't use it in a food/utensil area

We wash ours occasionally but it is plastic not wooden

I've bought a Brabantia silicon drying mat from Dunelm., not used it yet though as it's in anticipation of the new sink but it looks a decent size

I bought a mat that was just permanently soggy, so that went.
Mine is permanently wet, but I think that it’s because it’s flat, rather than having a slight tilt .

2nd this. These are great.

It takes seconds to dry stuff. I have similar wooden work surface including round the sink. Any large items that don’t go in dishwasher are dried and put away. I am no domestic goddess but this is not a big deal, especially if it’s just you! My wooden work surfaces have no black bits at all.

It's not just me - it's me and 4 children, 2 of whom are disabled like I said. Very glad it's no big deal drying up to you, but it is to me.

If you are having a new kitchen then have a draining cupboard put in. They are standard in all kitchens in Finland. Any drips go into the sink below and it also means you don't have to look at a messy draining board.

Here

Honestly our solution is to put eveything in the dishwasher including the things you mentioned. We don't wash anything by hand. The only situation that I do is if we need something immediately and none are clean - then I dry it immediately because I'm about to use it.

It means that we need to replace things like chopping boards more often, but I don't mind because they aren't that expensive. I might also just go for plastic ones next time I replace them.

I don't put the coffee maker in the dishwasher because it's an electrical appliance, but I don't wash it up either. It just gets wiped down, like the kettle, toaster etc. The drip tray can go in the dishwasher. I am wary of putting water tanks of things like this in the dishwasher because I did once with an old Senseo machine, it got food remnants in it and my coffee forever tasted slightly of grease 🤢I actually had to throw it away. When I had a cafetiere, I used to rinse it out daily and then put it in the dishwasher about once a month.

Aw fantastic! Glad you don't find this a big deal!
Many people do, for various reasons. Hth.

Op, I find it a big deal and a pain in the arse.
Dh and i work full time plus I have a small side business.
I find things like putting dishes away anxiety inducing and overwhelming. I have no idea why, as my brain knows it's no big deal

Clean washing up makes me happy whether it's put away or not. It's keeping on top of washing up that's a bind. Sometimes I do three loads a day, and we are only a household of two. It's really the space that it takes up that's the biggest annoyance. I think that's why people gravitate towards dishwashers.