Kitchen draining area/ board - is the only solution to wipe dishes straightaway?

[WhoWhereWhatWhy]

We’re finally having a new kitchen. Our current one has a stainless steel sink and a half and attached draining board, which has worked really well for us. But when we upgrade the kitchen to a mid range one we think we’ll have an undermounted sink, and i am really hoping that the budget will stretch to Corian/Dekton for the worksurface.

I never ever dry up after I’ve washed up, and often leave bits from the dishwasher that aren’t fully dry to drain on the drainer.

Am I going to need a personality change and dry up straightaway when our new kitchen is in? I can’t see what draining board options I have other than a plastic one that sits on the worksurface or grooves (my fear is that everything will drop to the floor off the side and that water will just pool).

All advice welcome.

I’ve got a Joseph Joseph drainer that lips over into the sink (it’s actually in my caravan) but would work indoors

my plastics that I find never dry properly in the dishwasher I have a plastic basket that’s got open hole weave and I put the slightly damp plastics items in there until I get round to putting them away generally the following day, but it is in my utility room so is out of sight.

I use silicon draining mats. I have to have sth to drain the items which can't go in the dishwasher, as the grooves in my Silestone worktop by the sink seem too hard to use just as they are. I do think the silicone mats can discolour the Silestone over time though.

This is exactly what I would have. They were very common when I lived in Spain

They have these in Spain too, but British kitchens often have the sink facing the window so it's not possible.

We have a couple of these from Brabantia which we put away when not in use. We're also obsessive dryers both of washing up (whatever doesn't go in the dishwasher) and of the worktop, which is wood (beautiful but high-maintenance).

You couldn't just leave something big and sopping wet on one of those mats indefinitely, it would soak through. We also have one of the Joseph Joseph dish drainers that is tilted but we mostly don't use it - it stacks in two bits very neatly in the cupboard under the sink.

In short: personality change. If you love the new kitchen enough you'll commit.

Agree! I’d rather have grooves than a large plastic rack!

How are they ugly?

I have the same setup, and use this drying mat from Lakeland. It folds up small, lives in a drawer under the sink, and I just get it out when needed. Very absorbent. Think they do a larger version as well.

https://www.lakeland.co.uk/23868/diamond-dish-drying-mat-for-glasses-and-cups-black

I have under mounted sink and white granite or marble work tops. They put grooves in it - I leave stuff to air dry (we tend to dishwasher almost everything) and then put it away later.

if your worktop is light coloured, grooves require regular scrubbing eg twice a week, or hard water build up can cause them to yellow / is v hard to remove.

With grooves though, you may find you get a build up of limescale over time.

We use a plastic two tier drainer that we put back in the cupboard when not in use.

We have the same thing with all the little plastic tubs. I got a small draining thing from Ikea which has a tray under and it just sits next to the sink.

Sometimes if it’s finished before I go to bed I leave the dishwasher door open a couple of inches but you’d need to be mindful of damp and condensation if it’s not thoroughly dry inside.

I use a tea towel for the pots and pans I don't put in the dishwasher.
Don't put grooves in your worktop, they are a waste of space and can look mucky over time.
I liked dekton but was too expensive.
We went with quartz which I love.
We discounted marble because I had just heard too many horror stories on how impractical it is to use - staining, marking etc

But without grooves you have a larger work top area for day to day also. Far more beneficial if small kitchen

I just empty dishwasher and have clean tea towel to dry anything they comes out slightly damp ie kids silicone cups or similar. It’s only a few items so just dry and straight away

Large pans make sense to just hand wash onto tea towel then dry away immediately. Ready to use again and no coming down in morning to have to put dry dishes away as already done. It’s a shift of mind set. Just don’t leave it for later. Do it all and there’s no later needed ( I also use to wash and leave in own kitchen, then hate it was still another job to do)

I’ve just been to check my worktop - kitchen’s been in 3 years - I think when we took the ‘white worktop’ pledge (where we swore to wipe up any spillages / use the proper cleaner / use trivets etc) it’s still good as new. We spent a fucking fortune on it and as such we do look after it.

My drainage channels are pristine!

This is a good insight. It's a bit like cooking - why do British and Greek recipes tell you to slow cook in the oven and Italian recipes tell you to slow cook on the hob? Because the British and Greeks have culinary traditions rooted in permanently heated ovens (Agas etc) and the Italians don't. Frankly these days heating your oven to cook a casserole is ridiculous when you can simmer it for far less electricity on a hob (and there are other cheaper means too) but people still stick stuff in the oven for hours.

I think stone slab type worktops make kitchens look like mortuaries btw

Joseph Joseph drainer

I got these from John Lewis, do a great job and freshened up in the washing machine when needed.

We have an undermounted sink and by far the cleanest looking option is a roll up rack that can be placed over it. We have a double sink so it goes over one side and the other side is free for washing. Similar to this one

This is going to potentially be quite shocking: we don’t have a drying area by our sink. Didn’t want to ruin our stone worktops with ugly drying stuff. I whack everything into dishwasher, we only wash our copper pans - which we wash, dry and put away.

Alternatively, find space for two dish washers. Use clean from one and load crockery into the other until it’s full

set to wash, it then becomes the clean one. Genius.

A few things will always need draining. The odd thing won't be dry from the dishwasher and the occasional thing will be washed by hand.

I have Dekton, and IMO if you can afford Dekton you can afford a dishwasher. I rarely wash anything by hand, and on the rare occasion I do, I drain and air dry it on a tea towel. It's genuinely a non issue.