For those who use plastic bowls – they hold far more bacteria than a metal sink.

I find the bowl in sink thing completely unfathomable and none of the reasons on this thread add up at all

For those who use plastic bowls – they hold far more harmless and yet perpetually scaremongered bacteria than a metal sink.

Ftfy 😉

Never found the need for a dish washer. Every one I’ve ever used has been crap, left dirty dishes. then who’s job is it to empty the dishwasher? It just becomes and expensive cupboard. Apparently you’re meant to rinse them first? That’s half the job. Why spend $1000 on a machine that is crap and you have to do 50% of the work anyway?

I bet you’re still using 8-speed drivetrain with a triple, or want a new frame with canti mounts.

The timing of the thread is fitting because I bought ours for ducky apples at Halloween.

Washing dishes was a secondary consideration.

Worth remembering that many of us do not have space for a dishwasher. I would rather hand wash my crockery than my clothes

As for a utility room…. We once had one of those for hand washing, shared between 8 households. It’s a shed now. Seriously, there is a lot of cramped housing stock out there.

or those who use plastic bowls – they hold far more bacteria than a metal sink.

Is there actual evidence of that? On the inside of the bowl? Under identical use conditions? What about if like my granny when you finish the dishes you then rinse the bowl and leave it upside down?

You do know that water doesn’t come out the tap sterile and there’s bacteria pretty much everywhere? If your aim was to wash in sufficiently hot water to really kill bacteria it’s probably easier to do that in a plastic bowl with lower volume and lower thermal mass and a kettle.

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TrailriderJim
Full Member

Something tells me this won’t win the thread of the week award.

Something tells me different. Classic STW bollocks this one.

Is there actual evidence of that?

There have been endless studies about how flithy houses and kitchens in particular actually are. I think the worst things by far are dishcloths and sponges which are more or less the E.coli equivalent of council housing estates. If you’re not drying it out completely or nuking it the microwave once a week its probably more germy than your toilet. While most of them (as folks have said) are harmless, lots of kitchens probs. have salmonella, listeria and campylobacter in them, and if you’re vulnerable…

Joking aside, its good practice to at least have a separate cutting board for meat, and clean it well after each use.

The washing machine goes in the utility or laundry room

Of course! How naive of me. Is this where the third sink lives?

Apparently you’re meant to rinse them first? That’s half the job.

You don’t do that when using a bowl / the sink? I realise now why half of this thread is whining about dirty water, y’all never learned how to wash up.

I find the bowl in sink thing completely unfathomable and none of the reasons on this thread add up at all

I’m guessing you’ve never had a Belfast sink.

They’re **** awful and will chip crockery for no reason. That’s why you have a bowl. There is a thermal performance question as well, the plastic bowl will keep the water warmer than a cold lump of porcelein with a much higher thermal mass.

You don’t do that when using a bowl / the sink? I realise now why half of this thread is whining about dirty water, y’all never learned how to wash up.

x2

<span class=”bbp-author-name”>kayak23</span>
I think this is probably a good place to address the perpetually irritating and confounding issue of people who put their dirty plates, mugs, bowls, cutlery etc into the empty bowl/sink when they’re finished eating, instead of on the side next to the sink.

Wtaf is that about?

In order to physically be able to do the washing up, I now have to remove all of that pile of manky crockery Jenga from the bowl and stack it by the side so that I have enough working room in the bowl to submerge and manipulate my subjects and indeed the room to use my washing up tools, adding an extra and completely unnecessary step to the already tedious task.

Why on earth they can’t simply put them on the side in the first place is beyond me.
Utter madness.

A special place in hell must also be reserved for those who come along after I’ve finished washing up, but have yet to empty the bowl of water, and just plonk their mug or whatever into the water and walk off.
Just give it a swoosh ffs. The water is just there! It takes seconds!

Honestly, this thread is helping to purge so many long suppressed emotions. Thank you OP. 🙏 😂

So well expressed.  Do we share in-laws by any chance?

I’m guessing you’ve never had a Belfast sink.

They’re **** awful and will chip crockery for no reason.

Because they’re designed for larger items like trays, shoes, overcoats  etc that the butler takes care of. The washing of cutlery and crockery is the responsibility of the housemaids, and they use the shallower London sink in the scullery

Standards these days

The washing machine goes in the utility or laundry room

Of course! How naive of me. Is this where the third sink lives?

We have both a utility room and a laundry room, doesn’t everyone?

The snootiness is indeed strong in this thread.

I think the lack of a sense of humour is even stronger from others.

We have both a utility room and a laundry room, doesn’t everyone?

Not yet, completion is due in late 2025.

I think this is probably a good place to address the perpetually irritating and confounding issue of people who put their dirty plates, mugs, bowls, cutlery etc into the empty bowl/sink when they’re finished eating, instead of on the side next to the sink.

Mrs Sandwich sometimes removes the bowl from the sink to stack pots and crockery in it! At some point a new patio is going to be required!

I could also lift out the bowl temporarily if I needed the sink for something else.

That was the real advantage for me in my old place. Dishwasher now.

The other advantage was that it stopped a lot of crap going down the plug hole and blocking up the drain (because it collected in the bottom of the bowl, and you could fish it out after pouring most of the water out).

If your aim was to wash in sufficiently hot water to really kill bacteria it’s probably easier to do that in a plastic bowl with lower volume and lower thermal mass and a kettle.

Or a dishwasher.. just saying…

I think the lack of a sense of humour is even stronger from others.

Sick burn dude.

There have been endless studies about how flithy houses and kitchens in particular actually are. I think the worst things by far are dishcloths and sponges which are more or less the E.coli equivalent of council housing estates. If you’re not drying it out completely or nuking it the microwave once a week its probably more germy than your toilet. While most of them (as folks have said) are harmless, lots of kitchens probs. have salmonella, listeria and campylobacter in them, and if you’re vulnerable…

That was kind of my point. Why do we assume that the basin / sink should be “sterile”? Nothing else in the kitchen will be close to that – but is the relevant bit of the basin substantially worse than the relevant bit of the sink would be in the same manky person’s house? I doubt it.

Ironically of course the OP answered one of the main reasons in his opening post – not everyone had two sinks, so draining liquids whilst mid washing is a benefit (it can be avoided with good planning – but e.g. whilst cooking I may have a basin of water where stuff not going in the D/W is placed to soak, and it can be handy to still be able to rinse something whilst the soaking is going on, run cold water over my burnt fingers etc!

Now a more alarming thing – I witnessed my SIL preparing a salad last weekend. Before chopping them, she washed the tomatoes and baby cucumber by placing in a bowl of soapy water then rinsing under cold tap. Am I odd in thinking this was somewhat excessive?

^^^
I can see something up there about washing tomatoes and I have seen enough.

People – you will only ever have one life. We wink in an out of existence like sparks from a bonfire – the odds against us being here at all in an unimaginably vast and mainly empty universe are huge beyond comprehension. But here we are with our lives, our loves… Together in this moment, what I think Larkin meant by “this frail travelling coincidence” in the final lines of the Whitsun Weddings. So I ask, sincerely please. Let’s not talk about washing up bowls.

 but is the relevant bit of the basin substantially worse than the relevant bit of the sink would be in the same manky person’s house? I doubt it.

Whether the sink or bowl is less manky is irrelevant. Nearly everyone else in the world washes up by having a sponge with dish soap on it and holding an item under a running tap of water. It doesn’t touch anything other than your hands, and is cleaned and rinsed. Only in the UK do folk fill a bowl or sink and squirt soap into it and then wash stuff in it. (and then have to invent reasons why it’s better to wash up like that)

So I ask, sincerely please. Let’s not talk about washing up bowls.

But what if that’s our purpose??

This is your life now

I think the worst things by far are dishcloths and sponges which are more or less the E.coli equivalent of council housing estates

My OH has a habit of standing the drain plug on top of the sponge when she’s finished washing up. I’m fairly sure that’s not particularly hygienic.

Mind you, it’s one of those filter-affair plugs where you pull it half-out to allow the sink to drain and she always rips it out completely. I asked her the other day whether there was a reason she kept removing the filter, she said “yeah, it keeps getting filled up with crap.” Like, WTF do you think a filter is for? Gnn. About that patio…

If I use the dishwasher then I run out of both crockery and cutlery before it’s full.

Then I run it half empty, which is wasteful.

Probably OK for a family though.

Apparently in our house it’s a “man” job to pull the hair trap from the shower and clean it. Yet, I’m the one with a grade 2…🙄

Together in this moment, what I think Larkin meant by “this frail travelling coincidence” in the final lines of the Whitsun Weddings. So I ask, sincerely please. Let’s not talk about washing up bowls.

Yeah, but even in the same poem, Larkin appears endlessly fascinated by them.

They watched the landscape, sitting side by side
—An Odeon went past, a cooling tower,
And someone running up to bowl

🙂

Apparently in our house it’s a “man” job to pull the hair trap from the shower and clean it. Yet, I’m the one with a grade 2…🙄

Do you get more hair caught in listed buildings?

About that patio…

I reckon we could be on for a bulk materials discount.

To be on the safe side I’m going to start removing and setting fire to the sink after every washing up session then replacing the sink with a new one. So glad I only have the one kitchen sink or it could get silly expensive very quickly

but is the relevant bit of the basin substantially worse than the relevant bit of the sink would be in the same manky person’s house? I doubt it.

Almost certainly will be . Bugs find it hard to live on steel, easy on plastic. Your dishcloth and your hands are probably worse tho!

I’m guessing you’ve never had a Belfast sink.

They’re **** awful and will chip crockery for no reason.

therein lies your problem – solution – get a proper sink

My one bed rental flat has a utility room with the washing machine in it and I was going to put the washing machine in my flat into the utility room but decided not to as its next to the other flats bedroom and there is a bad sound bridge between the two

Mind you, it’s one of those filter-affair plugs where you pull it half-out to allow the sink to drain and she always rips it out completely. I asked her the other day whether there was a reason she kept removing the filter, she said “yeah, it keeps getting filled up with crap.” Like, WTF do you think a filter is for? Gnn. About that patio…

I didn’t realise that my wife had another husband?

Apparently in our house it’s a “man” job to pull the hair trap from the shower and clean it. Yet, I’m the one with a grade 2…🙄

How many of you are living in my house?

We wink in an out of existence like sparks from a bonfire

Edit….. you said “wink”… not ….

Oh and I love the arguments over washing up bowls or not….. Sooooo STW!!!!

And that’s what I meant when I said snooty. I can’t believe people are actually bothered whether others use a bowl or not. This thread has amazed me!

To be on the safe side I’m going to start removing and setting fire to the sink after every washing up session then replacing the sink with a new one. So glad I only have the one kitchen sink or it could get silly expensive very quickly

And this wins!! On this basis alone, this should be post of the week never mind thread of the week. Thank you @funkmasterp my caravan sofa now needs red wine removal.

therein lies your problem – solution – get a proper sink

Have you not considered how many bike parts (or bike trips) you can get for the price of a new sink and inevitably, the worktop, tap and waste trap. And if you pay someone… That’s probably a half decent bike. I’ll stick with my nice red bowl and the crappy ceramic sink!

Actually. I’d forgotten that my plastic bowl also doubles as bicycle component parts washer. Surely No-nonsense degreaser hasn’t poisoned anyone yet?

When we moved into our house it had – and indeed still has a white ceramic sink. It’s shit. It scratches, would easily break crockery and is just poor. I prefer a metal sink by miles.